Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-03-03
FOR MERCHANT MARINE
President Sends Congress a Great
Message.
CONCERNS PROSPERITY OF AMERICANS


CONCERNS PROSPERITY OF AMERICANS
All Other Great Powers Foster Their
Foreign Commerce by Directly or In.
directly Substituting Their Shipping
and the United States Must Do Like
wise or Lose Out in the Competition.
Following is the full text Of the mes
sage that President Harding personally
delivered to congress Tuesday on the
subject of government aid in the de-
velopment of the merchant marine:
when addressing the congress last
December !. reported to you the failure
OF the executive to carry out the intent
of certain features of the merchant ma
rine act Of 1920, notably the provision
for the notice of the cancellation Of all
commercial treaties which hindered our
grant of discriminating duties on i'm
ports brought to our shores in Ameri-
can ships. There was no doubt about
the high purpose Of congress to apply
this proven practice to the upbuilding
of our merchant marine. 1t had proven
most effective in the earlier days Of
American shipping; it had, at various
times, demonstrated it's effectiveness In
the upbuilding of commercial shipping
for other nations.
THE success Of the earlier practice
for this republic came at a time when
we had few treaties, when our COM
merce was little developed. Its super
sedure by reciprocity in shipping regu-
lations, and the adoption of other
methods Of upbuilding merchant ma
rines, through various forms Of govern
ment aid, and the century Of negotia-
ton of commercial treaties all COM
bined to develop q situation which
should lead to endless embarrassment
II we denounced our treaties. We
should not only be quite alone In sup
porting a policy long since superseded
through the growing intimacy Of inter-
national relationships, but we should
invite the disturbance Of those cordial
first requisite to the expansion Of our
commerce abroad.
Intended by Congress.
contemplating the readiness of con-
gress to grant a decreased, duty on i'm
ports brought to our shores in Ameri-
can bottoms, and facing the embar-
rassment incident to readjustment OF
all treaty arrangements, it seemed de-
sirable to find way Of applying suita--,
BILE aid to our shipping, which the con-
gress so clearly intended, and at the
same time avoid the embarrassment OF
our trade relationships abroad
1.-The recommendation Of today Is
based wholly on this commendable in
tent of congress. The proposed aid or
the government to it's merchant marine
is to have it's chief source in the duties
collected on imports. Instead Of apply
ing the discriminating duty to the spe-
cific cargo, and thus encouraging only
the inbound shipment, l propose that
we shall collect all import duties with
out discrimination as between Ameri-
can and foreign bottoms, and apply the
heretofore proposed reduction to create
fund for the governments aid to our
merchant marine By such program
we shall encourage not alone the carry
ing of inbound cargoes subject to our
tariffs, but we shall strengthen Ameri-
can ships in the carrying of that great
er inbound tonnage on which no duties
are levied, and, more important than
these, we shall equip our merchant ma
rine to serve our outbound commerce,
which is the measure of our eminence
in foreign trade.
Value of Imports.
1T Is interesting to note, in connec-
ton with the heretofore proposed plan
of discriminating tariffs on imports,
carried to our shores in American bot
TOMS that the total value Of all dutia-
BILE imports for 1920, in all vessels, was
81 ,9S5, 1856, 900, while the cargoes admit
ted free of duty, on which no discrimi-
nation was possible, were valued at 3d.
115,9 900. The actual tonnage compar-
ison is even more significant from the
viewpoint of cargo carrying, because
the dutiable cargoes measured, in
round numbers 100000 tons, and the
non -dutiable cargoes were 25,0OO,OOO
tons. The larger employment, by two
and a half times, was in non-dutiable
shipments
Continued trade must be reciprocal.
We cannot long maintain sales where
we do not buy.
1T will avail nothing to attempt even
the briefest resume of our efforts to re-
establish that American Importance IN
commerce carrying on the high seas
which was recorded in the earlier days
of the republic. The aspiration is ma
ton wide. The conflict between two
schools of political thought heretofore
has defeated all efforts to employ the
governmental aid which other nations
found advantageous while we held
aloof, and the terms subsidy and Sub
yention' were made more or less hate
full to the American public.
But the nationwide desire to re-
store our merchant marine has outlived