Year: 1870

American Commerce.


Public attention is still strongly drawn to
the subject OF the decline of American COM
merce. Every day our exchanges contain no
tices of the report of the special committee
which are almost uniformly favorable to the
measures proposed by it for the restoration OF
our merchant marine. j. S. Pike has discuss
ed the subject in the columns of the New
York Tribune in a manner that places him
in honorable. contrast with "F. A. P.' The
same paper speaks editorialIy in favor of the
scheme, though formerly it did not favor any
measure of relief before the committee begun
its Investigations. The following article from
the Philadelphia North American will be read
with interest:


On several occasions we have said that one
important re ason why American shipping in
terest exhibit decline is because our people
have been absorbed in internal development,
which has paid better. We have made i'm
mense progress in railways, telegraphs, aeri-
culture, manufactures, banking, insurance the
building of citiss aud tow ms, the popuating of
wildernesses, and the founding OF colonies all
over our immense empire. Colossal fortunes
have been accumulated in these enterprises,
while the perieus pathways of commerce have
had no profits to offer us at all adequate to
these. just at the present time, when our at
tention is most seriously directed TO external
adventures, the whole south lies before us,
begging us to build railways for her, and to
help her to steamers and factories and banking
capital, and to build her vast strength in cot
ton, sugar, tobacco and ethe staples; while
at the west lies bOundless empire, in which
the Pacific Railroad seems but the beginning
of the mighty things yet to be.


Men are doing all these things not for the
love OF work, or for the grandeur of the re-
suits, but for the money to be made in them;
and perhaps ii the profits pour into the pock-
cts OF our people, it is well that they should
do these things as to turn their attention to
the mighty deep. We had looked forward to
the time when oar great railway companies
would have completed their works, and be
ready to turn their attention to a closer con-
nectiOn with sea lines. But they are all as
hard at work building, buying, leasing. extend
ing, strengthening and repairing as ever, ar d
the task ahead seems to transcend that al
ready achieved. In the meantime our man
ufacturing and mining industry claims steadi-
ly more and more of our alter ton and capi
tai so that between the two we have not been
able 70 spare much time or money for foreign
enterprise.


Yet it is now high time we did; for in the
interval our commerce has passed out OF our
control, and foreign shippers reap the benefits
that belong to us. The single fact that these
foreign interests make twenty -four millions OF
dollars year from their control OF our carry
ing trade ought to be sufficient to awaken our
energies and stimulate our ambition. Eng
land, it is true, offers herself a smaller fed
for the operations of capital and enterprise
than we have. But the field in which her
people work is not to be measured by the
are of their islands. Their enterprise is uni
versal, and therefore covers tar greater area
than our own. Morever, the British isles are
behir d us in population as well as in general
intelligence. Ii the fortunes there are greater
aud more numerous, the diffusion of wealth
among our people is incomparably superior.
As the western cities are rapidly rising to
the front rank of civilization and power, and
| are all eager competitors for the control of
western trade and enterprise, it now behooves
| us OF the seaboard to look more abroad than
we have been accustomed to, and thus endea-
vor to recover that foreign commerce which
we have abandoned in our eagerness to culti-
vate the interior. There is no good reason
why the carrying trade with Europe should
be monopolized by foreign vessels. nor why
England should monopolize the trade OF Mex
intercourse with China and the Indies should
| not be increasing instead of diminishing.
Our domestic manufacturers are still ex-
ported to some extent to foreign ports, and


the demand for them might easily be increas


ed with some exertion, and thus compensate


in some degree for the immense volume o.


foreign imports pouring into the country. l,


is by this means that England maintains hel


enormous foreign trade without exhaustion.


1t is based firmly upon her manufactures, an(


so should our own be. A great deal of thu
| spiritless condition of our foreign commerc,


is attributable to the belief so industriously


inculcated by Mr.. Wells and his free-tradt
friends, that it is impossible for us to expor


manufactured goods at a profit in competition
with the English. This deters many pre-
| duciug establishments from making the at,
tempt,when many OF them could do so to gre..t
advantage. At times when the prices Of do
mestic goods are ruinously low by reason OF
overproduction or foreign competition, the
manufa :turers and jobbers, instead OF sacri-
f1cing them at home, might easily relieve
trade by risking portion OF them IN foreign
markets, where, even if sold at loss, they
would build up demand that would ulti-
mately pay. This is the well-known English
policy, and there can be no question as to its
soundness. All our manufacturers would be
benefited by trying this system; and, as we
have no doubt OF its success, the industrial
establishments would all prosper and expand