Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 17, 1901)
The Conservative. coming into general use in the construe- tion of merchant vessels and this can be manufactured cheaper here than abroad.Cl After reviewing these interesting facts , THE CONSERVATIVE it strengthened in the belief that an American merchant marine is possible without subsidies of any kind. All we need is to let the natural tendencies of trade alone. As we once supplied the wooden vessels for the world's commerce so we will in the near future supply the modern steel ships for the very plain and logical reason that no one will be able to under bid us in their manufacture. Strol Ships. "Steel has , " says Mr. Windmuller , "in turn superseded iron , and materials for building steel ships are cheaper here than they are any where else. Machinery is not yet as low as it is on the Clyde , simply because we have" not had the opportunity to make as much of it. That it must become cheaper is evident from the fact that great quantities of similar machines , for which there is a larger demand , are already exported by us. Labor remains dearer here , and it is claimed by some that it still costs I fifteen per cent more to build a fast * ocean carrier in America than it does in Great Britain. The claim of others that our shipbuilders , if so inclined , could already compete successfully with European builders , is sustained by the fact that one of our leading yards came near securing an order recently for an ocean liner from abroad , its bid being less than ten per cent above that of a German competitor. Old builders have more orders than , for some years to come , they will be able to fill. Until I additional shipyards furnish more ves sels capable of satisfying a larger pro portion of the enormous demand of our export trade , the cost of American steamers will not be lowered. The following figures demonstrate the ex pansion of this export trade , which has resulted in an average increase of rates of fifty per cent for outward freight. Of the exports of domestic merchandise for the first nine months of the years 1898 , 1899 and 1900 , respectively , $29- 595,262 , $48,599,280 and $50,408,689 were carried in American steamers , and $707,451,899 , $718,128,868 , $819,786,677 in foreign steamers. "All measures which will foster the important industry of building ships deserve serious consideration. The title of the bill ( H. R. 64) ) which is now before congress claims that 'it will pro mote the commerce and increase the foreign trade of the United States , ' and that 'it will provide for the national de fense. ' For years to come it proposes to subsidize owners of certain ships to the extent of $9,000,000 each year. Merchant Marine. "As to all United States built ships , it is provided that one-fourth of the crew I , shall be American citizens , except in' cases where the United States consul or port officer judges that such proportion cannot 'reasonably bo obtained , ' and , as to subsidized vessels , that , if the secretary of the navy or of the treasury require , each vessel shall carry 'one American hoy' for each thousand tons , as apprentice , a reasonable sum to be paid for his services ; that subsidized vessels shall carry United States mails free of charge ; and that they may be taken by the United States 'as cruisers or transports , ' the United States paying the 'fair value * of the same. "I heartily approve of the avowed objects of this bill ; but I claim that , in its present shape , it will fail to accom plish them. The subsidies for which it provides would chiefly accrue , for some time to come , to American Hues which cross the Atlantic and Pacific for the purpose of carrying passengers and ex pensive freight. What the country really needs is carriage at reasonable rates for the immense yield of our agri culture , and for the bulky products of our mines ; if that were readily obtain able , exports could further be increased. Take , for instance , our coal , which is being exported to supply demands from almost every quarter of the globe. "The annual exports of coal and ( Joke from Great Britain aggregate nearly fiif.y million tons. Our exports , probably , will reach eight million'tons for 1900 , against five million for' ,1899. , We ex ported in the first nine months of 1900 , to Europe alone , some 500,000 tons of coal , against 19,816 tons during the same period in 1899. In 1900 , the cost of our coal was about $2 50 , and the freight to the Mediterranean ports , where we have begun to compete with Englandamounts to $5 in some cases $5.75 per ton. These freights have been especially high , because the demand for steamers to carry coal has been greater than the supply. If a sufficient number of ves sels could be found gradually to reduce the freight to normal rates , not only could we , in all probability , satisfy the urgent demand which prevails now , but the export of coal , which we can mine for less money than English operators , might permanently be extended to countries which heretofore have been supplied by England , and which Eng land now finds it difficult to supply , since the demand for English coal by English manufacturers has increased. The price for English coal has gradually advanced in consequence. Bounty on Coal. "If a bounty of twenty-five cents per ton were to be paid by the government on American coal exported in American bottoms to foreign countries where it does not conflict with commercial treaties ( except to Canada and Mexico ) , it would stimulate the exportation of this article , foster the building of colliers suit able for the trade by our shipyards , and bring about a reduction in rates of freight which might enable us to sell coal in England. It would take some time before such a bounty could involve the country in any considerable outlay. Long before the export could increase to one-half of the present British exports , the trade would become inde- pendent of assistance. Similar bounties have often been paid by older countries for similar objects. Whenever , during the eighteenth century , cereals went below cost of production , England assisted her farmers by an export bounty on wheat. The premiums which the northern countries of Continental Europe have , since 1892 , paid on exports of sugar , have resulted in a remarkable extension of beet-root cultivation. Although the United States , once their best customers , impose upon their sugar an additional duty equal to that bounty , the production has continued to increase. Now it is proposed to abolish these export bounties , since over-supply has begun to cause stagnation. Danger of Bounties. "But bounties are dangerous stimu lants , which must be cautiously ad ministered and carefully watched. They should be paid for services only as long as services are rendered , ceasing when their objects have been accomplished. "When subsidies which are not earned are paid for the carriage of mail , they lead to extravagance and defeat the objects for which ostensibly they were granted. Shortly after 1852 , when the subsidy to the old Collins Line of steam ers was increased from $885,000 to $850,000 annually , the line met with one disaster after another , the service became inefficient , and when the subsidy was withdrawn in 1858 the company failed. The experience of our Pacific Mail Ster.mship Company , which from 1865 to 1876 received an annual subsidy of $500,000 , was similar. The line lost in nine years nine steamers ; its managers became careless , so that they could find no means to build the additional steam ers necessary to obtain a further subsidy of $500,000 which was offered , in 1872 , for additional service. Shares in that company , which paid large dividends before 1865 , became almost worthless. "It was shown by congressional in quiry that the mo 'ey which should have been used for building Eteamers was wrongfully spent to influence legislation. If the directors had attended to their legitimate business , instead of lobbying in Washington and of speculating in Wall Street , they might have left a better reputation behind them. The few German and English lines which receive subsidies for carrying mails depend for their success , not on these comparatively small contributions , but on economical and prudent manage ment. Their tonnage forms but a small portion , less than five per cent , of the aggregate tonnage which , without assistance , carries on the foreign com merce of these nations. The Hamburg Line furnished an example of self-help when , three years ago , it celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its existence. Without ever having received a penny for subsidies , it had increased its fleet since 1847 from .a few sailing ships to 890,000 tons thus becoming the largest steamship company in the world. On the other hand , a French line of steam ers which received last year more than one million dollars , is not in a flourish ing condition. France is almost the only nation which pays large direct subsidies , similar to those contemplated by this bill , to its merchant marine ; and France is the only country whose mer chant marine has declined in the last ten years , as shown in the foregoing table. "