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24 | | MARINE REVIEW. [July 17 pending upon reciprocity, which is simply non-protection at the custom house, but all are applying footing-in-fact protections, making it 1m- possible for a nation not resorting to these "aids" or instrumentalities, or to regulations of trade, to hold its own in competition. : In the Protectionist magazine for February, 1902, the writer demon- strated that the constitution of the United States provided congress with power to regulate commerce in the interest of navigation, but did not pro- vide authority to tax the country for subsidy support to the freighting marine. The logic of our situation is, therefore, to return to our early policy under the power of the constitution, but if we adhere to reciprocity this cannot be done. Citizens preferring "aid" from the treasury to trade regulations tell us we must stick to reciprocity. This we can do, but the constitution bars the "aid." Reciprocity is perfectly useless to us, the constitutional course is the only one, if we want an adequate marine. | It has been a fine argument for subsidy support that "treaties stand in the way" of resuming our early policy. We have shown already that one-fourth of the countries with which we made maritime reciprocity » agreements, for a limited time, have freed themselves of their obligations in a legal manner. We were not offended. Every nation profiting from our diplomatic bonds would doubtless be pleased with their continuance, but our first duty is to the interest of our own people. Under our consti- tution and under our practice the power of congress to supersede treaties and conventions by enactments is indisputable. That our true policy is the regulation of our commerce is beyond question. We have but two treaties in which reciprocity is not limited by time--those with Liberia and Argentina. Last year only one sail vessel of the Argentina flag entered one of our ports and paid $17.97 in tonnage tax, and no vessel of the Liberian flag entered. Under the discriminating duties bill, which I have.drawn for the consideration of congress, vessels coming from their:own countries, with their own country's productions, would not pay such duty. This provision will avoid friction with many countries, and much reduce it with all countries. Our conventions have all exceeded their time and may all be terminated under their own pro- visions in one year. We once had a convention for commercial reci- procity.with Canada. We terminated it lawfully. No difficulty followed. Be it remembered, we were twenty-six years without' a single agreement . for maritime reciprocity. In that time we produced our early marine, the equal of any in the world. We agreed with Great Britain not to exercise the power of congress for the regulation of our commerce, and consequently our shipping in the foreign trade has been swept away. If we will not now annul this and like agreements and reverse our policy, as the world can see, we must love subordination and subservience to British power. IMPROBABILITY OF RETALIATION. It has been objected that retaliation awaits us the moment we take proper means to regain our place at sea; that subsidies would be tolera-~ ted, but regulations of commerce would be resented. While this has been used as an argument for government aid, its force lies chiefly in the cow- ardice from which it springs. This argument has many times been urged against the enactment of high tariff rates, but has never been effective in fixing low rates. It should have no influence whatever in respect to ship- ping. There is no nation that can afford to-say to the United States: "Your constitution authorizes congress to regulate foreign commerce, so as to encourage the possession of an American marine, but if this power shall be exercised we will retaliate and resist your measures with all our might." In what would justification be.found? Look out upon the sea. Are there any flags there, but our own, unprotected? Has not every nation, whose government or people think its marine in need of encour- agement, taken such steps as it is believed will secure its continuance on the ocean? The nations now paying bounties will one day give them up-- probably in the first war which they have, if their taxpayers do not sooner object. When this happens, regulations of trade will follow. But England--what of England? Will she ever consent to our encouragement of navigation by proper means? If she must she will. The relations of the two nations have greatly changed. We now feed England. She must continue her food dependence. She must have our cotton also, She may bluster, but she will restrain the "dogs of war." Why should England longer strive to curb and cramp American shipping power? She knows that if we are true to ourselves she cannot. Our developed resources have made our friendship too valuable to be rejected. Why should England, having a most effective system of ship protection, complain of us for a few regulations in the interest of our own marine? Before attacking us, will she not consider if she has the justification? Let us recapitulate her system: 1. An efficient steamy mail subsidy policy, for intercourse with the world in British ships. nia 2. A naval reserve subventicn policy in support of steam lines for the engrossment of British commerce with the United States. 3. Lloyds discriminative ship inspection, prejudicial to foreign ves- sels, particularly if foreign built. British insurance discrimination on hulls and cargoes, thus com- pelling the employment of British ships. '._§. Lloyds discriminative loading rules enforced by the board of trade--lightest loading to foreign ships not built by Lloyds rules, though they may be stronger. _ 6. A discriminative chartering policy observed by merchants and shippers--only British ships taken for' standard, foreign flags having. to accept lower rates of freight and pay higher insurance on cargo--in disre- gard of the rights of foreign nations under reciprocity conventions for "free freighting." _%. Discriminative "exchange" rules requiring certain cargoes to be British insured to be "regular" in sales, thus giving the control of char- ters to British underwriters, which is about the same thing as refusing charters to foreign, but particularly American ships. 8. Trade custom--to pay higher prices in British markets for car- goes by British ships. : 9. Adverse co-operation of British steamship and American railroad interests--the latter sometimes carrying at cost--the former intent on engrossing the carriage to England. 10. Rings and combinations of ship Owners, merchants and under- writers, linked in mutual self-interest to control the trade and transporta- tion of the United States with the world. A part of their plan is to mis- lead our congress into subsidy legislation as the best--for them. ee of protective expedients it appears that England has wee ws ort any nation ambitious to oe the sea. Who then will say the time for self-defence has not yet come: We find our- selves under a false policy, imposed by foreign influence, fe has operated to create dependency in navigation. Shall this condition be continued? In the day of our weakness we were imposed upon. To continue our false policy is to impose upon ourselves. Our fathers broke ey olen yoke. Can we be worthy of them, and perpetuate our subordination? We are able at any time to break our fetters off and cast them away. We can build and sail shipping for ourselves and conduct our own commerce. We have not to beg permission of any nation that American ships may sail the ocean, nor have we to tax our people to buy our way into any com. mercial mart. We have only to provide by law that ships of our flag shall enjoy their right--the preference in carrying American commerce, and back up our law by the sentiment of the American people. SHIP YARD NOTES. The wooden ship building industry at Bath, Me., continues active. At the yard of William Rogers a four-masted schooner building for Capt. J. A. Slocum of New Bedford has sixteen frames up. At the Kelley-Spear Co.'s yard the Maine Central steamer launched in May patty io ing touches preparatory to going into commission. e four-maste sectors building for Charles H. Hirsch & Co. of New York is half planked, has her decks laid and is expected to be completed in about a month. The barge for Hudson Bros., Norfolk, Va., has been started. She will be 200 ft. ft. long, 86 ft. beam and 17 ft. 6 in. deep. The 2,000- ton four-masted schooner Robert H. Stevenson, building for Capt. J. E. Higbee of Boston is one-half framed and is expected to be completed in September. The keel is laid for a 225-ft. barge for the Baltimore & Bos- ton Barge Co. The three-masted schooner for Capt. M. D. McKeown will be launched on Thursday of this week. The keel has been laid for the four-masted schooner building for Capt. C. A. Davis of Somerset, Mass. On the steamer Ransom B. Fuller the machinists and joiners are rapidly finishing their work and when completed the Eastern Steamship Co. will have a valuable addition to its fleet. At the yard of Arthur Sewall & Co., Bath, the large steel oil-carrying barge for the Standard Oil Co. is about two-thirds completed and is expected ito be put overboard in about two months. The keel has been laid and a few frames placed in position on a five-masted steel schooner building for the Sewalls. At the Bath Iron Works the keel has been laid for the big steel oil barge building for the J. M. Guffey Petroleum Co. of Pittsburgh. On the battleship Georgia the work of framing is nearly completed. The work of plating has begun. A New York dispatch says that there has rarely ever been a greater rush of work at the New York ship yards than at the present time. At the yard of the John N. Robins Co., Erie basin, the British Queen is being rebuilt. This steamer was almost totally destroyed in the Hoboken fire last spring, and after being sunk in Gowanus bay was floated and towed to her present berth. While her topsides, decks, 'tween decks, and in fact all but the bottom below the bilges were burned, it was decidied to rebuild her and turn her into an oil carrier. She was purchased for a small sum by the Saginaw Steamship Co., which operates several vessels on the Pacific coast. The wrecked steamships Bellaggio of the Sloman line and the Indian of the. Windsor line, are both in dry dock with a large force of men working on their bottoms. At the new ship yard, established by the McNeills at Crane's dry dock, Erie basin, the big steel ship Victor is being repaired, and will not be out of the dock for nearly a month. At the yard of the Morse Iron Works & Dry Dock Co. at the foot of Fifty-seventh street, there are said to be about 2,500 mechanics at work, chiefly engaged in transforming the four lake-built steamships, Northeastern, Northwest- ern, Northman and Northtown, into oil tanks for the Texas oil trade. When the proposed 16,000-ton battleship is started at the navy yard there will be an increased demand for ship builders, much of which will have to come from outside yards as the New York yards are as busy as they can be and some of them have eighteen months of work ahead. One effect of the present low dockage rates is that while these do not begin to pay the operating expenses of the dry docks, they are bringing a vast amount of repair work to New York from all over the Atlantic coast. _ Mr. John W. Dickie will build a ferry in his new ship yard at Alameda Point. Cal., for the Sausalito ferry. The engines and boilers will be sup- plied by the Risdon Iron Works. The new ferry will be 251 ft. long, 38 ft. beam and will cost $200,000. The United Engineering Works of San Francisco will build a steel steamer in its Oakland yard for Kerchoff & Cuzner of San Francisco. She will be christened San Gabriel and will be of the following dimensions: Length, 165 ft.; beam, 33: ft.; depth, 13 ft. _ The Higgins Oil & Fuel Co. of Beaumont, Tex., is having two large oil-carrying barges built at the Weaver Ship Yard, Orange, Tex. One barge is 156 ft. over all, 31 ft. beam and 11 ft. depth of hold. The second barge measures 185 ft. over all, 33 ft. beam and 15 ft. depth of hold. The government is slow in awarding medals for acts of heroism at sea, but not without reason for its thorough methods. Those who are deserving of medals under the law usually get them after all the govern- ment requirements have been complied with. The loss of the Lake Michi- gan Car Ferry Transportation Co.'s ferries 3 and 4 on Lake Erie in one of the severe storms of November last will be remembered by readers of the Review, who will also recall the rescue of the crews through the brave efforts of Capt. Frederick Johnson, who was in command of the tug Fisher, which had the barges in tow. Capt. Johnson, who resides in South Chicago, only recently received a medal which was due him from the treasury department. It is a little late now to talk of the loss of these ferries, but it would seem that all such craft should be fitted with steam towing machines and the strong wire cables that go with these machines. _ If we mistake not, the two larger car ferries of this fleet, Nos. 1 and 2, are fitted with Shaw & Spiegle towing machines, but the vessels that were lost were not so fitted, , President A. J. Cassatt of the Pennsylvania railroad system is au- thority for the statement that the Pennsylvania management will spend $100,000,000 in extensions and improvements within the next three years. oe eras the tunnel under the North river from Jersey City into New ork. .