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30 SHIP SUBSIDIES FAVORED. : ee -- By Walter J. Ballard. a fo es From the Protectionist for October the following opinions: in favor of building up our ocean merchant marine by a reasonable system of ship subsidies, are culled: ; Instead of wondering that there are 80) few American deep- | sea. ships left, ought we not rather wonder that there are so- ce for foreign commerce--just about one-third of the fleet f 1860. We have 155 deep-sea steamers of a tonnage of 398,000 rather less than the steam tonnage of Japan. Our ocean mail many.?..We now -have 873,000 tons. of. American. shipping regis-,.. + mene ete a t of 1891, passed in the face of bitter opposition, has kept alive. , a half-dozen American steam lines to foreign waters; and a few ~ steel sailing ships and a few hundred wooden square-riggers and» schooners flying the Yankee ensign are still fighting their brave way around the world., But this fleet shrinks and shrinks steadily. It fell off 6,000 tons last year, and for two. years not one. order for a deep-sea ship has been placed in any American ship yard. . Yur American ship owner in foreign' commerce must buy his .. hip in'this. country if he would sail it under his own: flag; he must have American officers; he must give his crew a larger and etter forecastle and better food and more of it than his foreign' ompetitors--all this -by act of congress. Yet this American ship owner, building his ship and officering, manning and maintaining it under protectionist conditions, is now, and for many years has been, compelled to meet under free trade conditions his foreign rival, who can build his ship with the cheapest labor in the world, man it with the cheapest labor, and provision it on a scale that to an American sailor would mean starvation--and not only this but the American ship owner must often compete with subsidies and bounties bestowed with a liberal hand--Winthrop L. Marvin. American shipping, it seems to me, like all other of our indus- tries and interests, should be brought under the great principle of protection, not indiscriminate, exorbitant and unreasonable, but such as William McKinley and 'his like would approve. If more than this is required to encourage and establish an American marine, it shows that natural conditions favor other treatment of Bae commerce. Let us try duties--H. L. Wade, Waterbury, 'Conn. -Not one contract for vessels for foreign trade made by Amer- ican ship yards this year. I am in favor of direct subsidies--Cal- vin Wells, Pittsburg. A duty should be put on all items to protect American work- men and merchants, and the government give all the aid that it possibly can by appropriations and subsidies and take full and good care of ali American ships and be loyal to the flag and the. United States----James H. Gay, president John Gay's Sons, manu- , facturers of carpets, Philadelphia. ; I believe a direct subsidy would have the effect of increasing the tonnage under the American flag more rapidly than a system of discriminating duties. That such a policy would be effective was clearly demonstrated three years ago, when it was expected that legislation along these lines would be enacted, by the large tonnage ordered from American ship builders for use in the for- eign trade--I'. W. Wood, president Maryland Steel .Co., Spar- row's Point, Md. a ee J have been a consistent Republican for years--since I was born. I believe in reasonable protection of our industries, and reasonable subsidies when needed, but especially trade treaties with those who will treat us fairly and reciprocally in the matter of duties on imports.--Dan F. Bradley, president, Iowa College, Grinnell, Ia. I have long been interested in the subject of the revival of. our shipping, which is in such a deplorable condition at present. | Our motto for the last three-quarters of a centtiry has been 'protection for products, free trade and special privileges, for the' ships. that catry them, with their natural results, as at present. The regula- tion of commerce is a perfectly proper act; in a letter to the state department several years since, I asked. why it could not be done, and was told in reply, "it would be against the conventions." The present status is a disgrace which should be removed as soon as possible. Anything that can be done in this line will have my earnest assistance, as it should have of every citizen who loves "Old Glory."--Allan D, Brown, president Norwich University, Northfield, Vt. I prefer a subsidy to any other system.--E. M. Wilson, presi- dent Western Iron & Steel Co., Lake View, Wash. A subsidy system should be applied. If this is the system of bats and owls (as claimed by the New York Evening Post) it is at least the one just indorsed by England as to the Cunard Line-- Curtis Guild, Jr., Boston. _ I favor subsidy system well defined within constitutional limits for all American ships carrying the American flag--I. H. Michenor, Bank of North America, Philadelphia. I believe that every constitutional:means should be. used to foster, protect and encourage our ship building industries, to the end that the United States may be in a position to recover what we have lost of our foreign carrying trade----Miles M. O'Brien, New York. : Subsidy as soon as possible. Fight with their own weapons alle better method can be devised--E. B. Kimball, Burlington, ic Por the upbuilding of our merchant. marine I decidedly prefer a subsidy system. I was a ship master for many years and have been all my life engaged in the shipping business. Though a free trader and a Democrat, I believe very strongly that as. the govern- ment has lent a hand to encourage other industry save shipping, $5 -. our discriminating duties with duties of their own. The-subsidy MARINE REVIEW AND MARINE RECORD. = Avie'. [Nov. * this, too, must be included in our economic policy, in general an unwise one, as I think, is to be made consistent. : Perhaps-if we had absolute free trade, our ship owners could take care of them- selves. But we do not have free trade. Cunard Line. journey to the Far East, and in all the harbors of the Orient | saw but six American ships, where they were once numbered by the hundreds. We have, rightly or wrongly, given the manufac- turers protection, and made the United States the greatest manu- facturing nation of the world. Let us see what: protection will do ' for our shipping. I know that discriminating duties served well in 'the old times but important treaties stand in the way of their re- enactment. Moreover, how about the articles that are imported -- duty free? Feeling as I do I cannot recommend taking these from the free list, even for the sake of encouraging American ship -- owners: Foreign governments might easily retaliate and match system is the system already adopted by our rivals. . They cannot - object if we take @ leaf out of their own book. We tried subsidies to mail lines successfully before the Civil War, and ought never to have abandoned them. You will find, I think, that the subsidy policy is strongly preferred by practical men in close touch. with modern shipping conditions----W. F'. Humphrey, treasurer Boston Towboat Co. : i cae ae If protection is the broad national principle that we claim it to be, it should be extended to all industries that are exposed to foreign competition. None is worse exposed than shipping in the foreign trade. All our great interests on land are year by year becoming more and more interested in trans-oceanic trade. We need vessels of our own, as much as we need traveling salesmen, to advance this trade. It is nonsense to charge that such a policy is inconsistent with protection and to contend that if we will only throw down the bars to trade there will be so much business for all vessels that our own unaided ships will get their share.' Na- tional protection was never intended to destroy or diminish for- eign trade. On the contrary, by developing and 'enriching a country it makes an increased foreign trade possible. This is demonstrated today to the complete discomfiture of the free trade theory.. As for vessels, they will become profitable enough to tempt American capital and enterprise when they are as well cared for by the government as the vessels of commercial rivals are cared for by their governments, or as our home industries are _ cared for by our government. It is not a question of open compe-, tition and no favors anywhere. It is a question of meeting foreign subsidizing and discrimination, which often amount to foreign. - aggression. It is a question of having commercial scouts, of main- ade. We build our vessels. with protected labor; we pay protectionist prices: Moreover, on _ the sea, however it may be ashore, all our competitors pursuea __ protective policy, as witness the new huge British subsidy to the ._ I remember as a boy and young man when the ports -of the world were crowded. with.American vessels. Our ships were the sea's aristocracy. I have just returned from a long -- ete taining a picket line, of being independent, and. our own history... .. shows that we can achieve all this on séa as well'as on land, . without invading the rights of any other nation and without giving any one just cause for offence--Albert Clarke, president United States Industrial Commission; secretary Home Market Club, Bos- ton; editor of the Protectionist. = PHILADELPHIA SHIPPING MATTERS. Philadelphia, Nov. 4.--William Steele & Sons have called for estimates on the construction of the new armor plant for the Midvale Steel Co. at Nicetown, this city. The plans call for a building, 196:by 336 ft., to be of structural steel, with sides of corrugated iron and foundations of concrete, brick and stone. 'The building will be of various heights, ranging from 38 to 96 ft. 'There will be two wings, each 4o ft. in height, on either side of the main building. The main span will support a runway for a 150-ton electric crane and also a 75-ton electric crane. In both wings there will be 20-ton cranes and another in the extreme western end of the building. Bids are due Nov. 9 andthe cost of the work is estimated at $600,000. . The cost, including the in- stallation of all the necessary equipment, is estimated at about $2,000,000. It will take about fifteen months to erect these ,works. They will be close to the present forge shops and it is said that in due time 55 acres of land will be covered by the company's various buildings and 6,000 men will be given employment. The Midvale company was started in 1860 and has steadily forged ahead. In the Spanish war it broke all records in manufacturing ordnance steel for the government. Officials of the company ex- press themselves as confident of being able to make armor plate that will meet all government requirements. The board of di- rectors of the company is composed of Charles J. Harragh, the president; James F. Sullivan, vice-president; H. M. Diemer, sec- retary, and John C. Dessolet, treasurer. ..These four manage the business of the company, and with the exception. of Mr. Sullivan, none of the men are identified with any other business. There are, it 1s stated, not more than fifteen stockholders. League island will:be the future general rendezvous of the marine corps," asserted Admiral Sigsbee, commandment of the yards last week, referring to General Heywood's annual report, in which that 'official advocated such plan. "It will not only be the marine corps center," said the admiral, "but it will be one of the greatest naval centers of the world. We have room here' to expand. The yard has progressed marvelously during its short life.and: there is no' saying what its future will be" Colonel Cochrane, commandment_of marines, heartily coincided with Ad- '