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AOR LF UN UE much interested and alive to the issues as are the shipping interests of the Atlantic seaboard. With our American bot- toms carrying less than 10 per cent of our foreign commerce, no wonder there is an earnest demand that something should be done. No doubt, this commission, in its wisdom, and atter patiently hearing all sides and all classes of people who are vitally interested in this important subject, will be able to formulate a report to congress upon which a satisfactory line of action may be based. "The gentlemen of Boston, who wrote to all parts of the country on this subject, learned that out of a total of twenty- two who answered their questions on the Pacific coast, twenty- one favored action on this proposition, while one favored inac- tion. In other words, twenty-one declared for some kind of aid to our merchant marine, and 'one' opposed granting assist- ance. Out of a total of 703 answers from all parts of the country, it is reported that only twenty-nine were opposed to some kind of aid to shipping, six of these coming from the middle west and New England, respectively, nine from the south, seven from the Middle States and one from the Pacific coast. As to whether we shall extend aid through direct sub- sidies, the mail subsidy plan, export bounty, or rebates, re- mains to be seen. But, gentlemen, so long as we have a protective policy i in this country, thereby putting the wages of your artisans and workmen in advance of all the world, we must in some way, include our shipping under this system of protection to American industries, or capital will not invest in the doubtful or losing project of attempting to keep the flag of. our merchant marine alongside of our commerce in foreign ports. "That the spirit of home pride and patriotism may be in- jected into this project, it is urged by some that our policy shall be one of, in American ships, built by and owned by Americans, and manned by American sailors, who shall, at the same time, constitute our naval reserve. To sustain this policy, or whatever plan is agreed upon, congress, representing the people, will have to put its shoulder to the wheel. And congress, as a general thing, merely indicates which way the wind blows; therefore, the question is, 'What do the people want?" "We know that England, Germany and Japan, in particular, are aggressive in the policy of building up their merchant marine. It is estimated that the Canadian Pacific and the Japanese lines, operating on this North Pacific coast, have received approximately $1,000 a day for every working day in the year in the way of subsidies. We, of this port, know how _ French ships benefit by subsidy regulations of this nature. Our shippers have daily object lessons in the details of this great question, and, while they may not all agree on a line of action, still, all will admit that, under existing conditions, capital will not seek to invest in American shipping. They know that under the prevailing conditions, ships can be built in foreign yards from 25 to 40 per cent more cheaply than in this country, where the protective system insures higher wages for our labor and higher prices for materials. And in the final analysis, labor constitutes the bulk of the cost items in this line of industry, or, indeed, in most others. Where for- eign bottoms have been placed under the stars and stripes in our ports, we know that the American standard. of protection wages has followed. We know how it works. And, too, we know, or should realize, that if. we are to enable our ship owners and ship operators to readily pay our American sailors proportionately as high a scale of wages as other workmen receive in other lines of American industry which benefit by our system of protection, we must in turn extend to them some measure of the American protection. "We send immense quantities of our farm products anda large share of our manufactured goods into foreign ports, but undér the prevailing system it is generally more advantageous KR -E Vv I BA. for our shippers to hire foreign ships and foreign sailors to carry our foreign ocean freight. We send our American |oco- motive anywhere and everywhere, and our American ships practically nowhere, except to the boneyard. Regular lines of American ships would build up American institutions. Amer- ican merchants would follow these regular lines throughout the world, just as, under similar conditions, English, German and Japanese merchants follow the flag of their respective merchant marine. Then, too, it is comforting and satisfying to know that we own and control the boat that carries ys. Suppose we needed, in an emergency, a large number of trans- ports? What then? Suppose Japan had no ships available in her wat with Russia? She would be like a man overboard who could not swim. You all recall our own predicament a few years ago, when we had a few thousand troops, a mere handful, to transport over the sea. What a scramble there was! How appalling the condition if we were called upon to handle troops in large numbers in a really serious -con- flict! "In order to do business successfully in foreign ports, mer- chants must be able to contract in advance for the delivery of their goods. This can only be done satisfactorily by regu- larly established shipping lines. Shippers cannot depend on tramp steamers altogether. This is shown to be true on the heavy trade channels between England and Germany, to the Orient, where the regularly established liner does the busi- ness. 'The tramp sails when 'he has a load. The regular liner takes what the shipper: offers and sails on schedule time. And, as a rule, the freight charges in the regular liner are no greater than by the tramp that goes at its convenience, and not when the shipper demands." PAPER BY MR. J. S.. WHITEHOUSE. OBS of the ablest papers was read by J. S. Whitehouse, secretary of the Tacoma chamber of commerce, as follows: "In considering the present condition of the American mer- chant marine with a view of determining means to be adopted for its rehabilitation, we assume that you desire to know something of the present condition of commerce in the differ- ent localities you visit, as well as the prospective commerce of the different ports, and also to collect ideas and opinions from the different localities as to the means to be adopted to remedy the evils which now exist. Tacoma is the youngest of the maritime cities of the Pacific coast and of the United States. Some small shipments of lumber were made some twenty or thirty years ago, when this city was only a mill hamlet. Commerce, so called, practically began when, in 1887, the Northern Pacific railway was completed and Tacoma became a wheat shipping port. In that year there was shipped 1,195,000 bushels of wheat. This has now increased to 12,000,- ooo bu., and with the present large crop now being gathered in this atte we anticipate that the returns for the season now opened will show a shipment of 15,000,000 bu. This is ex- ceeded on the Pacific coast by San Francisco only. The ship- ments from San Francisco have been steadily decreasing for a number of years, for the reason that the wheat-growing land is becoming converted into fruit farms, and the production has long since passed its maximum.. Therefore. we. believe that before another twelve-month has passed Tacoma will occupy the first place as a wheat shipping port of the Pacific coast. "Tacoma made her first shipment of flour in 1890. There was shipped in that year 16,755 barrels, and this has steadily increased year by year until it now amounts to the enormous total of 1,310,000 barrels for the year 1903, of which amount 1,042,093 barrels was shipped foreign. This far exceeds the shipments of flour from any other Pacific coast port. In the year ending June 30, 1903, the district of Puget. Sound shipped in wheat, and flour reduced to wheat, 17,860,000 bush- els, standing fourth in the United States, being exceeded only