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February, 1910 another, but to trade on the golden rule, and I will touch on several points of the so-called golden rule, touched on by Mr. Reid. Mail Subvention Develops Powerful Steamers. The mail subvention developed great and powerful steamers on the Atlantic, at the same time it was a recognition by the government of the fact that the building of steamships should be developed by government patronage, and through the payment which it was ready to make it would bring upon the ocean a certain num- ber of steamships, and that the build- ing of steamships would mean con- tinuing orders to the shipbuilders of Great Britain. England at the same time gave large contracts for the building of war vessels, and that gave a warrant to the shipbuilders of Great Britain to put in the necessary plants for building steam engines, so that she kept alive the development of the English steamship, but at the same time she was whipped on the ocean in the sailing ship class, for while our ships up to that time cost more, and we had paid the men bet- ter wages, and I hope we will con- tinue to do so, because the first act of the Congress of the United States provided for a higher standard of living and higher wages for the sail- ors,--and in spite of the fact that our ships cost more and we met on terms of equality, we were able to compete and take the trade. To show the character of the competition, when the Cunard line found that the Col- lins line ships were put on the ocean, they naturally thought that it was going to pieces. It was just before the war, and at that time there was an intense feeling in the south against the building of ships by the government, as the southerners fear- ed that the building of these ships might add to the war strength of the country, and possibly" be used against them. The Cunard line charged £7 10s sterling per ton for freight. The mo- ment the Collins line got in shape to compete with the Cunard line they reduced the charge to £4 per ton, and that has been the result every time. Acting Adversely to American Inter- ests. Mr. Reid says too, that the insur- ance does not have anything to do with it. It is true we have not any American insurance companies at this time, but in 1870, when they wanted to give the last blow to American TAE MaRINE. REVIEW sailing ships, there was a revision of the ratings which would be accorded to these ships. It has always been found that the boards of trade, cham- bers of commerce, insurance com- panies, and rating companies have al- ways acted adversely to American shipping interests. We can _ prove this in a number of instances. Take the case a few years ago when the millers of Great Britain concluded they would like to-have a little more of the grinding of wheat in. Great Britain... Promptly, there was an order issued by the insurance companies to boards of trade, which had to do with that, which so dis- criminated against the shipping of wheat ground, that is flour, from the United States, that we are practically shipping no more flour abroad, but nearly all of the shipment is in the form of wheat. These. discrimina- tions, which seem on the surface to have no important effect, are the really important ones which make the tonnage all go in one direction. For five years, I have tried to find why certain tonnage left Pennsylvania. They had a very considerable com- merce in the beginning of the last century, bringing tea from the east in merchant ships owned in Pennsyl- vania, they harbored at Philadelphia, and were manned by Pennsylvanians. A. tax of one per cent was put on tea brought in Pennsylvania _ ships, and it promptly transferred that en- tire trade from Pennsylvania up to New York. It is not that we require some overwhelming and powerful aid, but we need just what Germany has given, that is, a preference for Amer- 'ican ships, just as the Germans give a preference for their own ships. The Situation in Germany. Now, Mr. Reid says that Germany buys their ships. .In 1881 when Bis- marck was in the height of his power he called attention to the loss sus- tained in maritime power; from the fact that Germany was not properly represented in the shipping of the world, and in 1885 they established lines throughout the world, and today through the preference which they give to the German built boats, re- bates on the railroad and a few sub- sidies,--but always placed where they will do the most good--they have brought about a. preference for the German ships in the direct trade, which is carrying the German flag all over the world. When they go out and try to get the indirect trade, it is harder to get, while with us the indirect trade is the easiest problem. Germany started the Cosmos line, 61 running from the eastern coast of South America, around to the west- ern coast, and that is a much favored line. She started a route from Bos- ton which is also very much favored by the Germans. As you have heard, the Oceanic Steamship Co. was forc- ed to withdraw from the field, they got only $2.00 a mile out of it, and a slow trip in the long distances of the Pacific is relatively faster than in the Atlantic, that is to say, if the Lusi- tania or Mauretania were to. start across the Pacific and keep up the same speed they make in crossing the Atlantic, they could only go one- third of the way across, on account of the deficiency of their coal supply, therefore, the running speeds on the Pacific are not equal to those on the Atlantic. Since the Oceanic Steam- ship Co. abandoned this line, all the other nations have started ships, and the Germans put their ships out in the same way. The Case of Norway. There is this wonderful example of a ship owning nation that does not build its own ships. Norway and ' Sweden have been the dumping ground for the wornout ships of other nations for years, and if you look at the ages of some of these ships, you will realize what it means. The ship which its owner finds can- not run under the regulations and requirements of the English laws, can run and can have an era of added usefulness under the Norwegian and Swedish flag, and consequently they are put there, very often, not by the Norwegians-and Swedes, but by Eng-. lish owners themselves, when the time has come when England will not have any more to do with them. I believe it was said that Norway does not help her ships--she does-- they have quite a large subsidy. English Freight Rates are High. I am perfectly satisfied that I am correct when [ make the statement that the English freight rates aver- age the highest rates that are paid in the world, and that being the case, and a cheap service is what the world is after, I do not see why that business cannot be secured by other boats. But there are certain prelim- inary things in the way. There is a discrimination in insurance and rat- ing, there is the help, whenever it is needed, by the British government for its ships, but. at present it does not need it very much. The one na- tion which is coming to the front is Germany, and since the Suez Canal