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THE MARINE RECORD. 7 THE PIONEER WESTERN OCEAN STEAMSHIP SAVANNAH. (From the American Shipbuilder.) pe Seay = One morning in the month of June, 1819, there was considerable stir aboard the warships of the British fleet at anchor off the City of Cork, near the entrance of the ‘English Channel, occasioned by the cry, “‘ship afire,” quite a volume of smoke having been observed on the horizon not far out. The commander of the fleet immediately or- dered that relief be despatched and two cutters were soon under way. Imagine the surprise when the ship was reached she was found to be safe and sound, but was evi- ‘dently some new-fangled craft that had come from ‘“‘the other side.”” Thus was announced the approach of the first steamship to cross the Atlantic, as this proved to ‘be the steamship Savannah, which had steamed down the Savannah River just 22 days before. There is now no “question as to the historical fact that the Savannah was really the first steamship to cross the Atlantic from either side. The Savannah was built by the merchants of Sa- _vannah, Ga., at Corlears Slip in the East River, New -York, and launched early in 1810. She sailed from that port in March, making the run to Savannah in six days. The Savannah left Savannah, Ga., on May 20, 1819, in command of Capt. Moses Rodgers. She crossed the At- town of about 8,00 inhabitants on the South Atlantic coast. The original painting of this steamship can be seen among the collections of the Georgia Historical Society at Savannah. a THE REHABILITATION OF OUR MERCHANT MARINE. (Communicated.) Philadelphia, March 8, 1897. Editor, The Marine Record: I reply with pleasure to your favor of the 5th instant about the present effort to evolve some legislative method under which the merchant marine of the United States on the oceans may be protected from annihilation and, it is hoped, restored to something of its old time importance. The Lake Carriers’ Association, acting through its com- mittee on legislation, recently designated Messrs. Harvey D. Goulder, Chas. H. Keep and myself to represent the association in membership of a ‘Committee for the Res- toration of the American Merchant Marine,’ of which Mr. Clement A. Griscom, president of the ‘‘American Line,” is the able chairman. This committee includes in its membership representatives of the leading shipbuilding industries and of the merchant marine of the Great Lakes employing cheap labor can devote their surplus energies to the creation of merchant vessels on terms with which our shipyards cannot at present compete. Foreign yes- sel owners can procure certain of their supplies and their officers and crews for less money than is possible with us. All of this means just one of two things. Either the United States must be content to witness the continued decadence of its merchant marine on the oceans, until our entire foreign carrying business is absorbed by Brit- ish, German, Japanese and other foreign vessels, or it must by appropriate legislation come to the aid of those will- ing, if properly encouraged, to devote their capital and effort to the creation and operation of ocean-going Amer- ican vessels. The only possible aid our government can offer to induce its citizens to interest themselves in ocean- going steam or sail vessels, is such a sum from the na- tional revenues, whether given directly or indirectly, as will enable our citizens to have a business opportunity to operate with profit vessels built in our country and flying our flag, in competition with vessels of other nations. These are the facts. If they are recognized and ac- cepted as such, and if we decide that the United States cannot afford to see its merchant marine and flag driven THE SAVANNAH, A PIONEER TRANSATLANTIC AUXILIARY STEAMER, 1819. dane g | antic, arriving in Liverpool in 22 days, 18 days of which were under steam. Pitch pine was the fuel, coal not hav- ing come into use; at Liverpool the steamer attracted much wonder and curious attention; thence she proceeded to Copenhagen, to Stockholm and to St. Petersburg, where she was visited by the Czar. At every port people flocked by thousands to see her and the papers of the day were filled with descriptions of what was, at that time, considered a. wonderful feat of marine construction. illustration on this page, made from an original painting, shows a good picture of the Savannah. She was a three- .masted craft, square-rigged, and with two unwieldy pad- dle wheels amidships. The single funnel is very tall, reaching almost to the tops. clusion that the latter must have been far superior to the former as a means of locomotion and that the engines were supplied for auxiliary purposes rather than for effect- ing a revolution in marine propulsion. The honor of the successful accomplishment of this undertaking is due en- tirely to the enterprise, energy and capital of the mer- ‘chants of the city of Savannah, Ga. It is all the more to their credit when it is considered that Savannah at that time, nearly 80 years ago, was merely a small seaport The Judging by the paddle wheels as compared with the sails, one is led to the con- and on the Atlantic and Pacific oceans coastwise and foreign. It has entered upon a work of careful investi- gation and hopes to unite on some policy that it can recommend as a proper subject for national legislation. It is too early to express an intelligent opinion as to what this policy should be. There are certain facts, how- ever, as to which there is little room for difference of opinion, and these facts it would be well to keep in mind. There is no doubt about the decadence of the Ameri- can Merchant Marine on the oceans. The United States was at one time an important factor in ocean commerce; at present it is of little importance and is steadily losing ground. Its vessels and its flag are rarely seen on the oceans. There is no doubt this decadence of the American mercantile marine is the direct result of the unprofitable character to investors of the ownership and operation of ocean vessels under the American flag and laws. For various reasons other nations, notably Great Britain, ow- ing to mail subsidies, naval and other foreign policies, sustain shipyards and create and operate vessels under conditions with which our people, unaided by legislation, cannot compete. Foreign capital seeks investment on low rates of interest not yet obtainable in this country. For- eign shipyards sustained by governmental naval work and from the oceans by any competitors for any cause, then it only remains to determine under what legislative meth- od the needed inducements shall be presented to our citi- zens to attract their capital and effort towards the owner- ship and operation of American ocean-going vessels, steam and sail. There are several, but after all not very many, methods under which this needed legislative en- couragement can be gained. One of these methods must be better than any of the others. The present investiga- tion should be directed to an endeavor to determine which is the best of the methods. In these days a commercial policy to encourage the creation and development of any industry must be definite and reasonably permanent. Cap- ital and effort turn to the opportunities for a moderate and certain return as the result of careful and efficient man- agement rather than to the speculative ventures that were necessary in former times when telegraphs, cables, tele- phones, steam vessels and railroads were unknown. The legislation that may be enacted must conform to the busi- ness customs and requirements of to-day and not to those of a past generation in order that it may merit success. Just what form of legislation is needed is as yet an open question. It should be developed as the result of an in- telligent investigation. All interested in the well-being of our shipbuilding industries and merchant marine should aid in the good work. FRANK J. FIRTH.