Salt Lake Tribune | 1901-02-20 | Page 4 | Old-Time Ship Subsidies

I OLDTIME SHIP SUBSIDIES i The opponents of ship subsidies love to represent how splendid was our merchant marine fifty years ago with no subsidies I is useless apparently to explain that the oceancarrying requirements re-quirements have all changed that tho qul eirents sail ship is no longer looked to a a bearer of valuable freight or the United States mails But something happened about fortythrco or four years ago which may be cited In the early forties an American line of steamers was put on to ply between New York S and Llverpool and the Government agreed to pay the line a fair compensation compen-sation for carrying the malls The line wag the Collins line and it was a sueS sue-S cessful rival of the Cunafcl line Well after James Buchanan was elected President the same spirit ruled that now rules the Democratic party and press The CunardcrS would carry the mails for less money than the Collins line could for the Cun rd rs were then and ever since have been heavily sub Idizcd and so the subsidy was withdrawn with-drawn from the Collins company At Just about the same time the subsidy to the Cunafders was increased The result was that the Collins steamers were withdrawn and the ships were sold for what they would bring One f S of them the Adriatic was the fn stand st-and swiftest ship that had ever up to that date ben b l lt Cornelius Van tlerbilt withdrew his line to Havre gaVe his ship the Vanderbilt which S he had built to outrun the Adriatic S and the Cunardei Persia to the Government Gov-ernment put the others in the California fornia line and turned to railroading We refor to the case merely to show that fortyseven or eight years ago It Q Impossible to keel unsubsldlzed S steamers on the sea in the foreign trade