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Show TO HELP AMERICAN SHIPPING. The hearings by the Congressional Merchant Marino Commission will begin be-gin in New York City next Monday. This Commission comprises five Senators Sen-ators and five Representatives. Its duty Is to Investigate and report at the next pceslon of Congress as to what legislation," legisla-tion," if any, is desirable for tho devej-ppment devej-ppment of the American merchant marine ma-rine and commerce, and also what change should be made in existing laws relating to the treatment, comfort, and safety of seamen, in order to make more attractive the seafaring calling in the merchant service. It is said that the leading shipping interests in-terests will be represented at the sessions ses-sions of the commission. It Is expectedi also, that the great experts In ocean commerce .and shipping will also present pre-sent to the commission their views on present conditions and what Is desirable desira-ble in order to Impress them. The hearings hear-ings ought to open a rich fund of information in-formation on this great question to the American people. The need of doing something effectivo toward the reinstatement of the American Amer-ican merchant marine Is evident, and it Is urgent. When a great country like this eees Its ocean carrying trado under the control of foreign countries, save a mere fractional part of It, less than ten per cent, carried under Its own Hag, It Is certainly time to call for remedial measures of the most forceful character. charac-ter. Everything so far proposed has been howled down. Subsidies are robberies, Js the cry, though It is by means of subsidies that Great Britain built- up and retains so tremendous a proportion of the world's carrying trauq; ana ny means o; an upheard-of subsidy to the Cunard line, Great Britain Is now endeavoring to put that line In the forefront of the world's merchant fleets, Germany is making enormous strides In the ocean carrying trade, by the same means, and Franco hedges, her merchant marine about with secure protection. In the United States, however, we have a party which by Its solid opposition opposi-tion for forty years has1 succeeded In defeating every proposition to foster and encourage American shipbuilding and ocean carriage, it harks back constantly con-stantly to the days before the war, when America had a good merchant fieet, and insists that It can have It again, without any fostering care or protection at the hands of the Government. Govern-ment. This view takes no noto of changed conditions In the structure and the handling of ships, nor of the revolution revolu-tion In .qc-mmerclal methods. This neglect of American shipping, and demand that It must pay its own way or go down, goes on year after year, decade after decade, with the same stupid insistence, in-sistence, apd the.same decadence of thq American shjps. The let-ialone policy, which has not been allowed to prevail in any other matter, has wrought Its deadly work with our shipping, and the lesson of experience goes for nothing, as against a cut-and-drled theory. Possibly Pos-sibly something worth while may come of the commission's work. We certainly certain-ly hopo ho. it |
