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Show MORGAN WORRIES ENGLAND. It is not strange that the English people are worried wor-ried over the purchase of British steam lines by J. Pierpont Morgan, because for many years England Eng-land has looked upon her war navy as her chief defense and upon her merchant marine as the chief defense of her trade. In 1860 the merchant marine of the United States exceeded that of Great Britain. The California trade had made this possible. But it was for only a short time. The great Civil war in our country came on; the privateers of the Confederacy Con-federacy were sent out; the American ships that did not pass under foreign flags were burned, and "Britania ruled the wave" once more. There were other changes. The compound marine engine was an American invention, but had been turned down by our naval engineers. It was accepted ac-cepted and utilized in England. Some experiments established the superiority over wood of iron ships; the screw propeller was improved and about the first notice of the advance in ship building was given us by the performances of the sharp and swift iron blockade runners sent out by British merchants. In the meantime improvements were being made on the boilers of steamships until the pressure rose from fourteen pounds to the inch to seventy-five pounds. When our war closed England had established subsidized steam lines to all the important ports of the world and was doing the bulk of the world's foreign ocean carrying trade. She was preaching free trade and free ships and beguiling the world. In our own Congress there was a sullen company that prevented our country from adopting any lucid plan to improve our merchant marine. France first caught on England's plan of subsidizing her steam lines and Germany followed after the Franco-German Franco-German war, and they have wrested much trade from England. But now J. Pierpont Morgan is using England's old argument: "It is a matter of money merely," he says; "I want your ships so badly that I will pay prices for them which the owners dare not refuse. I have railroads to supply freight for the ships, railroads to move the passengers pas-sengers and freight when they reach American ports; I can run ships cheaper than you possibly can; sell me your ships or I will build ships and shut you out of all profits for your lines." The chickens are coming home to roost with a vengeance. The losses of the Boer war have been something immense, but they do not hurt English men half as much as to see the flag lowered on Bri ' ifl their beautiful great ships and the flag of tho HI IfB United States being run up at their peaks. Eml 1 l9 They look upon it as if not a sign of national 1 if fl decay, at least a sign that another power against j ft, ufl which they cannot successfully compete has ap- jj jp ),(ffl peared, which is a frightful menace to British f!rf fiktl prestige, trade and commercial power. I E ) jffl |