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Show SHIPS AND SHIPPING. The Hon. Richard-Kerens, while here, told a press representative that the late Senator Hanna was greatly interested In the rehabilitation of the merchant marine of this country, and then, as reported, said: "Fifty or sixty years ago our . country controlled a large percentage of the carrying carry-ing business of the sea." He then explained that Senator Hanna thought it most important to the nation that the same condition should be restored. A great many people of this latter generation cannot understand why, after tho United States had acquired more tonnage on the sea than any other power, if allowed Itself to fall so far behind in tho world's carrying trade. The facts are very simple. Up to the time that steamships became a success, there was no trouble. The United States could build ships cheaper than foreign countries; those ships employed but few men, comparatively speaking, and our flag was everywhere. every-where. In the '40s the Cunard Company put on its steamship line between Liverpool and Boston, and later to New York. It was subsidized by the British government. Then the Collins American Company was inaugurated, and, despite the loss of two fine ships, held Its own until the subsidy was taken away in Buchanan's administration, leaving the Cunarders without a rival. An old law gave the coasting trade between American ports of American-built ships. When there was a rush of 300,000 people to California, the supplying of that host caused the building up of the great fleet of clipper and half-clipper ships wihch were so famous In the '50s, and which caused the aggregate ag-gregate ocean tonnage of the United States to exceed ex-ceed that of any other nation. Then came the Invention In-vention of the compound marine engine, which reduced re-duced the consumption of fuel for steamships 47 per cent (which Invention was rejected by our naval engineers but was accepted by the British) ; the perfection of the screw propeller; the substitution substi-tution of iron for wooden ships, and finally our great civil war, which caused the transfer of our "merchant ships to other flags. While the war raged Great Britain established steam lines with all the important ports of the world. After the close of the war it was not long until the Democrats Demo-crats had control of the House of Representatives, and they would do nothing to help build up either the navy or the merchant marine. The old navy left after the war was soon obsolete, and it ran fl down so low that our government had to bear a fl direct snub from Spain, and when our country yH sympathized with Peru in her war with Chili, H Chili made a covert threat that she would send an H ironclad up and bombard San Francisco, which fl she could have done. fl At last, in the Arthur administration, money H enough was appropriated to build three or four H small cruisers, which were on the ways when Mr. BAfl Cleveland became President. With the Demo- H cratic administration, Congress ordered the build- WMW ing of two battleships and several cruisers, and MWM the beginning of the creation of a navy was be- MWM gun; also some contracts for carrying ocean mails MWM In American steamers were made. MWM But anything like the adoption of the means '' JWm through which Great Britain, Germany and France vAfl have been enabled to multiply their merchant MWM ships has been steadily fought with the cry that yffl it means a ship trust. As a result American ships H are confined to the coast trade. Now, In Galves- JWt ton, New Orleans, even New York, there are flf- B teen foreign flags floating over foreign ships to WMM one American. A gentleman told the writer. of B this last week that he was in Galveston a year ago. fl There were twenty-three great ships there loading B and unloading, but that only two American flags VgfJ were in evidence. He went over to Vera Cruz, fl and there the dlscrepency was still greater. Tho ' jfl result Is that the freight on the tremendous vol- B ume of products which our country sends away fl and purchases from abroad are paid to foreign B shipowners. Not only is the money sent away, B but thousands of American workingmen who fl should be. busy building and repairing ships are Wm forced into other avocations. Will the country VB ever get a little sense and demand.a change? H |