Ogden Daily Standard | 1902-05-24 | Page 3 | Japan's Merchant Fleet Section

JAPANS MERCHANT FLEET steamers and sailing vessels have been added to it in four years M dubail the french minister to japan has to hia government eliat the merchant vessels of alio country bogli fetcao and hailing are increasing wonderful rapidity in the past four years steamers of tona burden and bailing vessel of tons have been added to the bicet many of these vessels are small and many were purchased from foreign countries but M dubail says such rapid progress in shipping facilities has rarely been made in any country aud the increase in the number of large vessels is quite remarkable in 1890 japan had only one merchant steamer of more than tons while today it lias twenty one steamers of more than that capacity it remains to be seen how far this great addition to the commercial iteck le presents actual growth in japans business interests in alio past few years japan has appropriated largo sums to be given as bounties to encourage shipbuilding and also the purchase of ves iel i from foreign countries that have not been built more than five years in addition to this encouragement of shipbuilding large annual subsidies have been paid to special lines plying from japan to europe australia seattle and san francisco it is said however eliat many of the vessels built in japan are not eligible for a share of the bounties because they have not satisfied the requirements of the building law it is also asserted by british builders who of course arc unfriendly to japanese shipbuilding that the japanese have been tempted to build or buy vessels on alie mere chance of finding a modicum of employment for them somewhere or oilier the bounty paid i regulated by the tonnage of ahe vessel and the number of miles it runs during the year of course nagasaki with the coal mines near it is alie great center of japanese shipbuilding the waters of most southern port of japan have an historic interest for it was here alone that the emperor of japan for three centuries permitted europeans to exchange their commodities for the pro ducts of the islands chii privilege was conf meil wholly to alie dutch now that a large number ct treaty ports arc open to foreign trade the importance of yag asaki as a commercial center haa greatly declined but the town i compensated to some extent by the large shipbuilding interests which are centered there