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382 The Extinction of Our Merchant Marine (From the Scientific American.) We seem to be within measurable dis- tance of the time when we shall have to substitute the word "extinction" for "decline" in speaking of our once fam- ous merchant marine, which, in the earlier half of the last century, held a more commanding lead among the fleets of the world than is held today by the shipping of Great Britain. In view of the usually quick response of the American people to any appeal which touches their national pride, the general apathy with regard to the disappearance of our ships from the high seas is a problem for which it is impossible to find an adequate solution. With a reiteration which would be- come tiresome were not the issues at stake so enormous, it has been proved to a demonstration that the economic conditions in the United States affecting the construction and operation of ocean- going steamships are such, that the only possible way to resuscitate our mer- chant marine and carry it along until it has attained a sufficiently lusty growth to hold its own in competition with the fleets of the world is for the govern- ment to step in and afford some meas- tres. of. relief, So frequently has the Scientific Amer- ican laid before the public the unan- swerable arguments in favor of govern- ment assistance that we hesitate to re- peat them; but the facts recently given in the investigation before a_ special house committee by A. H. Bull, of New York, are so convincing that we feel constrained to repeat them in these col- umns, Mr. Bull is the owner of two freight steamships of the same tonnage, one of which sails under the American flag and the other under the British flag. In order to make his comparison the more complete, the witness put in evidence data which he had gathered from the German naval records regarding the expenses of a similar steamship sailing under the German flag. The total wages of the crew on the American ship per month are $1,470; on the British ship, $897.04; and on the German ship, $483.82. The pay of the American captain is $175; of the British captain, $100, and of the German captain, $79.75 per month. The American chief engineer receives $150 per month, the British chief engineer, $97.20, and the German chief engineer, $79.75. This difference in wages is surely a sufficient handicap in itself; but Mr. THE Marine REVIEW Bull states that the higher quality of the food and outfit called for by the United States government places the American owner at a further disadvan- tage, the increased expense in this direc- tion being as great as the increased cost of wages. It should be added, however, that the German captain receives a cer- tain percentage of the gross receipts from freight, which makes the compen- sation of the German and British cap- tains approximately equal. Returning to the comparison of the two identical ships owned by Mr. Bull and sailing, one under the American and the other under the British flag, the American ship is under the further handicap that the law requires her to ship seven more men than the British ship. Furthermore, she is never per- mitted to leave port without a full complement of officers and men, while the British ship may sail short-handed and pick up the balance of her crew at. the different ports of call. Surely the disabilities mentioned above are sufficient in themselves to prove how impossible it is for sea-going ships flying the American flag to compete suc- cessfully against the two great mari- time nations, Great Britain and Ger- many, but it is a fact that before the costs of operation come into play, and at the very time that an American-built ship casts off her moorings for her first deep sea voyage, she is already labor- ing under a heavy handicap represented by the increased cost of construction. For even in our best equipped shipyards the high cost of labor so far offsets our cheap steel that the American-built ship costs more, ton for ton, than does one built in foreign yards. Nor is it at all to the point to quote the case of the Argentine battleships, the contracts for which were secured by American build- ers largely because they«were able to underbid foreign ship yards. The firms which are building these two battleships are in a combine which includes one of the largest steel and armor manufac- turing plants in this country, and the builders consequently did not have to figure on the heavy royalties on armor, and the usual profits on the structural and plate steel used in the construction of the hull. An American traveler, happening to be in Singapore, and observing the to- tal absence of the American flag from thdt busy haven, had the curiosity to investigate the records of the port and ascertain the true conditions. He found that out of over 20,000 vessels that had cleared during a given period from Singapore, only a single ship flew the American. flag. ri What are we going to do' about it?-- September, 1910 Humor in Business While the following is not an en- gineering item, it certainly is worthy of publication anywhere as a fine bit of humor. According to the American Pressman, a Cincinnati commission house had sold a bill of goods to a new cus- tomer in the interior of Kentucky, who was not rated in the commercial re- ports. The goods went C. O. D., and a typewritten letter advising the country merchant that the goods had been sent, was mailed to him. The merchant acknowledged the receipt of the letter and raised some highly original . objec- tions to the business methods of the commission house. He wrote as fol- lows: "Jentlemen--I want you to understand sur that I aim't no dam fool when I bort that Bill from that read Headed Agent of yores he tole me that you sent him all the way from cyncynita to git that order. I thot he was lying and 1 bort all my goods from the jersey and he told me he sole the jersey. now you writes me a printed letter and sez if i send you the munney you will send me the goods. i recon you will most enny durn fool ud do that. i would not mind a Bit sending in the munney and risk gittin the goods but when 1 recollect how you and yor eagent done me i refuse to do it if you would of treted me right and rit me letters in ritin and not of sent me that newspeper printed letter like I wuz a dam fool and could not read ritin i would a tuck the goods and pade the munny. now 1 dont wont no more of yore printed let- ters i wont stan sich from no house i am fifty six year ole the last of next comin jinuwary and the fust man has got to put my: back on the ground yit. i may not have as much larnin in gram- ma as you got but i can whup you or enny uthr dam yanky that wants to try riting me a printed letter." President William Livingstone, of the Lake Carriers' Association, fre- turned from a five weeks' tour in Europe on Aug. 18. PROPOSALS FOR DREDGING --U. S. EN- gineer office 813 Prospect: Ave.; S. E., Cleve- land, Ohio, September 8, 1910. Sealed propos- als for dredging Toledo harbor, Ohio, will be re- ceived at this office until. 10 o'clock, A. M., October 8, 1910, and then publicly onened. In- formation on application. John Millis, Col., Engrs. PROPOSALS FOR CONSTRUCTING Breakwater.--U. S. Engineer Office, 813 Pros- pect Ave., S. E:, Cleveland, Ohio, September 8; L910. Sealed proposals for constructing breakwater at Fairport, Ohio, will be received at this office until 10 o'clock, A. M., October 8, 1910, and then publicly opened. Informa- tion on application. John Millis, Col.,) Engrs. PROPOSALS FOR REPAIRING BREAK- water.--United States Engineer office, 813 Pros- pect avenue S. E., Cleveland, O., Sept. 9. 1910. Sealed proposals for repairing breakwater at Cleveland harbor, O.. will be received at this omeGe: until +10: e.clock a.. am... Oot: 15: 1910, and then publicly opened. Information on application. John Millis. Colonel Engineers. SS as ao idl ali