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December, 1909 here as built as abroad. If ships cheap here as there they would be so bulit, and the fact that they are built at all indicates that ther cost renders them unprofit- able in competition with foreign ves- sels. If other nations did none of the things that they so long have done and continue to do for the encourages ment and maintenance of their mer- chant shipping, the difference in cost ef construction, operation, etc. 'be- tween American and foreign built vessels would alone suffice to make it unprofitable and hence unattractive to Americans to invest in or build ships in the United States for the foreign trade; but when we add to these undeniable advantages that the foreign competitors possess over out own citizens the advantage they also possess through government assist- ance and regulation, then the reason why the American vessel in the for- eign trade is a thing of the past is. easily understood. could be "not What Other Nations Are Doing. It is not necessary to go into what other nations are doing for the stim: ulation of their foreign trade: . The United States pays for the car- riage of her mails about $1,609,000 ge annum. Great Britain pays, including ad- miralty subvention, about $7,000,000. per annum, | France pays, including bounties on construction and navigation, about $9,- 500,000 per annum. 'Germany pays for mail service about $3,000,000 per annum. Russia pays to ships under her postal regulations about $2,000,000 per annum. ~ Japan pays in subventions about $6,- 200,000 per annum. Italy pays in subventions about $2,- 700,000 per annum. Australian Line Withdrawn. Immediately after the defeat of the shipping bill of 1907, on March 9, five days after the adjournment of Con- gress, the Oceanic Steamship Co., of San Francisco, notified the Post Office Department that it would have to withdraw its line to Australia. This line had 'been operating under the ocean mail law of 1891 and after five years of trial had found the rate of compensation for 16-knot steamers ut- terly inadequate on the long and cost- ly route of 8329 knots from the Golden Gate. via Hawaii across the South Pacific to Samoa, New Zealand and. Australia. The requirements of the mail contract were such that the Under TAE MARINE REVIEW Oceanic steamers were forced to at- tempt to': make a speed beyond their capacity over such and for this hard service this Amer- ican company, 'employing. well paid American officers and crews, was giv- en a compensation by the Unitéd States of only $16,639 per voyage at 16 knots as compared with $41,604 per voyage given by Germany to the Australian liners of. the North German- Lloyd at 15 knots; $47,814 per voyage given by France to the French-Aus- tralian liners at 15 knots; $21,917 per voyage 'given by Japan to her Yoko- hama-Australian line at 14 knots, and $23,077. per voyage given by Great Britain to the Orient line to Australia at 15 knots; this latter has just been increased to $36,250 per voyage for a 16-knot service for which new ships have just been built. All these lines are coperatetd-at av Cost of at. least 30 per cent less than the American ships and, with the exception of the new contract with the Orient line, are al- lowed to proceed at a lower speed. these circumstances, then, the Oceanic Steamship Co.'s ships were taken off their run, their officers and crews discharged, the ships dismantled and laid up in San. Francisco Bay, where they still are. Our Roundabout Mail Deliveries. Thus the American flag has van- ished from the commercial routes of the South Pacific, our only communi- cation with the naval station and gar- rison of Samoa cut off, and three good passenger, mail, and freight boats are eliminated from the trade between Hawaii and the main land of the United States, forcing the people of that prosperous island to ask Congress to permit foreign passenger vessels to fill the blank. Our business men when they wish to communicate with Australia or New Zealand by mail, must now send their letters by a roundabout way in some British or Canadian steamer subsidized under an agreement that its owner shall do all he can to favor the trade of Great Britain and Can- ada. Under these conditions what is to become of the export trade that we have built up with Australia which has grown in a few years from $12,- 000,000 per year to $29,000,000 per year, largely through the service giv- en by the Oceanic Steamship Co.? This company disbursed over $1,000,000 an- nually on the water front of San Francisco, and over 2,500 passengers per year carried by these ships passed through San Frazcisco, leaving not only impressions upon us, but money a> 'vast.' distance: Lh with us. San Francisco exports to Australia have fallen off over $1,000,- 000 per annum with the stoppage of this line and that means something to our producers. Now in the face of all this disaster to our foreign trade shipping what is government doing to turn this tide that sets so heavily against us? Noth- ing except to persevere in policies that hasten the final downfall of the little that is left of a once flourishing industry. Seldom Saw American Flag. Our people will pay without a mur- mur for a big navy and they will send it all around the world to show that there is an American flag; it must have 'been saluted very seldom by American ships in the foreign harbors it visited. It is presumed that the navy is built to fight and I know it would do so with honor if called up- - on to do so, 'but no one seems to expect that it will ever be called upon to "make good.' So we are quite content to send our navy around the world in a spectacular manner to show our flag, which is a_ strange' sight in this generation to most coun- tries, and we are willing to pay over $100,900,000 per year for the develop- ment and upkeep of this splendid navy. Other nations have noted that this costly and very fine war fleet of ours cannot go out of sight of our own shores without requiring the at- tendance of a fleet of foreign mer- chant vessels to keep it supplied with fuel and other necessities. If- it should be unfortunately called upon at the present time to do that fof - which it was built, to fight upon the high seas at some distance from its own depots, who would supply it with the sinews of war when, in the day of need, the foreigner could not come to our aid? That is not a question that people care to answer. The Japanese Policy. Japan answers the above question on behalf of her own policy through the Japan he Mail from which I quote: "The Japanese government has to choose one of two things: either it must have a special service of gov- ernment transports or it must bring into existence a merchant marine such as will furnish transports at any mo- ment. England has subsidized steam- ship companies whose vessels always hold themselves in readiness to act. as transports. Besides, there is the enormous number of vessels plying to and from all parts of the world under