MERCHANT MARINE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



521 



The following statement shows the tonnage 

 of American and foreign vessels entered at 

 ports of the United States from foreign coun- 

 tries during the years 1871 to 1881 inclusive : 



The following shows at a glance by periods 

 of five years the decline in American shipping, 

 the increase in foreign commerce, and the trans- 

 fer of the carrying - trade from American to 

 foreign vessels : 



THE COASTWISE TKADE. During the same 

 period American shipping engaged in the 

 coastwise trade, which is protected from for- 

 eign competition, increased from 1,172,694 to 

 2,873,638 tons. A striking illustration of the 

 almost complete transfer of the American 

 carrying - trade to foreign hands, appears in 

 the fact that, of the 72,276,000 bushels of 



grain exported in 1881, not a single bushel 

 was transported in an American vessel. Over 



62 per cent of the entire shipment was taken 

 in British vessels ; Italy held the second place, 

 taking over 5,000,000 bushels; Belgium was 

 third on the list, Norway fourth, Germany 

 fifth, and Austria sixth. In 1861 the tonnage 

 of the United States and Great Britain of all 

 classes was approximately equal 5,539,000 

 for the former and 5,895,000 for the latter. 

 In 1881 the aggregate tonnage for the United 

 States was 4,657,734, but of this 1,057,450 was 

 engaged on the Northern lakes and the Western 

 rivers, 442,000 was of canal-boats and barges, 

 and 64,947 was of licensed vessels under twen- 

 ty tons. The tonnage engaged in foreign trade 

 was only 1,335,000. The officially registered 

 tonnage of Great Britain, on the other hand, 

 was 6,574,413 in 1880, while it was estimated 

 that the aggregate tonnage of mercantile ma- 

 rine under the British flag was fully double 

 that amount. Of the steam marine of the 

 world, Great Britain was said to own in 1880 



63 per cent, registering 5,247 vessels of 2,723,- 

 468 aggregate tonnage. The United States, on 

 the other hand, had only 146,604 tons of steam- 

 vessels engaged in foreign commerce. 



BUILDING OF VESSELS. The total of iron 

 vessels built in the United States in six years, 

 from 1876 to 1881 inclusive, was 127,298 tons, 

 and this was for use almost wholly in the 

 coasting-trade, from which foreign vessels are 

 excluded. In Great Britain the iron vessels 

 built during those six years had a capacity of 

 over 2,000,000 tons. The amount constructed 

 in 1881 alone exceeded 600,000 tons, and 

 there were under construction on the last day 

 of that year, 515 steamers of an aggregate ca- 

 pacity of 958,377 tons, and 127 sailing-vessels, 

 of 130,440 tonnage. Meantime there has been 

 a marked increase in the carrying-trade and 

 ship-building of Germany. 



The incidental losses of the decline of the 

 American merchant marine are variously es- 

 timated. The amount of capital expended in 

 the construction and repair of vessels in the 

 United States in 1855 is stated at $50,000,000 

 to $60,000,000, while in 1881 it was less than 

 half the amount. 



FEEIGHTS EARNED. The amount paid in 

 freight charges on exports from the United 

 States in 1879 is said to be $88,000,000, and 

 on imports $45,000,000, or $133,000,000 in all. 

 Of this, fully five-sixths went to the owners of 

 foreign vessels. One writer assumes $100,- 

 000,000 to be a safe and moderate estimate of 

 "the loss which the business and national 

 wealth of the country at present annually sus- 

 tains by reason of the decay of our industries 

 of ship-building, ship-repairing, and ship-using 

 in foreign commerce," and says that this loss 

 is " nearly equivalent to all the capital in- 

 vested in 'all the blast-furnaces of the United 

 States in 1880 ; to more than one third of the 

 value of the present annual products of all the 

 iron and steel industries of the country; and 



