MERCHANT MARINE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



523 



pprtation are so much greater now than in olden times. 

 The period of three months, then deemed a reasonable 

 time to allow for the sailor's reaching home, is not at 

 all required at this age of steam. 



2. The repeal of the law obliging all American ves- 

 sels to transport wrecked sailors for a uniform price 

 of $10 each, regardless of cost or of distance to be 

 traveled. The committee recommended that the rate 

 of compensation be made 50 cents per day for the time 

 taken in passage. 



3. A more liberal law in regard to the admeasure- 

 ment of vessels. 



4. That the existing requirements of the laws of the 

 United States as to life-saving apparatus and other 

 fitting of vessels shall be made uniform with foreign 

 vessels, and either our own reduced to their level, or 

 all such coming to the United States be required to 

 conform to our laws. 



5. That the existing law requiring the transporta- 

 tion of mails for a sum not exceeding the postage re- 

 ceived be repealed, and the Postmaster-General be 

 authorized to apply a general law to all postal service, 

 and compensate the service at sea " quantum meruit," 

 the same as on land. 



6. The exemption from all national, State, and 

 municipal taxes of ship property engaged in foreign 

 trade and to and from Pacific ports. 



V. The limitation of a ship-owner's individual lia- 

 bility, under all circumstances, to the proportion of 

 debts and liabilities that his individual share of the 

 vessel represents to the whole. 



8. The abolition of all fees charged to vessels for 

 consular services ; the payment of proper salaries to 

 consuls, so that extortions may not be levied upon 

 ships. 



9. The establishment by the Government of bonded 

 warehouses, from which all vessels engaged in foreign 

 trade, or to and from Pacific ports, may withdraw all 

 goods, stores, and supplies of a foreign production 

 and manufacture, free of duty, the same as is per- 

 mitted in Great Britain. 



10. That all foreign materials, of every kind and 

 character, entering into the construction and repair of 

 vessels, be made duty free. 



The committee also advocated government 

 aid by means of subsidies to steamship lines. 

 It said : 



_ " It is found that Great Britain, with a keen percep- 

 tion of the incalculable advantage and benefit it is to 

 her people to attain the supremacy of the ocean, has 

 led up to it by a system of subsidies, and it is well 

 known and authenticated that for many years that 

 country has not only aided in its development, but 

 maintained the existence of its commercial lines by a 

 system of subsidies. Were we to follow in her foot- 

 steps, it can not be supposed that she will now retrace 

 her path. And, theretore, any action in this line must 

 be made with the foreknown and anticipated fact that 

 she will then, in all probability, increase hers again 

 to our detriment. Still we are of opinion that in 

 Great Britain there is a tendency to oppose this sys- 

 tem of subsidies, and your committee ao not hesitate 

 to recommend that our Government do, by some sys- 

 tem of bounty or otherwise, afford material aid and 

 inducement to the creation of a mercantile marine." 

 Further considering the same subject, the committee 

 takes occasion to say : " Whether it be practicable to 

 build a class of vessels adapted to the carrying-trade, 

 and convertible, by additions, into war-cruisers, the 

 experts of the navy and ship-building interest can 

 best determine. Your committee believe they can be 

 constructed, and if so, no more prompt or efficient 

 means could be adopted than for the Government to 

 extend such aid in the construction of a series of such 

 vessels as would bring about their immediate con- 

 struction and the establishment of a number of lines 

 to important foreign points, and thus supply the most 

 serious detect in time of war, and afford additional 

 markets for our productions. Your committee also 



recommend a bounty to encourage the building of 

 wooden vessels." 



INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE. Near the close 

 of the first session of the Forty-seventh Con- 

 gress, the Hon. Perry Belmont, of New York, 

 proposed in the House of Representatives that 

 a special joint committee of the two Houses 

 make an investigation of the condition and 

 needs of American shipping interests, and re- 

 port at the beginning of the next session. The 

 joint resolution directing the investigation was 

 adopted, and Messrs. Warner Miller, of New 

 York ; O. D. Conger, of Michigan ; and G. G. 

 Vest, of Missouri, were appointed members of 

 the committee on the part of the Senate, and 

 Messrs. Horace F. Page, of California ; Nelson 

 Dingley, of Maine ; S. S. Cox, of New York ; 

 J. W. Candler, of Massachusetts; Robert Mc- 

 Lane, of Maryland ; and George M. Robeson, of 

 New Jersey, on the part of the House of Rep- 

 resentatives. The committee met in New 

 York not long after the adjournment of Con- 

 gress, chose Senator Miller as chairman, and 

 issued a circular containing the following ques- 

 tions, to which replies were solicited from 

 those having knowledge of the subject or sug- 

 gestions to offer : 



1. Why can not this country build iron, steel, or 

 wooden vessels as well and as cheaply as they are 

 built in Scotland, England, or other countries ? 



2. If we had such vessels without cost to us, could 

 they be run by us in competition with those of other 

 countries who build their own vessels and run them 

 with their own officers and crews, without a modifica- 

 tion or repeal of existing laws ? 



3. What modifications of existing^ laws or what new 

 laws are required to remove discriminations against 

 and burdens upon our shipping and ship-owning in- 

 terests, such as customs dues, port dues, consular 

 charges, pilotage, tonnage, and other dues, etc. ? 



4. Compare the laws of other countries with our 

 own with a view to their effect upon our and their 

 shipping and ship-owning interests. 



5. Should our navigation laws be repealed or modi- 

 fied, and, if modified, wherein and for what purpose ? 



6. What is the cost of the component materials of 

 iron, steel, or wooden vessels in other countries and 

 our own ? 



7. What would be the effect of a rebate on any or 

 all such materials ? 



8. Present any other statements connected with the 

 cause of the decline of the American foreign carrying- 

 trade, and what remedies can be applied by legislation. 



The committee met again in New York in 

 November, to consider the replies received to 

 these interrogatories, and to take oral testi- 

 mony on the subject-matter of their inquiry. 

 This testimony occupied several days, and 

 came from ship-builders, merchants, experi- 

 enced ship-masters, students of the question, 

 and others. The committee prepared a bill 

 for submission to Congress, which was agreed 

 to by all the members, but two separate re- 

 ports were made, and certain amendments to 

 be offered to the bill at the proper time were 

 prepared by the minority of the committee. 

 The bill was reported simultaneously by Mr. 

 Conger, in the Senate, and Mr. Dingley, in the 

 House, on the 15th of December, and referred 

 to the Committees on Commerce of the two 



