President's Message On The Decline Of American Commerce

Washington, MarcL 23. The following is tbe message of tho President ent to Conpress to-iby in reUtior. to (lie decline of Au:sriaa Gommerc-ï : T(T the Sonate nud House of Kcpresentatives : - In the Exceu'ivc message of Büermber 6, 18C9, to Congress, the impi'rtance of tuking steps to revive our deoreuiing luerohant marine was urged, and n special message promised at a future day during the present Bession, rccominemliog jiiore specificiilly the plans to accomplish this resuït. Now thutthe Conimittce of the House of Iiepresentatives entrusted with the labor of asoertaining tbe oause if the decline of American comraeroe has completad its work, and submitted n report to tho ■ legislativo branch of the Government, I deern this a fitting time to execute that promiso. The vcry able, ealra and exbaustire report of the Comnnttee pointaout thegroat wrongs vhioh have proJuced the decline in our conianerce. It is a national huiBiliatioD that we are now compelled to pay from S20,600,000 to 830,000,000 acnualiy, exelusive of passage money, which we Kliould share with other aations, to fnreigners for doing wbat should be done by American o woed aad Acaericsn manned ▼eesels. Tbis is a direct draiu upon tbc j resources of the oountry of just 80 much raoney, ecfial to cestiog it into tho isa, 80 far as out nation is concerned. A nation of vast and' ever acreasiDg interior resources, extending aa it does from one to tbeothor of thegreat ooeans of the world, with an industrious, inteliigent aud energetic population, must ono day poisess its fuïl share of the of these oceans, no iantter what is the eest. Bolay will only increase this cost and enbance the difficnlty of attainiog the re8ult. I, thereforo, put io an earnest plea for early action in this matter, in a way ïo secure inoreased American comraerco. Tho advanced period of the year and the faot tbat no contract for ■hip building will probably be entsred into untU this question is settlcd by Congres, and tbe further fact that if tbere tnould be much delay all largo vessels ontracted for this year will fail of completton before the Winter sets in, and will therefbre be carried over for another year, induces me to request your early consideration of this subject. I regard it of such grare importnnce, affecting avery interest of the country to so great an extent thnt r.uy mnthod which wili g&in tbo end will secure a rich national blessing in tbe building of hips, naviguting them nnd utilizing va?t capital at bome. ïhia business employé thouiands of workmeu in their conatruction and manning, it créate a homo market for products of the farm nnd hop, it diminishes the balance of trade against us precisely to tlie cxtent of freights and pa3sago raoney paid to American vessels, and givee us a supremacy upon the seas of inestimable valué in case of foreign war. Our uavy at the cotnmencement of the late war consisted of lesa than 100 vessela of about 150,000 tong, and a forcé of about 8,000 men. We drow from the merchnnt marine, which had cost tho Government nothing, but which had been a source of national weallh, 600 vessels exceeding 1,000,000 tone, and abont 7,000 men to aid in the suppression of the rcbellion. This statement demonstrates tho ralue of a merchnnt marine as a neaus of national defense in time of war. Tho Cou;mittee on the canso of the reduction of American tonnage after traeing thn cause of its decline, eubmit tvvo bilis wliieh, if adopted, they believe will restore to the nation itw marine power. Thcir report ibows with great minutences the aotuai and comparativo Americin tonnage at the time of its greatest prosperity, the actual and comparative declinu siuce, together with the oautes, and rxhibiU otlier ttatistics of material interest in referenoe to the subject. As the report is befors Congress, I will not recapitúlate any of ïts statistics, but I refer only to tho melhods reeotnmended by the Committee to give back to us our lost commeroe. As a general rule it can be ftdopted. I beliere, that a direct money eubsidy is less Hable to abuso than indirect aid, given to tbe ame enterprise. In thig case, howevcr, my opinión is that subsidies, while they may be given to specfic lines of steamers or other vegsels, should not bo esclueively adopted but in addition to subsidiziog very desirable lines of ocean traffio a general assistance should be given in an effective way, and therefore, I commend to your favorable consideraron tha tno bilis proposed by the Committee, and referred to in this message.