Merchant marine.
At the close of the
War of 1812, the
United States was noted throughout the world for the excellence of its sailing-vessels.
As the use of steamships increased, however, this supremacy was lost, and in 1870, when iron and steel vessels began to be needed,
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the ship-building industry in this country had nearly vanished.
In 1890 almost the entire carrying trade of American ports was done in British bottoms.
Realizing that this was a serious condition, Congress in 1892 passed several acts for the encouragement of American shipbuilders, and admitted to American registry two Inman Line steamers on condition that the owners should build at least two vessels of equal tonnage in American
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The American steamer St. Louis. |
yards.
On Nov. 12, 1894, the
St. Louis, the first-fruit of this law, was launched at
Philadelphia.
The vessel was wholly American in build and material, and was the second largest merchant vessel afloat.
Subsequently this fleet was increased, and became known as the American Line.
In the
American-Spanish War of 1898 the
St. Paul,
St. Louis,
New York, and
Paris were used as auxiliary cruisers, the first two under their own names, and the others under those of the
Yale and
Harvard.
The official report of the
United States commissioner of navigation for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1900, showed that 1,446 vessels, of 393,168 gross tons, were built and documented in the
United States.
Since 1856 this record was exceeded only twice—in 1864, when 415,740 gross tons were built, and in 1874, when 432,725 gross tons were built.
The construction was classed according to the following types: Schooners, schooner-barges, and sloops, 499, of 109,605 gross tons;
Great Lake steam-vessels, 25, of 97,847 gross tons; canal-boats and barges, 523, of 74,860 gross tons; ocean screw steamships, 20, of 60,369 gross tons (of which all but one, the
Maracaibo, 1,771 gross tons, were built wholly or principally for trades reserved by law to American vessels); river-steamers, 375, of 44,282 gross tons; square-rigged vessels, 4, of 6,205 gross tons.
The steam-vessels built—420, of 202,498 gross tons—surpassed the record, the nearest approach being 1891, when 488 steam-vessels, of 185,037 gross tons, were built.
The steel vessels built—90, of 196,851 gross tons—exceeded the previous record year, 1899, when 91 such vessels, of 131,379 gross tons, were built.
Cleveland, O., ranked first as builder of steel vessels, with 9 steamships, of 42,119 gross tons, followed by Newport News, 7 steamships, of 28,202 gross tons;
Chicago, 5
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vessels, 24,504 tons;
Detroit, 4 steamships, 15,693 tons.
During the decade 1890-1900 the steel steam-vessels built in the
United States aggregated 465, of 742,830 gross tons, of which 198, of 450,089 gross tons, were built on the
Great Lakes.
For comparison it may be noted that the
British board of trade reports that 727 steel steam-vessels, of 1,423,344 gross tons, were built in the United Kingdom during 1899.
During the ten years 69 steel steam-vessels, of 194,080 gross tons, were built at
Cleveland, and 110, of 138,593 gross tons, at
Philadelphia.
The total tonnage built and documented on the
Great Lakes during the year—125 vessels, of 130,611 gross tons—was the largest in the history of that region.
The total for the
Middle Atlantic and
Gulf coasts—605 vessels, of 135,473 tons—exceeded any record since 1872.
The total for the
New England coast-199 vessels, of 72,179 gross tons—had not been equalled since 1891, while the product of the
Pacific coast—300 vessels, of 40,396 tons—was surpassed only by the returns of 1898 and 1899.
Construction on the
Mississippi River and tributaries—217 vessels, 14,509 tons—was 9,000 less than 1899.
The foregoing figures do not cover yachts nor government vessels.
