the grave wrongs which have produced the decline in our commerce. It is
a national humiliation that we are now compelled to pay from twenty to
thirty million dollars annually (exclusive of passage money, which we
should share with vessels of other nations) to foreigners for doing the
work which should be done by American vessels, American built, American
owned, and American manned. This is a direct drain upon the resources of
the country of just so much money, equal to casting it into the sea, so
far as this nation is concerned.

A nation of the vast and ever-increasing interior resources of the
United States, extending, as it does, from one to the other of the
great oceans of the world, with an industrious, intelligent, energetic
population, must one day possess its full share of the commerce of these
oceans, no matter what the cost. Delay will only increase this cost and
enhance the difficulty of attaining the result.

I therefore put in an earnest plea for early action in this matter, in
a way to secure the desired increase of American commerce. The advanced
period of the year and the fact that no contracts for shipbuilding will
probably be entered into until this question is settled by Congress, and
the further fact that if there should be much delay all large vessels
contracted for this year will fail of completion before winter sets in,
and will therefore be carried over for another year, induces me to
request your early consideration of this subject.

I regard it of such grave importance, affecting every interest of the
country to so great an extent, that any method which will gain the end
will secure a rich national blessing. Building ships and navigating them
utilizes vast capital at home; it employs thousands of workmen in their
construction and manning; it creates a home market for the products of