36 REPORT OF AMERICAN MERCHANT MARINE COMMISSION.

(1) Twenty steamships of 107,385 tons now employed on mail lines
ander the law of March 8, 1891, which forbids them, under the terms
of the proposed bill, to receive any other bounty or subvention.
(2) Steamships of a speed and character available for the new ocean
mail routes proposed in the present bill—these numbering 19 of
151,442 tons.
This process of elimination leaves 44 steamships of 203,871 gross
tons now registered in the United States and qualified to receive the
subvention of $5 a ton provided for in section 2 for ships engaged in
foreign trade by.sea for twelve months in a year. This steam fleet,
therefore, would require in subventions the sum of $1,019,355.
Besides this registered steam tonnage there are 150 registered American
 square-rigged sailing vessels of 200,000 gross tons. These vessels
are now employed partly in long coastwise, and partly in foreign, voyages.
 It may safely be assumed that one-half of this square-rigged
tonnage, under the encouragement of this bill, will engage for six
months and one-half for nine months in foreign commerce, requiring,
therefore, subventions at the six months’ rate of 250,000, and at the
nine months’ rate of $400,000, or $650,000 in all.
The schooners registered on June 30, 1904, for foreign commerce
were 700, of 150,000 gross tons. But it is well known alongshore
that few schooners engage exclusively in the foreign trade—for they
go intermittently from coastwise to foreign carrying. Assuming that
the subventions offered by this bill to the vessels themselves and to
their officers and seamen will move the schooners to much larger participation
 in foreign trade—to the extent for the whole fore-and-aft
Beet of six months in a year—the 150,000 tons of fore-and-aft shipping
will require total subventions of $375,000. There were on June 30,
1904, 567 enrolled vessels of 48,982 tons engaged in the deep-sea fisheries—small
 licensed craft below 20 tons not being included. This
total deep-sea fishery tonnage of, in round numbers, 50,000 tons would
on the average call for subventions at the nine months’ rate of $4 per
ton, which would amount for the year to $200,000.
The approximate cost of the. proposed legislation in sections 1 and 2
for the first fiscal year, from July 1, 1905, to June 30. 1906, may
therefore be summarized as follows:

Annual retainers to naval volunteers (3,000) . an
Subventions to 44 registered steamships of 203.871 tons at twelve months’
rate of $5 per ton....... ene
Subventions to 100,000 tons of - uare-rigged sailing vessels at nine months’
rate of $4 per ton... ..... . ; .
Subventions to 100,000 tons of square-rigged sailing vessels at six months’
rate of $2.50 per ton ........... oo. wnrene
Subventions to 150,000 gross tons of reguwtered schooners at sx months’
rate of $2.50 POT COM «ove icine cain aieaeee eh ceases os
Yubventions to 50.000 tons of deep-sea fishing vessels at nine months’ rate
of 84 ner ton

Total

$150, 000
1,019, 355
400, 000
250, 000
375, 000
200, 000
9 304 355

For the first year the increased tonnage taxes provided for in section
 8 of the proposed bill would furnish a total revenue of $3,025,529,
out of which there would be remitted to American vessels carrying
the required quota of boys—naval volunteers and apprentices—the
amount of $210.320.