The United States confines the coastwise trade to American ships, and these are exempted from tonnage dues. It excludes foreign-built ships from American registry, admitting only American ships, or those taken in war as prizes or forfeited for a breach of United States laws, belonging to American citizens.[IN] Ownership of American ships is restricted to "citizens of the United States, or a corporation organized under the laws of any of the States thereof."[IO] The master of an American ship, and all officers in charge of a watch, including the pilots, must be American citizens. Since 1871 foreign materials for ship-building have been admitted free of duty. Since 1909 such materials, and all articles necessary for the outfit and equipment of ships, have been duty-free, with this proviso: that vessels receiving these rebates of duties "shall not be allowed to engage in the coastwise trade of the United States more than six months in any one year," except upon repayment of the duties remitted; and that vessels built for foreign account and ownership shall not engage in this trade.[IP] In 1910 the subsidized American service covered only the one transatlantic line from New York to Southampton, calling at Plymouth and Cherbourg; lines to the north coast of South America--to Venezuela; to Mexico; to Havana; to Jamaica; and on the Pacific, from San Francisco to Tahiti. The total cost of the service for the year on these seven subsidized routes was $1,114,603.47, a net excess over the amount allowable at present rates to steamers not under contract of $346,677.39, or, deducting the amount would have been paid non-contract steamers for the despatch of the foreign closed mails which these steamers carry without additional cost to the department, a total excess of $293,013.40.[IQ] "All other mail service between the United States and foreign countries," the postmaster-general regretfully reported, is "wholly dependent on steamships over whose sailings the department has no control."[IR] * * * * * The total tonnage of the United States in 1910 as given by Lloyd's was 5,058,678 tons: No. of vessels. Tons. Sea 2774 2,761,605 Northern Lakes 606 2,256,619 Philippine Islands 89 40,454 ---- --------- Total 3469 5,058,678 The number of ships on the lakes as given does not include wooden vessels trading on the Great Lakes. While the ocean tonnage has declined from more than two and a half million tons in 1861 to some eight hundred thousand tons, that engaged in the coastwise and inland trade has steadily increased for many years.[IS] On the Great Lakes especially is employed a fine and powerful merchant fleet. THE END. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote IN: Registry law of 1792, in Revised Statutes, sec. 4132.]