Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

25104

Title

Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

Thomas Rainey argues that rapid ocean steam mail service is vital for American commerce and diplomacy, yet impossible for private enterprise to sustain. He contends that high-speed steamers are too costly for freight, necessitating government subsidies to maintain a national postal system independent of British control.

Summary up to 500 words

In *Ocean Steam Navigation and the Ocean Post* (1858), Thomas Rainey presents a comprehensive defense of a government-subsidized trans-oceanic steam mail system for the United States. Published during a period of intense commercial rivalry with Great Britain, the work argues that while steam power is essential for rapid diplomatic correspondence, national defense, and passenger transport, it cannot compete with sailing vessels for standard freight due to prohibitive costs. Rainey details the immense expenses of steam propulsion, including fuel consumption, frequent repairs, and rapid depreciation, asserting that these factors render self-supporting ocean steamers impossible. He contends that fast steamers require direct pecuniary support from the General Government to operate effectively. Rainey criticizes the nation's "slavish dependence" on British mail lines, noting that American steamers often lie idle in ports due to a lack of remunerative trade. He contrasts the American situation with the extensive, self-sustaining British system, which he observes costs the British treasury more every year yet is regarded as a vital national institution. The text emphasizes that an extensive, well-organized steam mail marine is a national necessity for the prosperity and power of the American Union. Rainey urges legislators to establish a systematic postal system that prioritizes speed for intelligence and leisure for freight, arguing that private enterprise cannot achieve this balance. He concludes that abandoning the ocean steam mail system is impossible for an active, enterprising people, and that the government must discharge its duty by creating and sustaining an ocean postal system to avoid subordination to foreign commercial rivals.

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4.2/5

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Categories

• Travel
• Science