Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1884-05-06
CsNGREssI0N I'll.
SENATE

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WASHINGTON. Nav 5.-A bill was 70
. ported ravorablv by Cuilom. from I'll.
Committee on Pensions, with an amend
ment to the House bill. granting = pen
sion TO the widow of General kipat
rick.
Bills were introduced ard referred.
BY Plumb, to prev eut ihe acquisition
OF real estate by aliens. CommIttes OF
Judiciary
by Van WICK, tn re~tric, aliens anC
forelcn companies and corporations II
ownership of public land. and OF am
land ID the Territories. Committee on
Public Lands.
Following Is the text If the hill: "Be
II enacted that it shall be unlawful fol
any Person, or association of persons
not cltize~s Of the United States. or fol
any corporation or company organized
under the authority OF Any foreign
state, Prince - POtentate. TO acquire
title from the UnItsI States IN great u
| quantity of the pub.iJ lands than an III
| uIvidual citizen of the United States Is
| authorized 10 enter under the settle
meat and Improvement laws thereof, or
- acquire, receive. or hold bv deed.
| grant. demIss or trust hereafter execat-
ed, any greater quantity of land in the
| erIItories CT the Usited States than
/ SO acres"
ne shipping bill Wis then taken up
/ and Miller, # New York, spoke in It's
| favor. lie said that 1t would he we'll
/ for the Senate to lay aside theory, fine
/ sounding phrases and rhetoric in re-
,Td to free ships, and take the counsel
| OF PRACTICAL meu. Why should We pro-
IN
everything else, and not protect our
ships, 80 per cent of whose cunstruc
ton consisted of labor 2 He was will
! ing, II It would meet the approval of
the other side of tine Senate. to see
such change made in the navigation
laws as would admit foreign-bullt ships
to American registry just AS 9TH artl-
cses Of foreign manufacture we're i'm
ported, bat subject to fair rate of
dlty. either at 50 much per ton or by
al 'atOreHs ca 4rge on the cost
Beck said he did not see how that
wouldhelp, since We had. by tre.ty.
given Foreigners the same rights As our
own ct ms.
Mil or admitted that this was diff
Guilty, but coItended that protection of
our sup building Interests was lndis-
IN here free, none would bs built here,
and III - years there would not be
shlpyard worthy of the name in the
Onited States. The section of the bill
providing compensation for the carriage
OF mall was declared bv Miller to be-
worth all the other sections put together.
reviewing the course of Great BRITAIN
IN regard to mail contracts. be argued
that the government had ALWAYS pro-
tected Der steamers and had stood be-
mind them as guarantee, and had Civ
en- mail contracts TO English ships tx
cluslvely, and whenever business had
fallen of and endangered the steamship
lines, the national treasury was opened
and liberal aid afforded the CON panies.
he read FROM the debates in Parliament
to support his statement.
Vest asserted that England had given
contracts to German steamers.
Miller believed that the Hamburg
line had some arrangement for carry
Ing malls, but he believed his statement
t" be sill sub tantially true. The
amounts paid last year by the various
governments 10 their own ships for car
rying foreign mails was given by Miller
as follows: France Sc 477,0oO, England
50, 10000. Italy 1929, coo, Brazil ST.
10000, Australian Colonies $1,000.
Austria $l,030. 900, Russia Sl.650.OOO.
Mexico $4,000, and Canada S2uO,0OO.
while the United States paid last year
to It's own ships in foreign service 3d.
UO0. This bill would give about l.5J0.-
Ooo for the carriage of our reign mails.
Perhaps that was all 10 would be wise
to give at present, but he thought that,
If wisdom prevailed. We would be giving
not less than S5,0OO,0O0 or $l0,OO0,OOo a
year for our foreign mail service, and
giving bounties, not only TO steamships, |
but to sailing vessels.
Mcpherson opposed the subsidy. He
moved some amendments in addition
to the amendment offered by Vest. |
Among them Is one to exclude the free |
admission of engines or ships, bat per
mlttlt q the admission of material for |
the construction of engines.
Morrill, sad 1t had been absurdly con- |
tended that tie tariff laws proven ed |
our having shipping business. An |
American vessel can go abr Iad and Ike |
frelghts from any portion of the world |
to any other portion. The protective |
tariff increased American wages, bat |
other causes alss contributed to that |
result. We give l69 acses of land to |
every immigrant, and SO long as We did |
that, no strong, athletic me- coming to |
America would 90 into occupation as a |
sailor. Besides. the business of skip. |
ping was vastly overdone. Recently |
Morrill, had read y statement in the |
lit wspapers that English ship owners |
had agreed To take eff one third of tue |
shiOs. and the owners of the remaining |
Ships were tn make up the loss to those /
whose sJips were No taken eff. LII free |
ships were permitted here, Morrill, said |
that ship building would become "A lost |
art in this country.
Beck severely criticised the navigation |
laws. Our treaties, he added, contain
ing the most favored Nation clause,
prohibited Us from giving orr own
ships any advantage or discriminating
IN duties. IL was conceded that We |
could not build ships here a. cheaply as
thew could be built elsewhere, hence We
Lad hut one of two courses to adopt
either to subsidize our ships or rmit |
our people 10 ouy ships where they |
could &, them cheapest.
Dawes said that everybody having |
money enough could build ships. and |
everybody else coaid use them. There |
was no monopoly in the thing itself. but |
there was just this much In it-there |
was no discrimination between our own |
citizens and foreigners, and that was |
what hurt the feelings of the Senator
from Kentucky.
Beck, with great warmth, replied that |
this last piec. of meanness did not ex-
cuse the Senator from Massachusetts, |
Dawes, from failing to answer To the |
point, Notwithstanding the coaching of |
his colleague, Hoar but it Was a cum
ming evasion. The man that raised |
hushel Of wheat could also build rail |
road. but the bushel of wheat would net |
enable him TO do it. The Senator had |
not been able to meet the point. aud so |
could oaiy insiluate that he, Beck, was /
operating in the in erests of foreigners /
against the American pvople.
Frye gave notice that he would en-
deavor 10 have the bill acted ON to-
morrow.
HoT1sE-