The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-02-14

bill.
After debate the chair rendered a de-
clsion, i'll which he quoted statutes and
overruled the point of order. He, how
ever, ruled out that portion of the para
graph winch provides that vessels en-
gagged IN this service shall DO of Ameri
can registry and shall in time of war
be liable to charter or purchase by the
United States AT reasonable rates.
MI HOLM AN appealed from the de-
clsion OF the chair, but the committee,
by vote of 100 to 40, sustained the rul-
ing.
Mr.; HOLMAN then moved to strike
out the paragraph and insert an amend-
inent appropriatlng $4,000 for the
transportation OF foreign mails, includ.
ing railway transit across the Isthmus
Oh Panama, and re-enacting for one
year from July next, sections 1910 and
4,2O3 of the Revised Statutes. This
provision said Mr.. Holman, contained
a direct subsidy to vessels, whether
tney carried mail or not. If the gov
eminent entered into contract with
the Pacit1c Mail Steamship COMPANY,
that powerful corporation which had
been pressing this measure with such
industry, it would receive $l4S00O where
1t now receives S2l, 900, and it would re-
celVe that, whether it carried the
mans or nov. 1t was a
naked subsidy. No member who
had been present on this floor some
years ago and witnessed the memora
bic scene which occurred in reference
10 the Pacific Mail subsidy, would ever
wish TO witness another such scene.
Men who had come in hero with un-
furnished regulations had, under the
hanetul principle of subsidies, left here.
| clothed with dishonor and disgrace, TO
never return. He protested against
starting in upon this principle.
He, for one was not willing,
III view Of the past history
OF subsidies, to see principle which
had been so demorali2ing ara humiiia-
ting in the past, again brought forward
and permitted TO obtain standing in tho
American congress-. His protest would
be entered now and forever against it.
Mr.. HUN L defended the provisions.
What right, he asked, had the gentle
man from Indiana (iIolman) after the
| public and honorable action of the ship.
| ping committee in this matter, to come
here and remiud the house of
scenes Of disgrace7 What right had Tho
gentleman to tell the house that DOW
eriul corporation was industriously
pushing the thing through? This COM
lhittee know of no means which have
D
fair and creditable.
Mr.. MILLS inquired what right men
! had to put tho hands OF the government
| into the pockets of the laborng people
III order to build up the business Of
John Roache? For this bill, John
koache was the niger in the wOod-
| pile. Why should the government GO
down on its knees to John Roache and
| give him SGOO,0O0 for carrying mai S
! in American bottoms, wken foreign
bottoms were carrying them for $780,
OUOY Ii was bad start for Demo-
cratic administration, Just once more
brought into the confidence and Sffcc-
ton of the American people, and only a
Few days before the new president-elect
would take the oath of office and make
promises of great reforms to the coun-
| try, that congress should go down on
| It's knees to John Roach as a prelude to
tsat entertainers.
| Mr.. PHI Helps said il he had an oppor-
| tunity no would move to strike out the
! limitation of 100000 and give to the
postmaster general all the not revenue
OF ocean postage to invest in the inn
provement of the foreign mail service.
This sam would be Sl,7OO,00O. We forced
American steamers to cross the
Pacific and carry mail for 90 cents a
|
coast in sight of home, 81 cents per mile.
We would like TO get control of the com
merce of South America, and yet whist
do We sea? Instead of having control
! of 1t, the people of South America
buy twice as much of English manu-.
facturers as they do of ours. There was
no better way To develop commerce and
recreate our merchant marine than to
pioneer with the American flag and mail
bag. The gentleman haunted the
house with the cry that this was a sub
sidy. II was not u subsidy. A subsidy
was a gift without consideration. Even
80 cents per mile were not adequate pay =
ment, and we would have wished
that his friend from Pennsylvania
| (Boyne) had not lifted up The ghost Of
subsidy. Because of il, congressman
shrank as Macbeth did from the ghost
Of BanQuo.
Mr.. MONEY said that the gentleman
| from Indiana (Eloman) lad seen tit to
unfold the sorry spectacle of Pacific
mail subsidy, aud had attempted TO Stay
u good measure. He denominated this
measure rs subsidy. If il
was subsidy to pay ocean
steamships owned by American
citizens reasonable compensation, then
it was q subsidy to pay steamers rea-
/ sonable compensation along the coast
| line. lie was not to DO intimidated
from the discharge of his duty bv any
parade of disultory JOBS in the past, and
would not be frightened from the dis
charge of this duty by any cry OF sub
sidy.. Tn plain question presented was
whether or not the government would
| pay American citizens reasonable COM
| pensation for carrying mail.
Mr.. WARNER Of ONO, supported
Mr. Holman's mvtion and ohejcied TO
to the provision of the bill as being do
p9rture from Democratic doctrine that
a subsidy should never be voted.
MIR. HEWITT (of New York; said that
| If he were TO decide the question in ac-
cordance with the views advanced, he
should probably take strong grounds
against the provision in the bill; but
the people of this country were
not fools. Tho were practical
people, who lived by daily labor. The
question presented was simply this:
Did the people want to have their mails
carried in American ships or not? Iii
thoy did, then they must pay the reason
able compensation they demanded.
Mr.. BOYNE expressed his surprise
that the Democratic party should start
out in this way and inaugurate Demo-
cratic assumption of contYl of this gov
eminent by granting subsidies. No
man could characterize this provision
by any other name. IL was paying for
the service done more than an
equivalent for that service,
aud thus far was gift on the part of
tho government. Who was to ba bene-
fitted by it? Largely the p ctic Mail
steamship. company. Last year that
| company had earnings amounting TO
S4,7S0,0O0 and net profits amounting 10
81 $4,000, and yet provision In
this bill agreed that the gov
ernment would pay that company
$4,000 for rendering that wbich
IL now rendered at $4,000 aud yet the
gentleman said this was not subsidy.
He found among the directors of the
company Jay Gould, Russell Srge,