The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-05-19
THE HOUSE.

THE HOUSE.
A Good Deal of Talk About Steamship Sub
sides and Commercial Development.
WASHINGTON. May 18--Mr Harris of Georgia
from the committee on ways and means, re-
ported bill amending Section $780, Revised
Statutes, SO as to reduce the penal sum of the
! bonds Of cigar manufacturers to $3.50, with an
additional $50 for each person proposed to be
employed by them in making cigars. Referred
to the committee of the whole.
Mr.. Sadler, of Alabama, from the committee
on territories reported. adversely, bill to regu.
| late the manufacture and sale of intoxicating
| liquors in the Territories Laid on the table.
| Mr. Hatch, of Missouri from the committee
on agriculture, reported bill authorizing the
exhibition of specimens of California silk in the
| Capitol building. Placed on the calendar.
! Mr. Biount, of Georgia, from the committee
on postoffices and postroads, reported back the
postoffice appropriation bill, with Senate amend
| ments, and, it having been referred 70 the COM
/ mittee of the whole, the House went into COM
mittee for the purpose of considering these
| amendments
| Mr. Blount addressed his remarks to that
| clause which is known as the subsidy" amend
ment, and made an argument in opposition TO it.
| would not secure any advantage IN the way of
obtaining additional mail trips; but would have
a contrary effect. Under the clause, the Post
master-general would be required to contract, if
be contracted at ALL for not less than three, nor
| more than five years, and this would act as an
| absolute inhibition upon any other company
| than the one holding the contract attempting to
| traverse the same line The increase In the
| number of lines would be stopped. and while the
contract in force any increase of the foreign
| postal service would be prevented He went on
to quote from statistics to show the difference in
| paw which the steamship companies received
under the present law for carrying the mails
| from that which they would receive II the pro-
| posed legislation were enacted and as an instance
1 OF the evils which he maintained would follow
| such enactment, he stated that the mails
now carried by the Oriental and Occidental line
| at cost of So. 500 would have to be carried by
the Pacific Mail at a cost of $l09.620. He denied
| the correctness of the declaration that the de-
| cline of American commerce was due to the fact
| that the United States refused to pay subsidies
| to its steamship companies and asserted that the
| decline was attributable to the narrow minded
| policy which forbade American citizens from
| purchasing ships abroad.
| Mr.. Burrows, of Michigan, in supporting the
| amendment, said it only authorized the Post
master general to do with the foreign service ex
| actly what be did with the star route and coast
| wise service and all this talk about subsidy
| simply an appeal TO prejudice instead of an ap-
peal to the reason of reasonable men. He then
| passed on to a consideration of the necessity of
| extending commercial relations with the
States or Mexico and Central and South Amer
| lea, and main tanned that the increase in the
facilities for mail transportation would have
tendency to extend our commercial relations
| with these states To-day there were but two
| lines running from the United States to South
America-the Red Line" to Venezuela, and
| line to Brazil, and to these lines, for carrying
sum of S., 603 Of the 1857 OO0 900 worth of
manufactures imported into Chill the United
States furnished only per cent. This was
attributed to the fact that the United States had
no communication with Chilli, and the moment a
proposition came in which would permit an ex-
tension of steamship lines to that country, up
went the cry of subsidy" He
would not permit England to hold
this market the threshold of this
country, if, by paying liberal compensation for
cue this trade from her. He hoped that this
Senate amendment would be adopted. with an
amendment which he proposed to offer. author
izng the Postmaster-generalt to expend $500, 900
of the appropriation on existing lines and $780,
| 600 in putting service on new lines.
Mr. Riggs of Illinois, opposed the foreign mail
service amendment, and said that if gentlemen
wished to build up American commerce by
granting subsidies, let the transaction be called
| by its right name; but the government should
not grant subsidies under the pretense of paying
a fair compensation for the transportation Of the
| mails.
MT Wakeneld, or Minnesota earnestly OPP
| posed the amendment, and regretted that his
well-known opposition to the subsidy clause had
| subjected him to groundless attacks. A Wash
ington dispatch to the St Paul Pioneer Press
| had declared that the opposition shown by Mr..
/ Guenther and himself to the clause had been in
| stigated by Captain Goldman. as the representa-
| tive of the English steamship companies This,
| he said was infamous and inexcusable false
| hood. 1t was false in particular and false in
| general. Until he read that dispatch he had
never heard of Captain Goldman. He had never
been solicited or addressed by any living soul to
| oppose the Senate amendment. On the other
hand, he had been frequently, persistently and
earnestly urged to support it by the leading rep
resentatives of some of the corporations to whose
| benefit it would inure
! Mr.. Guenther said the appropriation did not
rise to the dignity of subsidy 1t was neither
| fish, flesh nor fowl It was gift, pure and sim
| pie. 1t was charity TO the Pacific Mail Steam
/ ship Company-a corporation which Congress
| should not touch with ten-foot pole Were mem
| bers of Congress so verdant as to be deuded and
/ deceived by shallow pretenses! Would they al
ways take the bats of corporationsl Were they
really what were called ''sucKersp Laughter
| The Republicans had been turned out of power
because charges had been made. and believed,
| that the Republican party had been too remiss in
voting the peoples money to corporations. That
party should not any longer let the Shylock of
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company make it
draw the chestnuts out of the fire. He also de-
MED the newspaper statements that his opposi
| ton to the subsidy was instgated by Captain
| Goldman. He did not know CAPTAIN Goldman
| from Adam or Moses He then went on to argue
that subsidies did not have the effect of increas-
| ing the tonnage AS an illustration Of thiS. he
cited the fact that Germany, with no subsidy
| policy, had increased her tonnage faster than
/ France with q subsidy policy. 1t true that
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