Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-07-03
Must Once More Float to the Breezes
on All of the High Seas
of the North.
SUBSIDY BILLS IN THE SENATE.
Frye, Of Maine, Upholds the Bounty Plan,
While Vest, of Missouri, Bitterly
Attacks 1t.
THE ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST.
An RnOrt VIII be Made to Reach Vote Upon the
Measure To-Day.

WASHINGTON, July 2-The Senate to-
day proceeded to the consideration of the
two Senate bills reported from the Commit
tee on Commerce, to place the American
merchant marine, engaged in the foreign
trade, upon an equality with that of other
nations; and to provide for ocean mail SER
vice between the United States and foreign
ports and to promote commerce.
Mr.. FRYE spoke as TO both bills, the first
he said, was bounty on tonnage, and the
secend was known as the postal subsidy bill.
He declared that unless Congress did some
thing to aid American ships, and did it
speedily, there would soon not be a single
steamship line traversing the oceans carry
ing the American fag-not one.
AN OBJECT OF CONTEMPT.
The people OF the United States prided
themselves upon their growth in wealth and
population, and yet they were falling into
the contempt of the whole world and were
entitled to its contempt. The United States
was giant. but it was bound. 1t was
Sampson, but its locks were shorn. He was
not going to discuss the tariff in connection
with these bills. There (leferring to the
American carrying trade) was the dead
body. He wanted to know whether it was
worth while to resurrect it and bring life
into 1t. If so, how was it to be done?
He could not understand the lnnermost
thoughts and feelings OF the American
citizen woo could listen to a statement of
facts about the carrying trade and not feel
an impulse to go back once more on the
ocean, where the United States had stood in
such proud conspicuousness 80 years ago.
He could not understand an American citi-
zen who cared nothing about it, and asked
the question whether foreigners were not
carrying American imports and exports as
cheaply as Americans could do It. He
could not fsthom the heart of such man.
EXCEPTION TO THE RULE.
The American carrying trade was dead
for want of protection. 1t was the only
great American industry of which the
same could be said. The people of the
United States had paid $50, ,0OO, 900 year
to keep alive the sugar growing industry of
the United States. Six millions a year
could revive the dead body of the Ameri-
can merchant marine and keep it on the
ocean. He argued at length for protection
to American ships either by bounties or
subsidies.
Mr. Vest addressed the Senate in opposi-
ton to the subsidy bills He had never,
since he had been member of the Senate,
been able to support bill giving a subsidy
for any purpose, nor did be propose to do so
now. The foreign carrying trade was
languishing and almost dead. But so was
the cattle trade of the country, and yet If
he were to propose a subsidy for the cattle
trade. that proposition would be attacked as
the most monstrous one ever heard.
THE PAN-AMERICAN CONGRESS.
He went on to speak of the late Pan
American Congress, which had been lauded
in the Republican press of the country as
the great discovery of the age, and said that
it was 'a chestnut q back number" 1t
had been found half made up when the
Harrison administration came into exist
ence, and the restless and ambitious spirit
of the present Secretary of State had seized
upon it, and had concluded to parade it
before the country as great and phenom-
email Diplomatic victory.
1t was well known, Mr.. Vest said, that
all the leaders of the Republican party had
advocated the necessity of doing away with
foreign commerce and making the United
States absolutely independent of and
isolated from the nations of the world. 1t
had been the settled doctrine of the Re
publican party that importations from
abroad should be discouraged.
But a sudden and marvellous change had |
come over that party-as great as that which |
came over Paul as he journeyed on the road |
from Damascus to Jerusalem. Foreign |
trade was now a necessity. The home
market would not do. The Senator from
Maine wanted to give subsidies to vessels in
the foreign trade so as to bring about in
creased trade, not only with the South Amer
ican States, but also with all the European
countries and the world at large.
OPPOSED TO SUBSIDIES.
The effect, he said, of subsidizing any par
tieular line was to discourage all others. |
Cramp and Thurber now haunted the lob !
bies of Congress like the daughters OF the |
Morse Leach, CRYING "Give, give, give!'
Mr.. Frye asserted that no steamship man |
and no ship owner had been around the |
Senate Committee on Commerce, or around |
the Senate chamber, within his knowledge |
or information during the entire session, ex- |
cept two gentlemen for whom he had sent to |
assist him in drafting the postal subsidy bill. |
Mr.. Vest yielded the floor without con- |
cluding his speech and Mr. Frye said that /
he hoped to have the Senate set tomorrow |
on both bills, as he intended to call up the |
river and harbor bill on Monday.
After short executive session the Senate |
adjourned.