St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-08
OUR FLAG ON The SEA
Lively Debate in the House
on Americas Merchant
Marine.
ShackleS Of Exclusion Should
Be Stricken From Invent
i've Genius.
Senator Plumb Opposes the
Silver Bill as Was Report
ed From Committee.
Removal of Indian Agent
Removal of Indian Agent
Roger From Pine Ridge
Decided Upon.

WASHINGTON, Jan. I'm the MORN
ing hour Nh Cutcheon, of Michigan,
from the committee on military affairs,
called up the senate bill increasing
from fifty to seventy-five the number OF
army officers who may be detailed to
military colleges. and it was passed
The house then went into committee OF
the whole (Mr. Burrows, of Michigan,
in the chair for the further considera-
ton of the shipping bill.
Mr.. Herbert, of Alabama, opposed the
measure because itproposed to grant an
indiscriminate subsidy to vessels OF
every character engaged in the foreign
trade. Subsidies were like the daugh.
ter of the horse leech; their continual
cry was ''give, give;" and the cry would
never cease while the people had any
| thing the promoters of subsidy desired.
| The pending measure was a natural re-
suit of the Mckinley bill, and was driv-
ing an additional nail into the Repub-
! lican coffin.
Marine Decadence.
Mr.. Dingley, of Maine, reviewing the
| decadence of the American shipping i'll
| terests, said that in such condition as
the country now found itself, with only
| 1917 per cent of the foreign carrying
trade, with Great Britain entrenched on
! every ocean route. it was obvious that ii
was utterly out Of the power of private
| individuals, without assistance in some
direction. TO dislodge the shipping of
Great Britain. 1t was said that the bill
would not do for our merchant marine
what was claimed for it. We could
| Judge of that by what similar policy
! had done for France with less mara
| time people than those OF the United
| States. Within five years from the es-
adjustment of subsidy system, the
Steam tonnage of France was doubled.
With the widest extent OF coast
| known to any nation, the United States
could reap benefit from subsidies far
| greater than any other nation. Italy
adopted a subsidy policy III 1885, and in
! four years her steam marine had in
| creased 46 per cent. The maximum eX-
| pense Of the bill the first year would be
100000, of which all but about $780,
! 600 or 100000 would come from postage
! and tonnage dues. Taking the highest
| rate of increase in tonnage estimated as
| result of the provisions of the bill, the
| greatest amount of expenditure that
| would be needed IN one year would be
| S7,000,000, after which the rate of pay
| ments would steadily diminish. Would
| any gentleman say that, If through such
an expenditure the United States Sc
cured a million tons Of new shipping.
built on naval models, and suitable to
be used for naval purposes, there could
be wiser and more economical eXpend-
lture, from defensive point of view,
aside from the matter of commercial in
dependence.
Our Navigation Laws.
Mr.. Dockery, of Missouri, said that
three causes constituted an etfectual
barrier against any attempt to restore
the American carrying trade. The
first cause was the difference of cost be-
tween American and foreign vessels,
ranging from $4,000 to 100000; the
second, the greater running expenses
American vessels were under amount
ing to % per cent? and the third, cause
was the harsh and restrictive features
of our navigation laws eXacting heavy
tonnage dues. consular fees and other
dues. he did not believe there would
be an improvement until the causes
were removed. Mr.. Dockery then went
the tariff and the carrying trade, declar-
ing that the Republican policy Of eXclu
sion of imports was at war with the in
terest of TIE American carrying trade.
His protection friends were utterly il
logical when they advocated the reStor-
atien of the merchant marine and of
subsidies. 1t was impossible in this
way to dominate the home market and
the markets of the world at the same
time. He opposed subsidies and all
other protection to special industries.
The more protection given them the
more they asked. He was against TAX
ing the peoples money and giving it to
private enterprises Oh the ocean. At
lacking the bill on this ground he asked
Mr.. Farquhar, the chairman Of the COM
mittee, how much the Pacific Mali
Steamship company, which at one ses-
sion, he said, corrupted employees of the
house, would get.
Mr.. FarQuhar replying that it would
get the same as all other steamship COM
panies. Mr.. Dockery said that was no
answer, and asked if the Pacific Mail
stock had not risen on the probability
of the passage of the bill. Mr.. Farqu-
har warmly replied that if it were so he
was glad of it, and hoped the stock of
every American company would in
crease in value. Mr.. DOckery, retort-
| ing, said that he wanted to take the fact
home to the farmers of the West that
S5,000,000 were being taken from the
treasury TO sustain and support few
New England ship owners. George
Gould, he understood, was one of 1.-The
| labOring men" to be benefited, and he
presumed that Gould needed subsidy
after his recent Wall street experience.
Fatal Defects.
Mr.. Dockerey then invited attention
| to the restrictive scope OF the recipro-
city advocated by Secretary Blaine. So
as the farmer was concerned the
| defect that was fatal to subsidy was
alike fatal to reciprocity. The farmer
could derive no benefit from reciprocity
| because the South American countries
had almost every article necessary for
| their own consumption. The opposing
| theories of exclusion and of freedom of
| trade had contested for supremacy upon
| the seas at many periods of the worlds
| history. and always with the result in
| favor of unhampered commerce. Let
the country return to that propitious
policy under which it had explored
every sea and cast anchor in every
harbor. Divested of artificial re-
| Strictions, our commercial marine
could renew and assert its
Importance upon the deep. The incom-
| ing and refluent wave which made
music on our shores simply wooed us to
resume our proper place on the glorious
sea. Let the shackles of exclusion be
stricken off; give full scope and play to
the inventive genius of our people, and
there would soon rise, like Venus from
the seas, a splendid merchant marine,
restoring prestige and proves of our
country.