The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-08
SUBSIDIES FOR SHIPPING.
HERBERT, OF ALABAMA, SPEAKS
IN OPPOSITION.

He Thinks the Estimate of an Expend-
iture of $47,oOo,ooo in Ten Years
Entirely Too Low-Right to Buy
Ships in Any Market the Remedy for
the Decadence.
WASHINGTON. Jan. I'm the morning
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.
Messrs. Mills, Blount, Bland and Vaux
opposed the bill, but it was passed.
THE SHIPPING BILL
The House went into committee of the
whole for further consideration of the
shipping bill. Mr.. Herbert of Alabama
opposed the measure because it proposed to
grant an indiscrIminate subsidy t. YES els
OF every character engaged in the foreign
trade. The continual cry of subsidies was
"Give, give;" and the cry would never cease
while the people had anything the subsidy
desired. The commissioner of navigation had
estimated that this bill would involve an
expenditure of SAT 100000 in ten years.
This estimate he (Mr. Herbert) believed too
small. But that was the estimated cost, to
JTdUbkOTbGklOus
the net result would be that the owners of
ships would be paid in part for their vessels
by the people, who got no benefit from
| them.
FREE SHIPS THE REMEDY.
The proper way to restore our commerce
would be to initiate the example of England
! in 1649, when she provided that her subjects
| could buy ships where they could get them
the oheapest. Germany had free ships,
Norway had, Italy had. No other nation
had such navigation laws as had the United
States. The passage of free ship
law would give this country forty
per cent of the foreign carrying trade, and
would put 1t far beyond the necessity of
expending the untold millions carried by
this bill The pending measure was a nat
| ural result Of the Mckinley bill, and was
driving an additional nail into the repubn-
can coffin.
DINGLEY ADVOCATES THE BILL.
Mr.. Dlngley, in advocating the bill, laid
stress upon the Importance of the country
maintaining merchant marine. When
congress approached this matter, which re-
lated to public affairs, and which was
national in it's character, the members
should be drawn away from indi-
vidual considerations and lifted
up to the consideration of a question of
transcendental importance. In dealing
with this question congress was dealing with
one of the essentials ef pure government.
Unless some such step as this were taken by
| the government almost every vessel engaged
in the foreign trade and flying the American
| flag would be driven from the ocean,
HELP A NECESSITY.
Reviewing the decadence of American
shipping interests, he said that in such a
condition as the country found itself, with
H.. -
| route, it was obvious that it was utterly
out of the power of private individuals,
without assistance in some direction, to dis
lodge the shipping of Great Britain. MIR.
| Dingley described the policy pur-
sued by England, France, Ger
many and Italy in building
up their commercial marine by every con-
ceivable method, the governments having
| in some cases actually formed a limited
partnership with the maritime carriers by
guaranteeing certain revenue to inv estors,
and he argued that, with the widest extent
Of coast known TO any nation, the United
States could reap benefit from subsidies far
greater than any other nation.
WHAT THE BOUNTY AMOUNTS TO.
The proposed bounty, he said, would
amount to just about the difference between
the cost Of running American and foreign
vessels, and would merely put American
vessels on an equal footing with foreigners.
Taking the highest rate of increase in ton
mage estimated as result Of the provisions
Of the bill, the greatest amount Of expendi-
ture that would be needed in one year
would be $7,0O0,0 600; after which the rate
of payments would steadily diminish
Would any gentleman say that if through
such an expenditure the United States
secured million tons of new shipping,
built on naval models and suitable TO be
used for naval purposes, there could
be wiser and more economi-
cal expenditure from q defensive point
of view, aside from the matter Of commercial
independence
In closing Mr.. Dlngley said no power can
maintain its prestige on the ocean unless 1t
builds its own vessels. Let the throne of
empire rest as well upon the waves OF the
ocean as upon the land. Let us go forward.
THREE BARRIERS.
Mr.. Dockery of Missouri said that three
causes constituted an effectual barrie:
against any attempt to restore the Ameri-
can carrying trade. The first cause was the
foreign vessels. The second, the greater
running expenses American vessels
were under amounting 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
that there would be an improvement until
these causes were removed. Mr. Dockery
then went into q discussion of the relation
between the tariff and carrying trade,
declaring that the republican policy Of ex-
clusion Of imports was at war with the in-
terest of the American carrying
trade. His protection friends were utterly
illogical when they advocated the restora-
ton of merchant marine and of susidies.
1t was impossible in this way to dominate
home market and the markets of the world
at the same time.
Pending debate the committee rose, and
the House adjourned.