New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-09
FOR A TONNAGE BOUNTY.
Z PRorRACTED DEBATE IN PROSPECT,


House TO-DAY under the leadership OF MI biaho
6libnstered for a couple of hours against proPos-
ton IN close general debate on the lonhaEe -"
Tuesday and the effort to fix liml 70 ''' ="
bate was temporarily abandoned. l"e couisN %
the Democrats was regarded by sohlc ni''"'
the majority as indicative OF tne Puip''' VI 80
minority 10 exhaust every means III UIeIi P'" 49,
prevent the passage of the measure MANY "
Democratic leaders in private conNei''.'''
that such is their purpose; nut L." D'''' -.
assert that they will take no part III "i"u ,
which would compel them TO leave the haIl' i.D
nrosnect now is that at least three DAYS lhoio "i
he consumed in what is called general oeoao' ,''N
49, tho consideration of the bill under the hVe-
minute rule may occupy two days more II.
ofyar will follow when the bill is brought OUT
:. 49, Cor,rittee of the Whole into the House for
FINAL action Respecting the fate of the measure
or,rions widely differ Its opponents claim
small majority and assert that at least hl'cc"
ponuhlicans will vote with them, wnle 'He
friands of the bill on the other hand, believe haV
II will mass with a few votes to spare i'""S
both sides seemed 10 he equally cohhuenO u
winning chin
The representatives of foreign lnteres's-Si'P
building as well as ship-owning-aN Wo'Ni"S
tooth and nail and waging desperate hsi,'' an
they have some extremely Jealous lren"1 1
snpporters on the Democratic SIDE OF tnc ii'"
IT, La,,o novv cot so far along as 10 accuse inc
officers and members of the American 0nipp'n9
Jeaoue-amonC whom arc some nlteeh
and Representatives-of being professional 'oD
-, bocouse they dare TO advocate measure
which threatens TO deprive foreigners oi po 'iV''
:, rho LARGEST and most profitable carrying ua"e
n tho world ; which is designed to save 10 An''i-
nroduners tons Of millions of dollars year
ybicb now find their way into foreign coneIS'
which nronoses TO restore the American nag 10
tho seas and make the United States Government
lndependent of Great Britain. France, Germany
and other maritime nations, at least 80 iar as the
TRANSFORMATION of the United States mails Is con-
cerned. professional lobbyists. Mr.. flthlah'
Of Illinois. called them in the course OF MS Ut
livery of the speech for which ne had peeh
coached and crammed by the friends of BRUSH
steamship lines and British shipyards. IL was
perfectly natural and appropriate for Mr. tlthian'
in the very next breath, TO euloglze John Coz
man as a. man who is inspired by the hlshes''
unrest and most patriotic motives IN his warfare
against American shipping industries ana lh'el-
ests in behalf of foreign interests and industries
OF course John Goldman is a patriot III the est
nation of every free-trade Democrat who talks ana
votes in a way TO win the hearty approval and warm
annlause of British ship builders and ship owners
and their representatives in Washington. II was
only fair for Statesman Fithian, of Willow Hill,
Illinois to praise Goldman, for in SO doing he
nraised his own speech-Or COdmans. The speech
would have produced a greater effect II IL hau
been delivered by Mr. Goldman or David A. wells,
because either of them could have spoken as an
author alone could speak, whereas tlthlan was hot
Even letter perfect" and he repeatedly com
mitted blunders and showed his wotul lack OF
familiarity not only with the subject in hand, but
with what he was expected to say about H. FOR
example he said with superior, school-masterly
air that the word subsidy meant one thing IN
England and an entirely different thing in the
United States and then he plunged into the quick
sands I'D 10 his shoulders After tremendous
efforts he extricated himself with the cXplana-
ton that subsidy" in Great Britain means mail
nay and in the United States il means bounty.
He had not learned his lesson. Either Goldman or
Wells would have skated around or over the eX-
tremely thin ice without breaking il or receiving
duckinQ if he had been allowed, as Flthlan was,
70 proceed without interruption.
OF course Fith.an stuck 10 the untruth that
only Der cent of British tonnage Is subsidized
that is. in receipt of mail pay which showed
that he had never looked into the figures himself
and herewith solved problem in simple division
In 1889 the total merchant tonnage Of Great
Britain, including steam and sail vessels of every
description Of 90 tons or more. was about 1900,
600 tons and the tonnage Of the vessels belong
ing 10 lines which ale directly subsidized. that Is,
which receive mail pay, amounted to anou'
1850, 900 tons, more than l6 per cent. instead
Of less than Der cent, as Mr.. Fithan asserted
today on the strength of information derived
from Goldman and other patriots of the same
sort.
But it would be tedious and thankless task
inv Of hp
varied stories of misinfornation respecting the
merchant marine Of Great Britain and other
countries. which il took the prairie statesman
so long 10 open for the inspection Of the House
this afternoon II was a speech calculated 10
influence the few Western farmers who do not
read the newspapers, but depend Tor enll@hten-
nent in regard TO pubic and political matters
and events upon their representatives IN Con-
gress.
General Grosvenor, of Ohio, began a speech in
favor Of the bill and succeeded in stirring up the
Democrats considerably He said that il would
have been fortunate il this question could have
been considered from tie point of view Of Amer
lean citizenship and American business. wisdom
and integrity. II unfortunate for question
of this character thot it should be launched upon
the House ny an assault upon one of the great
political parties of the country. 1t was impos-
sble. in the very nature of the question: that one
marty could be all WRONG in It's judgment and that
another party could be all right. So when the
gentleman from Alabama CIR. Wheeler charged
that the pending bill wa Republican measure, he
advertised the weakness Of his own position. He
Mr. Crosvcnorl was not unprepared to recall to
mind that in season and out of season that gen
tleman had paraGed himself as the special cham
pion of American commerce and champion of
every feature Of this measure
Referring 10 an ausion made by Mr.. GrOsvenor
10 the effect that there was feeling of sentiment
in favor of the hill, Nr Spinola oh New-York,
brought TO the front his measure for the erection
Of monument 20 the memory OF the victims Of
the prson-ships. That measure was one Of sen
timent and justice, and yet it had been voted
against by the Republican side Of the House.
Mr.. Grosvcnor said that hc had voted for tho
hill