Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1900-12-27
Letter in New York Evening Post.

Letter in New York Evening Post
Criticised as have been the Hanna.
Pnyne-Frye Subsidy bills, it was nat
ural that attempt should be made to
placate objectors, and important to the
subsidy beggars that the public should |
believe that this had been accom-.
plisbed. One can, therefore, under
stand the yigor with which. when last |
week Mr.. Frye report ted his new COM
mittee amendments, the administra-
ton organs SO loudly gave thanks that |
Mr.. Hanna's pet scheme had been put |
into such shape as to meet all reasona-
BILE objections. In fact, however, Mr.. |
Frye's amendments were calculated to
make the bill more exclusively one for
its promoters, aud to guard more care
fully, that no national or general inter-
est share with the Shiphui!ding Trust
Standard oil-Pennsylgania Railroad
combine.
His first material amendment was to
substitute the phrase capacity for
carrying commercial cargo for some
20 lines of elaborately worded proyisos 4
in the SO called "cargo amendment" OF
last spring.
As now amended by Mr.. Freye, this
cargo amendment reads:
mo vessel shall be entitled to the full
compensation under this clause unless she
shall have cleared from port of the United
States with cargo to the amount of so per
centum of her capacity for carrying COM
mercial cargo; and any shortage In the
amount of cargo required ana defined as
aforesaid shall diminish the amount of
the compensation IN this paragraph pro-
vided for in the proportion that such
shortage bears to tue total cargo or its
equivalent.
Its effect can best be estimated by
the following quotation from page At Of
the report of the Commissioner of Navi-
CATION: ..
"The requirement (of the bill before
Senator Frye's last amendmentI in the case
of fast passenger steamship is extremely
rigid. The gross tonnage of the st. Louis
for example, is 1l,629 tons of 100 cubic
feet, and the net tonnage available for pas
sengers, cargo, and mails 5. 500 tons of 100
cubic feet. The space which can be used
for cargo amounts approximately to 1,A30
tons of 100 cubic feet, AGO tons of 100
cubic feet being devoted to passenger and
mali accommodations This passenger and
mail space, 4,460 tons, deducted from
1i,629 tons. leaves Z, 1859 tons. 0 per cent of
which Is 3,5a4 tons of 100 cubic feet. The
ship must carry 3. 5a4 tons of 40 cubic feet
or space amounting to 1.433 tons of 100
cubic feet, which 10. in tact, ali the space
available for cargo, In other words, the
cargo section requires the fast mail steam
ship to be laden to its full cargo capacity
In other words, a. the bill stood
with the so-caled cargo amendment in
its original form, the International
Co. g great passenger steamer ST. Louis
Of ll,629 tons registered tonnage in
order to receive its normal subsidy of
t25, 500 for each round trip, Must carry
3,bS4 tons cargo. This would leave
it subsidized at 81 per ton for each ton
OF American exports taken. The Inter
national Navigation 90. owns tour sis
ter ships, the New York, the Philadel-
phia told Parisl, st. Louis ard the st.
Paul. These are the only ones, either
In existence or building or contracted
for, that under this bill would receive
SUBSIDY at either of the three highest
rates provided by the bill
Upon Mr.. Chamberlain suggestion
that even this was Extremely rigid"
Mr.. Frye has so amended the bill as to
he still more liberal to the Interna-
tional's passenger feet and to give
these ships full subsidy in case they
carry cargo to tue extent Of half OF
their cargo capacity. This means, as to
the st. Louis, for example, that, upon
carrying export cargo of less than l,sOC
tons, it may draw subsidy for the trin
".
over s14 per ton of exports carried.
The object of this amendment is, Of
course, to relieve these great passenger
steamers from any necessity of waiting
single day for cargo; since by con
tracts for expressrrom, SPECIAL freight,
&C., they can doubtless always manage
to have l,S00 tons Of freight eact
actually slowed by their date of sailing
Its effect would he a., until tn,
81, OOO,0O limit is reached, to Civ,
each of the International's gres
steamers some 100000 per annum il
return for carrying less than 30, 900 tom
OF export. freight ana ~, as so h
the 800, 600, 900 limit is reached, toSa II
TO that company land withhold from
real freighters) $500, 900 to $3.50, 00
more than it would otherwise get.
III.
In this connection, however, tn
worst feature is the virtual fasity @
Mr.. Frye's own statements, and tn
absolute lying into which administra
.tion newspapers and speakers have an
parentiy been mialed. lie is OF late es
teneively quote as authority for th
assertion that, unier the bill as nov
amended, the total subsidy TO be re
ceived nv our great passenger steamer
is conditioned upon their carrying
cargo of at least half their Unite
cargo capacity. This, however, is nc
true.
For example, not merely would tn
6t. Louis receive the full subsidy
over $25, 600 for each round trip b.
tween here and Great Britain, or, sa,
300, 600 per annum, in case she carrie
on, each trip only 800 tons of freigh
but, Furthermore, in case she never ca
ried single ton of American expor
as cargo, she would, nevertheless, und
Frye's bill as now amended, receiver
say. above $4,000 per round trip, @
say, $3.50, 600 Fer year. For by it's vel
terms the effect of the cargo amen,
ment quoted above is to limit only IL
compensation "in this paragraph pr
vided for,'' which, at the utmost,
only the genera! subsidy of from Ia
~ cents per gross ton per hundr,
ksutioal miles for the whole voyag
according to distance sailed, provid,
for in clause (a) of section l of Il
bill; and does not in any way affe
the speed subsidy of go cents per gro
ton per 100 miles. which the st. Lou
would receive under the next paragraJ
included in the following clause (b).
Again, it il doubtful whether Il
cargo amendment actually would hay