The Saint Paul globe., 1900-05-14
STAMPS T Ny|NCERE
MINORITY REPORT OF THE SUB
SIDY BILL GIVEN TO THE
PUBLIC
OPPOSED TO THE PaIICIPLE
OBJECTS PROGRESSED, 1T is CLAIM
ED, FORGOTTEN IN THE BODY
OF THE BILL
FREIGHT BOATS GET LITTLE
Claimed Also the Principles Are I'm
sOund-AII Citizens Taxed for
the Benefit of the Fa-
VOred Few.

WASHINGTON, May 1S.-The minority
report on the shipping subsidy bill op
posing that measure has been filed in the
house of representatives by the majority
| of the members of the Democratic mi
nority of the committee on merchant ma
rine and fisheries. Representative Fitz-
gerald, of Massachusetts, drew the re-
port, which was signed also by Repre-
sentatives Devr:es, of California; Daily,
of New Jersey, and Speight, of Missis-
sippi Three other Democrats of the COM
mittee, Messrs. Chandler, Small and
Ransdell, have heretofore submitted their
views, upholding the general principle OF
government aid to the merchant marine,
but pointing out defects in the bill. The
present report therefore represents the
opposition to the measure both in prin-
ciple and detail. In the main it is an
argument against government subsidies,
and asserts that most of the proposed
100000 subsidy will go to a few favor
ed concerns without building up Ameri-
can shipping in general or encouraging
American exports.
The report quotes a recent utterance of
President Mckinley on the remarkable
increase Of our ship building, and says
in part:
SAYS THE REPORT.
"Our foreign trade then is increasing
with wonderful rapidity, and our ship
building industry Is remarkably prosper
Gus without subsidy. Why, then, should
the whole country be taxed to provide
gratuitieS for industries which are pros
porous and which have every prospect of
continuing to be more and more prosper
Gus?
Even If our foreign commerce were
in declining rather than in a fairly
prosperous condition, it is improbable
that the present bill would give any re-
lief, and for the Following reasons: Be
cause subsidies are graded according to
the speed and capacity of ships, and are
more than twice as high per ton of ca
pacity for the swift passenger steamers
which carry but little cargo as for or
binary freight steamers, which carry so
or 80 per cent of our exports. The SUBJ
sidy, therefore, if it affects US at all, will
AFFECT passenger rather than freight
AS only about per cent of the total
tonnage of the worlds shipping is sub
sidized. and as nearly all of the present
subsidy goes to- passenger and mail
steamers, the hopelessness of trying by
subsidy to lower freight rates and in
crease commerce is apparent. Unlimited
subsidy would be necessary to lower low
freight rates. If any one country at
tempts by subsidy to secure lower rates
the subsidy must go to all ships carry
ing freights otherwise the moment the
few subsidized ships lower rates for one
country the unsubsidized ships (tramp
steamers will withdraw their service,
and rates for this particular country will
go back to the worlds level. Hence, it is
practically beyond the ability of any one
country to materially reduce by subsidy
its ocean freight rates, and in this wav
to increase its foreign trade.
The bill does not sufficiently provide
subsidies q oE
freight carried, nor does it require any
decrease in freight rates
1T cannot be shown from the history
of subsidies that they ever materially
lowered freight rates or increased the
commerce of the countries granting
them The trade conditions and not
trade theories fix the rates which ship
pers will pay and which shipowners can
give.
HISTORY AGAINST SUBSIDIES.
Neither does the history of subsidies
show that any country has ever built up
its merchant marine in this way Our
experience with the Collins, Brazil and
Pacific mail lines IS the present eXpe-
r1ence of France and Italy and the past
experience of all other countries whicn
have given real subsidies
AS the government could not under
the proposed law, take American shinS
for cruisers or transports on any more
favorable terms than it can now obtain
them, viz, by paying for them all they
are worth, it will on this score get moth
Ing in return for its lavish subsidy ex-
penditures. Neither is there ANYTHING in
the bill which would provide American
Seamen Tor our national defense. In no
way, then, would this bill provide for the
national defense Contrary, by draining
$9NO0OO a year from our national treas
ury. 1t Weakens our national defense bv
taking money which might otherwise be
| invested in more ships or in transports.
provisions, ammunition, etc. in case of
war The large amount of subsidy practi-
of Of o.
benefit by this bill cannot but ten 10
unite, even more closely than now the
great shipbuilding, shipOwning and rail-
road interests concerned in this measure
By the time these few interests bring
IN their foreign owned ships and get their
ships now being built into the subsidy
race the $9.O0000O limit would undoubted-
!y be reached. Hence, it will be to their
interest to combine to stop competition
and to prevent their subsidy rates and
profits from declining. We believe that
Sucn combination would be compIeteI
soon after the passage of this bill
I'VE place no faith in the antitrust
amendment, anne All the federal and state
antitrust laws now in existence have
proved futile, and have not Iessened the
rapid growth of trusts We see no rea-
son for thinking, that this antitrust
amendment would prove more effective
BY this bill, which processes to be
intended to increase the expectation of
American produce, the government
is to pay to the stockholders of a
SlSellHSLlID line a wear for
carrying abroad in its four first-class
passenger ships, not American products
but American tourists who can afford TO
travel and spend their money in Europe
That is, the government is asked to pav
not for the expectation Of American
produce, but for the expectation of
American customers
The report contains what are said to be
the actual figures of operating the St.
Paul, of the American Inc, and Cam
pania. of the Cunard line, showing an in
creased cost of running of the former of
$l5,SN per year, and this, the report
states, would be met by subsidy Of
about $409000. The report quotes from
the manifests of number of freight and
passenger ships, showing that the
fre.ghters, which carry the product of
the farm and warehouse, receive about
one-fifth the subsidy of the passenger
craft
OBJECTIONS SUMMED UP.
In conclusion the objections are sum-
med up as follows:
l.. The objects professed in the title are
entirely forgotten in the body of the bill
z 1t is reasonably certain that the
most of the subsidy would go to lines
already established and prosperous.