The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-11-30
WATCH THE sUBDIAhY PLUMBER
ERS.

for subsidies for ships, in some of
which he was Of course very much in
terested. The congress may be expect
ed to attend to this imported matter
Il Mark and his gang at an early day.
The commission OF navigation has pub
lished in his annual report some in
structive figures. The boast in that
since 1861, the tonnage of this country
exceeds s.. 000, 600 gross o Off the first
time. That leaves the impression that
this shows great and satisfactory re-
covery. But when analysed by compe-
tent experts the showing is not what il
seems. 1t is unloading. The PhiladeI-
phia Record goes into an examination
n find that the greatest increase is
not OF the high e a but upon our
lakes. 1t says( that the greatest in
crease in tonnage stands to the credit
of the Great Lakes; the growth in ton
mage for the whole country during the
past decade was 740, 342 tons, of which
500, 523 tons was represented by addi-
lions to the shipping by our fresh wa
ter n~avigators of the northwest. In
IAS oNOoh ing bhC CHilSd
States are represented by 81
a~ggregating s260.325 gross IONS in ca
pacity; Japan has nearly as many,
and the Japanese registry exceeds our
total tonnage of the worlds steamships
is %, 1863, 900 gross tons. so that the Unit
ed States can boast of the registration
under their flag of about one per cent.
&c l. ,%oo~. -,o-oIIoI z.x
of the globe" To humbug the people
seems to be the object of governmental
reports. You see what a fraud is the
commissioners report. But go farther.
In ten years Great Britain built 1888
for foreign trade, the United
States built a, very small number.
Look out for a renewed attempt Of
the Hanna-Payner subsidy ship rob-
berry scheme. That or something of the
kind will be pushed, if not this winter,
in the next congress to meet in Deem
Der 1901. The robbers never sleep.
They keep up eternal watching for
their own benefit"
This whole business of subsidy rob-
berry is wrong, has always been wrong,
and will be forever wrong. 1t is but
another scheme-like the high robber
tariff tax scheme-to compel the people
to enrich the few already rich. There
is no reason based in honor which the
bread-winners n the farmers shall be
taxed for the benefit of the few thou
sand interested in the merchant ma
rine. 1t is not a right principle and it
does not by any means produce h re-
suits sought or claimed in so far as the
country at large is concerned. Since
of use in the Atlanta Journal that dis
cusses the Ship Subsidy Fraud" 1t
says:
There is no probability that a ship
subsidy will quicken and enlarge our
merchant marine. The experience Of
nations who have tried subsidies as
stimulants of their gives no
warrant to any such conclusion. In
France the subsidy system has been
applied more persisently and more law
ishly than anywhere else and in spite
of it French has steadily
declined. There are other striking in
n in point. The ship subsidy
scheme is an outgrowth of our vicious
protective tariff system, an extension
of the practice of bestowing bounties
at the general expense upon favorite
interests. But the republican party is
committed to it ana the people may
expect to have this burden of many
millions of dollars placed on their bac ;
as Don as the second term Mckinley
administration and a subservient con
gresS can put it there"
We do not believe that any man is
to be trusted with the peoples interests
who deliberately favors such an immor-
al unwise plan. Such plunderers are
to be severely watched.