The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-12-03
THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.
Administration influence to be Ex-
ertcd in It's Behalf.

| erted in Its Behalf.
| Apparently there is no longer room fol-
doubt that the full power of the Admins
! tration will be exerted in behalf Of the
Hanna Payne ship subsidy scheme at the
session of Congress which convenes today
As told by The Times yesterday Senator
Frye has agreed, at Mr.. Hanna's urgent
| Tuesday or Wednesday and fight to make
it special order. If this is accomplished
the ship subsidy scheme will have the
| right-of-way of all legislation this winter
except the regular appropriation bills.
and if Mr.. Hanna succeeds in forcing 1t
through the party caucus every Republic
can in the Senate will be compelled to
| fight for it. 1t is known that four or five
| Republican Senators from the West are
| opposed to the measure and that they
would very much like to see it defeated.
| These Senators. it is believed. will fight
Mr.. Hanna bitterly in the caucus. though
| if ,aey lose there of course they will have
| to yield gracefully on the floor of the
| Senate to the party dictates.
1t Is settled almost beyond per-
| adventure that the President in
his message will strongly advo-
cate the ship subsidy scheme. and
that he will artfully direct attention to
the fact that it was endorsed in the last
Republican platform. 1t is expected that
| this will have the desired effect upon quite
a number of Western Republicans in both
braaches of Congress who are afraid of
the bill.
The fact that Mr.. Mckinley while a
phar of ho
measures of the same character is being
cited as possible evidence that he is not
favorably inclined toward the Hanna bill.
despite the declaration in the Philadelphia
platform. The statement is also made
by numerous friends of the President that
he recently has Intimated to them desire
for the defeat of the bill. But this theory
of Presidential opposition is destroyed
utterly not only by the close relations
known to exist between Mr.. Mckinley and
MIR. Hanna, but also by the well-known
fact established indisputably by Porto
Rican legislation at the last session, that
the Presidential mind is open to convic
ton even up to the very last minute. 1t
will be recalled that in his last message
to Congress Mr. Mckinley based his
strong plea for free trade for Porto Rico
upon the ground of plain duty" but that
before the session was three months old
he called innumerable Western members
and Senators to the White House and ask
ed them to vote for the OXnardized tariff
bill.
1t is accepted. then. as settled that the
President in his message will recommend
the bounty legislation demanded by Mr.
Hanna and others interested in the ship
ping trade. Moreover, it is believed that
MIR Mckinley has been laDoring earnestly
with Speaker Henderson in behalf of the
measure. General Henderson, like most
Wcsterners, has usually opposed all legis-
lative bounty schemes, and his conduct
at the last session seemed to indicate that
he was particularly antagonistic to the
Hanna Payne bill. If he is still opposed
to that measure he can SO use his power
as Speaker as to defeat 1t.
On the contrary. IL he has been won
over to its support by the President, the
Speaker can force the bill through the
House with little or no trouble. General
Henderson, of course. wants to be re-
elected Speaker. and 1t goes without say
ing that Mr.. Hanna and Mr.. Mckinley can
defeat him il they want to. 1t was they
who made his election sure before the
present Congress even assembled in
Washington, and they will certainly have
quite as much influence with the next
House as they have with this. Where
fore 1t Is contended that IL General Hen
derson does not permit the adoption of
rule whereby the Ship Subsidy bill car be
forced through the House with celebrity in
spite of all opposition it will be sign
that he has decided not to ask for re-
election to the Speakership. As it is con-
sidered scarcely probable that he would
foregO this ambition. 1t is generally be-
lieved that he will give Representative
Grosvenor all the assistance needed TO
give the shipping bill the necessary ad
vantage over all other legislation
That thorough understanding has been
reached all around as to the Ship Subsidy
bill is shown by the rise during the past
few days in Pacific Mail stock. few
weeks before the election this stock took
a sudden upward bound and reached 80
and a fraction from 32 and fraction. 1t
sagged backward soon after the election.
and two or three days ago was down to 40.
1t is an open secret in Wall Street that
on Mr. Hanna's tip scores OF Republican
leaders made big money out OF the rise in
Pacific Mail stock before the election. 1t
has been learned since that the rise in
the stock by which Mr.. Hanna's friends
were enriched was due to two potent
causes. One of them was Mr. Hanna's
assurance to certain financial interests
connected with the Southern Pacific Rail
road that Mr.. Mckinley would be re-elect-
ed, and the other was that upon this as
surance deal was made whereby the re-
lations between the Southern Pacific Com
pany and the Pacific Mail Company-al-
lied concerns. by the way-Decame more
intimate. Indeed the new managers of
the railroad bought outright large
block of Pacific Mail securities.
Stock market experts contend that |
knowledge OF this transaction should of
. - paciGc Mail stock up to