Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-23
THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL
Amendments Made by the Senate Committee
on Commerce.
Limitation of Payments - Granting
American Observation-Disclosures
Regarding Cargo.

The Senate committee on commerce to-
day made public the amendments to the
ship subsidy bill which have been made by
it. The first of these limits the payment
of subsidies proposed to ten years in case
of vessels completed PRIOR to January l,
190O and extends the period to twenty
years in cases of vessels completed after
that date.
Other amendments are as follows: "No
vessel is to be entitled to full compensation
under clause A unless she shall have clear
ed from a port of the United States with
cargo to the amount of 80 per cent of her
gross tonnage, and no steamer to full COM
pensation for any voyage under the clause
unless she shall have cleared from port
of the United States with cargo to the
amount of 30 per cent of the difference be-
tween her gross tonnage and the tonnage
measurement of the space within her per-
manently devoted to the carrying OF pas
sengers and mails, as aforesaid. And any
shortage in the amount Of cargo required
and defined Will diminish the amount OF
the compensation In the proportion that
such shortage bears to the total cargo or
Its equivalent
Mail-Carrying Vessels.
There are several changes in the provis-
ions for additional compensation to mall
carrying vessels. The tonnage is raised
from 1880 to 1000, and vessels of twelve
knots an hour are admitted. the former
limitation being fourteen knots. The last
named amendment gives vessels of between
twelve and fourteen knots one-haf of
cent per gross ton for each 100 miles sailed
The compensation in other cases Is not
changed, but the tonnage is increased in
all instances, 1000 tons being the smallest
tonnage admitted. The rates heretofore
made applicable to such vessels of 5000
tons are made applicable to those of 1909
tons. and those heretofore applicable to
5000 tons are now made applicable to those
of 10000 tons.
Limitation of Payments.
There Is limitation to s2.oO0,OOO of the
amount to be paid in any one year to ves-
sells of over twenty knots an hour, and
also provision that not to- exceed 20 per
cent of the entire 100000 shall be ex-
pended on Atlantic ocean vessels, If the
remaining 30 per cent is required on the
Pacific All vessels under contract are to
be of class "a one in classification.
Vessels carrying passengers or carSoes
which could not be lawfully carried by a
foreign vessel are excluded from the pro-
visions of the act, as are also vessels car
rying passengers or cargo from the Allan
tic or Pacific coast CT the United States 10
the isthmus of Darien for shipment to the
other coasts of the United States
Granting American Registry.
Registry of foreign built ships is granted
IN cases "nere d LldJorltS OA ZIG STOCK III
them was owned by American citizens jan
uary 1, 1900. the original bill requiring 80
per cent of the stock to be SO held. The
same change is made in the provision re-
garding foreign ships under construction on
the list Of last January.
The last amendment is as follows: That
every contract made under the authority
of this act shall contain stipulation on
the part of the ship-owning contractor that
American boys shall be taken and taught
1ey flaf In ton NP
and that the vessel in respect of which
such contract is made may be taken or
employed and used by the United States, as
provided in section fifteen Of this act and
that the mails shall be carried free OF
charge. as provided In section seventeen of
this act