Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-02-01
THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.
Actual Effect of the Measure Now
Pending In Congress-.

Actual Effect of the Measure Now
Pending In Congress-.
The report Of the minority of the
committee on merchant marine and
fisheries thus exposes the actual ef-
fects Of the ship subsidy bill which
Senator Hanna and his friends in the
International Navigation company arc
making such strenuous efforts to set
through the present congress:
A careful examination of the terms
of the bill and Of the conditions of
shipbuilding and shipowning, as stated
by the commissioner Of navigation,
has convinced us that the real effect
of this bill will not be to encourage
the building of ships which would
not otherwise be built or to in
crease trade, but to further increase
the profits of the already prosper-
Gus lines which without subsidy have
been built or contracted for the very
ships to subsidize which this bin is
framed.
Mr.. Griscom in House Hearings,
pages "a and %, explained as to ships
which would be specially favored:
81 should say offhand that the IA
knot ship of the largest possible size,
that would carry about 10000 tons,
would be the ship that under that
Subsidy bill would get the best com
pensation-that is, IA knots is about
the speed that we think is economical
speed to do the business, especially on
the Pacific and also on the Atlantic.
We have ships building of between
10000 and 1900 tons) and of moder-
ate speed. A great many are building
in Great Britain now which will carry
10000 tons of cargo and not measure
10000 Registered tonnage).
"Of such ships there are compare.
lively few in the world today. 1t is
only recently that they have been
built at all. In $685. the greatest yeal
for shipbuilding of which we have
read in the worlds history, but six
in all were turned out-four in Great
Britain and two in Germany. But on
Sept. 80, 1899, there were then building
Of such vessels 16 in Great Britain and
several in Germany, largely for subsidy
promised by this BILL"
AS most of these ships We're being
constructed under contracts made in
1897 and 1898 and for the lines repre-
scented on the committee which drew
the original subsidy bill and sent 1t tc
congress in 1893, it only remains to be
stated that, as Senator Frye has ex
planned Senate hearings, p. p, it was
| in 1897 that the coterie behind this bill
was formed. Having originally plan.
ned to let in only foreign ships con.
tracted for abroad Jan. 1, 1899, they
Immediately proceeded to place their
contracts.
The date was not changed to Jan. 1,
1900 until it was too late for those out
side of this coterie to secure contracts
on that date.
We see no reason why only a favored
few should be permitted to bring in
foreign ships and get subsidy upon
them and believe that the date should
be set ahead, so that all will have an
equal opportunity to take advantage of
our country's generosity.
The cargo" amendment, while it will
probably not hurt anybody, will GER
tainly never touch the owners Of pas
senger steamers. Under 1t steamships
like the st. Paul would not need to car
ry more than 1900 or 1000 tons Of car
go to get the full subsidy, while they
never leave our ports with much less
than a full cargo-3,50O to $500 tons
Should it ever happen that they would
wish to leave our ports with less thar
1900 tons the owners have but to sci
more space by the year, and the sub
sidy stream will continue to flow full
as before.
Such large amount Of subsidy prac
tically put at the disposal Of the fey
who benefit by this bill cannot but ten
to unite even more closely than nov
the great shipbuilding, shipowning an
railroad interests concerned in thi
) measure.
By the time these few interests brin
, in their foreign owned ships and e
, their ships now being built into tn
subsidy race the 100000 limit wi
: undoubtedly be reached; hence 1t wi
: be to their interest to combine to ste
] competition and to prevent their sui
sidy rates and profits from declinin
4 We believe that such combinatic
! would be completed soon after the pa
sage Of this bill.