Gloucester County Democrat., 1901-01-31
SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.
IT is tNDEFENsIBLE FROM EVERY
POINT OF VIEW.

Even the Protectionists Cannot De-
fend It--The New York Press Wig
orousIy Opposes the Mcasure-Tlae
Bill Designed For the Personal Gain
OF Few Big Shipowncrs.
A striking feature of the pending dis
Cussion of the Hanna-Frye-Payn sub
sidy proposals is the extent to which
political and economic theories are rel
egated to the rear. The reason for this
is plain, however, when the bill itself
is considered.
Politically our people are divided as
to the theory of paternalism between
protection and free trade, and as to
each, while it's opponents may not con-
cede it's propriety, on the one hand they
are prompt to appreciate the weight of
certain considerations urged in its be-
half and to recognize the sincerity
with which these are pressed, and on
the other, as to matters not involved
by their opposing theories, they are
apt to agree on first principles. Here,
for example, the general distrust of the
legislation proposed and the growing
opposition to it involve no political
theory.
From q free trade standpoint one
could defend bill to facilitate export
of American products in ships owned
by American citizens by granting to
American capital that freedom to pur
chase foreign ships which by our laws
is given American shipbuilders and
owners to purchase foreign materials
and supplies, including labor, and from
a protectionist standpoint one could
champion a measure which would try
to attain the same end by distributing
government aid either to exporters in
inducing shipments abroad or to vessel
owners in such way as to prompt them
to carry export cargoes at lower rates.
The trouble with this bill, however, is
that on inspection it has become clear
to our citizens of all political beliefs
that as an economic measure it is
equally indefensible from either a free
trade" or a protection" standpoint;
that our export trade, our shipbuilding
luduSlIlcS, OCGGA CGII llls5 OISiaCoS,
as such, are each equally far from the
aims of the concern of the promoters
of this bill-that is, it is in no proper
sense even a protective or other public
measure at all, but simply a steal, de-
Tended by hypocritical concern for in
serve and worthy of support only by
those whose expected share in the pro-
ceeds shall be such as to justify the
loss, great or little, Of self respect ard
repute involved in thus conniving to
deadbeat the public for personal gain.
The present issue, therefore, is not
for or against any economic theory, but
on behalf of the taxpaying public, that
earns its own living, against tax eating
capitalists, to whom, for example, the
most representative protection news
paper Of the United States, the Repub-
lican New York Press, thus editorially
alludes in it's issue Of Dec. 10, 1000:
THE SHIP SUBSIDY JONAHS
The "nine gentlemen Of the American line are
engaged in entirely legitimate business. They
are carrying American mails, and they ought to
be paid so that they carry them in American
Deutschlands and Oceanics instead Of sticking to
little, slow, old Parises and New Yorks. They
should not be let of again with the building
of st. Pauls and st. Louises, but compelled TO
the construction of vessels which the postofhce
would select with the sole eye which it is bound
to have to cclerity of service The increase of the
mail subsidy OF 81 knot vessels when % knots is the
typical speed of the fast nailboat of the day is
farce, not to call it anything harsher, upon its
face But, whatever it is, let the government deal
with it separately upon its merits and not mud
die it up with measure designed to freight the
surplus products Of American farms, mines for
ests and factories which these vessels-having no
cargo space for grain, coal, lumber and locomo-
tives-never carry.
With this separation the bill would be without
logical opposition in congress or the country,
and we fail to see why it should lose the votes Of
the many senators and representatives whom the
American line has been carrying to Europe and
back every summer for the last ten years in antci
patton of this particular roll call. 1t may be
true of government, Hamilton said of the
English, that it cannot be worked without brib-
cry, but there is no reason why the measures and
which require bribery should be mixed up
with those which do not
Just before the late Christmas vaca-
tion it was announced that arrange
ments had been made to take i'm all
recalcitrant shipping interests, and 1T
may therefore be expected that with
great flourish of trumpets there will
soon be announced amendments which,
it will be claimed. will so broaden the
scope of the bill as to make it truly
popular. In view, however, of three
years experience with amendments to
this very bill, announced in just this
way, we may be entirely confident
that, so far as concerns the lions share
of the subsidy provided for, it will not
be diverted from the pockets of those
who devise this bill
1t may well be- indeed, that Dives
has quieted Lazarus with a few cold
yictuals and the little dogs with a dis
tribution of bones, but that he has ac-
tually reformed and has either given
his goods to the poor or stopped steal
ing their earnings for himself is too
much to believe. The Hanna Griscom
coterie is most decidedly mot made
that way 1t will be easy at any mo-
ment by watching it's attitude to know
the character of the bill in whatever
shape it may be amended. If it is
IL