Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-02-01
spec lAL 'vltAstilNG To N. LETTER.

of the country, that it condensed into
a congressional bill lifeHmes of study
upon the best means Of building up the
merchant marine and that it was as
perfect as human brains could make it
and ready for passage without any
amateur legislative tinkering. :. r, = j.
This was when it carried an unlimit-
ed appropriation. What it would have
done for the country in it's thus per
fected state the Lord only knows. Very
soon howl Of protest went up from
Dan to Beersheba against the "unlimit-
ed provisions" of the measure, and an
amendment was accepted limiting the
appropriation to 100000 year. ~. T
Ever since this time the elasticity of
the bills perfection has been drawn
upon. Its advocates have yielded inch
by inch until the bill has quite a diff
ferent complexion from the unphoto-
graphable countenance that it at first
presented. But with all this carving
and splicing and remolding it retains
its essential feature Of taking out of
the pockets of the whole people some
5000, 900 for the benefit of favored
few composed mainly of the lifetime
experts who drew the bill.
The critics to whom it's original pro
roters have been yielding are all with
in the Republican party and among
those whose support has been counted
n, 1,n !,
friends of the measure have brought
upon it the Disagreement that now ap-
pears, what would it look like if it's CD
ponents drove their criticisms through
it? Verify it would only be useful for
waste paper!
This constant rctreating of the advo-
Gates Of the bill does not indicate that
it is a measure founded on principle,
but that it is desire to pilfer from the
treasury many millions for the benefit
of private parties. None of the changes
that have been made apply to the prin-
clples or purposes Of the. bill. Those
originally provided for wanted to trans
fer from the taxpayers money to their
pockets $9,0O0,0GO a year. Finding that
they had Ovelreached themselves, they
have gradually let others into the ''di-
vide.''> Now all Of those originally in
and those let in and their various pot
swabbers and bottle washers are de-
claring that the bill has been perfectly
adjusted to the needs Of the times and
that it's passage is only a matter Of a
few days. In sending out this. bugle
note Of victory they have forgotten all
the Democrats and all the Populists
who oppose this sort of grab on princi-
pie. They have also forgotten num-
Der Of Republicans who feel the same
sort Of opposition. They have forgot
ten likewise the miscellaneous but ever
active pie hunters who have not yet
been let into the "divide." The result
of this forgetfulness will be the failure
Of the bill. .'s
There has been no lobby in Washing.
ton opposing the ship subsidy bill. but
there have been some very strong men
who have worked hard against this
measure as matter of principle. Some
Of these men have been Republicans
and some Of them have had no connec-
ton. directly or indirectly, with the
shipping business. They have been in
tensely in earnest. 1t is largely due to
the fact that they have not worked
along the usual lobby lines that this
bill has not yet been passed and in all
probability will not be passed. They
have absolutely stripped it Of it's pre-
lenses and shown to the world that the
Standard Oil company, which controls
the Pennsylvania Railroad company,
the. International Navigation company
and the National Transit company,
would receive not less than $5O,OOO,-
600 out of the $9O,000,OOO provided for
within the next tep years and that it
would be very easy matter for COM
bine to be formed by which they would
receive practically the whole subsidy
Those who were inclined to favor the
bill as party measure are becoming
alarmed and are not willing that the
Republican party should shoulder the
responsibility for such scheme.
There are many Republicans who do
not oppose Boss Hanna in the caucuses
or the steering committee meetings
who will still lend the, weight Of their
influence to the postponement of the
bill. These Republicans are still not
satisfied with the methods of division
During the last days Of this rapidly
waning session they are getting. all the
concessions that they can get. They
know that they can now get many
more concessions than they could get
in a long session, where there would be
the greater probability of their being
driven into line by the party whip.
Having made these concessions in this
congress, the favored few who at first
started out to bag all the game can.
hardly revert to their first purpose
when the next congress convenes. The.
hope of the reasonably good Republic
ans is that in the next congress they
can pass ship subsidy bill having in
II the elements of fairness to those en-
gagged in the shipbuilding and the ship
sailing business. The hope Of those OPP.
posed to the subsidy q. principle Is that
the stencil this bill Will leave ii the
nostrils OF the fair minded public will
max lit impossible to pass In the next
nroese