Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-02-12
WASHINGTON LETTER,
INTEREST IN CONGRESS GEN
TIERS IN SHIPPING BILL.

ship Companies against Our Own.
WASHINGTON, Feb. S.-The chief in
terest Of the session Of congress now
centers in the shipping bill. This bill
has been side tracked a number Of
times and frequently pronounced dead
by sanguine Democrats and cocksure
newspaper correspondents. To all such
individuals a surprise party was given
on Tuesday. when Senator Frye, who
has the bill in charge, gave notice that
he would not give way hereafter to
anybody or to any other bill, not even
to an appropriation bill, until the ship
ping bill was disposed of unless COM
PEELED to do so by a vote of. the senate
MIR. Frye is enabled to take this deci-s
sive step because the shipping bill has
the right Of way, being the regular or
der before the senate, and also because
1t is Endorsed by the administration
and by the full strength of the Repub-
ltcan party in both houses.
-
Briefly, the Republicans unitedly sup
port the bill because they consider it a
measure of the highest Importance and
greatest advantage to the whole coun-
try. 1t aims to resuscitate and rebuild
our American merchant marine by the
same or similar means that Great Brit
ain and Germany have developed their
merchant marine, and that has proved
to be the only way in which that object
can be attained. The opposition have
alleged the unconstitutionality of boun-
ties and favoritism to existing lines as
their principal arguments, but they
have been unable to punch a hole
through the i~mpregnable defenses of
the measure. Candid and careful K
animation Of the text shows conclusive
ly that the bill is not chargeable with
favoritism and that it will tend to ben
eft the whole community not only
shipbullders and shipowners, but also
all the agricultural, manufacturing,
mining, mercantile, commercial and in
dustrial interests generally. ,
Senator Aldrich is one of the most
prominent figures and a power in the
senate. He is ~unexcelled as a manager
and manipulation and is very successful
in compromising conflicting interests to
mutual satisfaction. He is in charge
of the war revenue reduction bill and is
very anxious to call it up and have it
disposed of, but he recognizes the great
merit of the shipping bill and will not
hinder it's progress by. obtruding his
own bill at present. His evident ear
nestness in behalf Of the shipping bill
Is another reason why it's special man.
ayers are confident that it will pass, be-
cause Senator Aldrich Yields great in
! fuence on both sides of the senate, and
his Judgment in regard to any measure
Is invariably deferred to with great re-
spect by many senators and, in fact, by
the senate as a whole.
-
The proposition to bring Mrs. Carrie
Nation of Kansas to this city in q r-
form capacity is viewed with trepida-
ton by some statesmen who are aware
OF the fact that, as stated in a recent
educational primer, congress holds it's
sessions "above two unlicensed can
teens" Referring to this alarming ru-
NOR, Representative Curtis of Kansas
remarks that if Mrs. Nation m here
we shall send her first to the senate
and let her deal summarily with the
conditions over there before taking up
a crusade among the representatives OF
the people" =
e. 81 ME- w min N 1D,zx1 --
the government in charge of the rural
free delivery mail system, has arrived
In Washington after a long absence in
n line of@his duty, and reports that
rural free delivery is q grand success.
n 1t has come to stay. It is q civil
Hzing force and an educational agent.
n the amount Of good it will accom-
plish for the people is .~incalculable. It
makes the farms where the service
appreciate in dollars and cents, >
n it makes farm life more attractive.
1t is a boon and a blessing, and its ex
tension should be applauded by every
patriot" Mr.. Amin says that in the
territory which he covers, embracing
half Of the United States, the demands
for free delivery are SO great that it
will be a year before the latest appli-
cations a be attended to by the de-
partment.
Apropds, to return again for a mo-
ment to the shipping bill, Postmaster
General Smith recently demonstrated
in an article the fact that Great Brit
ain pays far larger subsidies to her
steamship companies for carrying the
mails than we ever paid to ours. The
same Is true of Germany, which gives
the North German Lloyd company ST. !
100000 or more for carrying the Ger
man mails to this country, which is
more than twice as much as we ever
gave to any American line for a
similar service. We are also. paying
large sum to the German, French and
English lines for carrying our mails to
Europe, because we have not enough
american ships to perform the service.
And now the agents Of these. foreign
benedciarfes of our government are
io0ynrfs1U # on ga god tn dnb4in 4l 80.