The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-06-25
NEW SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.

ne WASHINGTON correspondent OF the
Pioneer Press, of this city, gives the fol-
lowing interesting information concern
ing the new ship subsidy bill which will
be introduced at the next session of con
gress;
The new bill, which has not yet been
made public, will be introduced by a
Western representative. The distinctive
features of the measure will be, first, the
entire rejection of the speed basis of sub
sidy payments and the absolute prohibit
ton of the purchase of foreign ships for
participation i'm the subsidy The new
bill provides for rigid inspection of ves-
sells enjoying the subsidy and insists on
gradual employment of American sail
ors-during the first three years one
fourth of the crew, the next three years
one-third and the last four years one
half to be Americans. The Hanna-Payne
bill provided that on a consuls certif-
1cate OF inability to find American sea-
men In foreign port the master Of the
ship would~haye the liberty to hire the
cheapest labor he could find. The trans
Pacific freight steamers run by American
transcontinentaI roads are now paying
$12 and $14 month, Mexican silver, for
coolie firemen, a practice which is never
likely to produce American seamen or af-
ford any inducement or protection to
Americans who might desire to take up
seafaring life. The argument for any
subsidy bill is that American goods must
be carried to foreign markets in Ameri-
can bottoms and, as far as possible. with
American seamen. 1t is understood that
this provision of the proposed bill has
been indorsed by the labor organizations
of the country which have hitherto OPP
posed the Hanna-Payne bill.
The bill excludes positively all vessels
peculiarly constructed for carrying liquid
cargo. This is meant to apply to the
tank steamers of the Standard Oil COM
pany. Provision is made by the bill for
vessels running on the lakes, the subsidy
being payable only on ocean mileage. The
Hanna-Payne bill did not cover this.
n fNH1
ocean steamers built within the past year
at South Chicago have gone down the
lakes, across the ocean and are now at
Liverpool. There is believed to be no
good reason why vessels built on the
great lakes should not enjoy subsidy IL
engaged in foreign commerce. The bill
permits American register for foreign
built ships purchased by the government
during the Spanish-American war when
sold to American purchasers. All YES
sells enjoying subsidy are to carry the
mails free. Subsidized vessels are also
authorized and subject to acquisition by
the United States government in case of
war
The Sherman antitrust law is made APP
plicable to all contracts for subsidy. The
most important section of the bill applies
to the trusts. This is substantially the
same as the amendment offered by Rep
reSentative Stevens, of st. Paul, last
winter, with view to preventing ship
trusts from being organized with a view
o. controlling freight rates, docks and
terminal points. The men behind this
bill understand perfectly we'll that while
there is plenty of room at sea for all
ships, there are not mary points where
freight can be taken on. The tranScOn-
tnental railroad lines are bound to be
feeders of the merchant marine. These
railways now operate steamship lines,
and with the enactment of the subsidy
bill they would increase the number of
their ships, multiply docks, warehouses
and elevators and monopolize the ship
ping trade. They might give the shipper
an easy rate from Chicago to New York,
Baltimore or Newport News, and at those
points charge them for rehandIine an
amount that would make it cheaper for
him to ship on their vessels rather than
on his own. There is also danger in
combinations being formed by ShipOWnerS
and ShipyardS to make it too expensive
to build American ships the idea being
the fewer ships there are the greater en-
joyment of the subsidy So long as the
greater part of the subsidy should be re-
ceiVed by those who control terminal
points, there would be little incentive to
those outside the favored few to build
and run ships in the foreign trade. The
result of this would be that the subsidy
would be the means of putting money
irto the hands Of the few and keep for
eign ships profitably employed in carry
ing American products, except so far as
the great railway corporations could car
ry freight in their own steamers after
having hauled it to the seaboard.
The most vigorous objection to this bill
will arise from the fact that it rejects the
speed basis for subsidy. It's authors take
broad and patriotic grounds and believe
that the country will accept their prop
osition as a reasonable enc Subsidy
for speed must be paid in proportion to
the knots made per hour in order to be
equitable to all vessels drawing the sub
sidy, and the subsidy must be increased
as the rate of speed increases. The
Hanna-Payne bill provides for subsidy
on ships making eleven to twelve knots
per hour. the speed being determined by
ured course. With selected coal, clean
CRATES and flues and expert fremen any
beat can be pushed from one to two
knots above normal speed.
Yet in actual service they would never
in all probability attain this speed, and
yet for twenty years it is proposed IN
der the Hanna-Payne bill that the gov
eminent should pay subsidy for possible
theory of subsidy is believed to come
more nearly to fair basis. cargo
steamer of twelve knots can be taken
across to Liverpool with a consumption
of forty-fiYe tons of coal and a force of
twelve or fifteen fremen. The twenty
one-knot boat burns 300 tons over the
same distance and carries 127 firemen.
The new bill carries the freight theory
of subsidy so far as to include sailing
ships. 1t costs to build and operate a
sailing ship one-third of what it costs in
the case of a steamship of the same
tonnage The bill therefore proposes to
pay sailing ships 80 1-3 Of the amount
of subsidy proposed Tor steamers. The
new bill cuts the subsidy period down
from twenty to ten years and the whole
annual payment from S9,000,090 to IS, OOO,-
O0O. The period during which contracts
may be made under the proposed bill ex-
pires July l, 1902. No ship over twenty
years old can be eligible for subsidy
There were vessels registered for enjoy
ment under the Hanna-Payne subsidy
that We're forty years old, and which
would have been sixty years old at the
end of the subsidy period. The new bill
is believed to be better calculated to in
crease the number of American ships.
The theory is to make the number Of
subsidy payments throughout the period
of ten years build new ship in the place
of the old one. The ship that has earned
It's own cost certainly ought to be able
to get along without a subsidy after that
The payments proposed are at the rate
Of IL cents per gross ton for each l0O
nautical miles not exceeding 1,5D0 going
and coming and l cent per gross ton for
each additional 100 miles above 1500.
The authors of this cargo subsidy bill
have gone squarely against the Demo-
cratic doctrine of free ships. They do
not think it Is wise to admit foreign
built ships to American registry to draw
subsidy out of the treasury. Such a pol
ley is in conflict with the theories of the
Republican party, and it is in opposition
to the protection policy, They urge that