The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1901-06-07

nont In tho Orient, bccnuso Nod wns
In tho Spnniah war md moved uR to
plnco Il there. All tho powers OF thia
earth cnn mover take it down, for tho
| hand OF onlnipotrncr IN supporting II,
| and will hold IL there until wO M II
nation have accomplished all tho vnat
| plnns OF Deity involved In ita plant
| ing over tho islCa OF tho Orient. IL la
beyond tho power OF ovcn tho fancy
to conceive OF tho vast religious bono.
tlts to flow from our torrtorinl cXpnn.
sion In tho onRt I'm tho way OF Hprcnd
| ing Il knowledge of tho biblo and tho
| ohristinn religion.
| Akin to tho Uuration OF expansion IL
Ia that Of tho building up II morohnut
marine. Without ships to carry our
imports and exports much OF tho bono
ilts OF territorial and commercial
supremacy which IN dependent upon
rival nations foi transportation fnoili.
tics Wo pay $500, ZOO, 600 annually to
to other nattona for ocean frolghts.
They have morohnnt mnrinos which,
have been built by subsidios. In orr
| rying our freights they discriminate
| against us In order to roln burso them.
| solves ~ fnr M pOseiblo for tho pay
mont Of subsidies by them. so TINT in
| fact wo arc Indirectly pnying tho
creator part OF tho subsidirs granted
by England, Franco, Germany and
| Norway. lsthia wiao and CcOnOmicnl2
Can wo afford to continue to do 1t,
whom our surplus products neCrssitnto
our reaching ont for foreign markets.
and In competing with other nations
In tho proc Of productsY Tho pro.
position that wo need and muat have
Il merchant marine to succeed in our
commeroinl struggle with other M
tions Ia ono which oommonds itsolf to
| tho common business sense Of all. Az
| said in the senate in ono OF my
speeches it is just llio ono merchant
| depending upon his competitor III
business to make his deliveries for
| him.
There is misapprchcnsion in the
puoli" MIND an to what II subsidy
mcnns. Many have been lead to be.
lieve it is II "steal" ~ job, or some
national expenditure of money for
certain individuals or corporations.
| This il not 80. 1t Is simply encourage
ment Of ship building by government
encouragement and aid. This is no
new principle in American politics.
Years ago our government fostered
ship building, and then we carried 80
per cent of our ocean freights. Today
when no encouragement is given to il, g,
we carry only 10 per cent, and 9th r
nations carry the balance. This
principle Of subsidy Is no new thing
in southern politics. The southern
states subsidized most Of the railroads
built before the civil war. The Green-
vile and Columbia railroad would
never perhaps have been constructed
had 1T not been for state aid. All the
railroads in this country are subsidized
either directly or Indirectly by the
government for carrying the mails. At
the last session of congress the South
ern railroad received subsidy of
| S2U0,O0 for carrying the fast southern
mails, and all the democratic senators
who are denouncing ship subsidies
voted for it. Before the war Alabama
and Louisiana granted subsidies to
encourage the building Of steamers.
i can see no difference in principle in
granting subsidies to railroads and
ships. Both are fostered alike by
| government. Why then so much clap
trap about ship subsidies2
we need merchant marine for our
protectien, as we'll as to enlarge our
commerce. When the coast line of
our country is considered, probably
as much as 10,O00 miles on the Atlantic
end Pacific, some conception can be
mad OF the necessity for u merchant
marine to aid in our defense in war
with any foreign nation. Our navy
would prove utterly inadequate for
| this purpose. No nation depends
I entirely upon it's navy Tor defensive or
1 offensive purposes. England, France
and Germany have merchant marines,
which train sailors, BAD in time of
war are easily converted into tran
| sports Tor carrying troops or into war
vessels. This is Que OF our needs
| During the last war with Spain we
| expended millions Of dollars in char
tering and buying transport ships,
| and we are still doing 80 to meet the
| demands OF our island POSSESSIONS.
| With merchant marine we would
have valuable adjunct to our navy
| Subsidized vessels could readily be
converted into transports and war
ships, and with these in addition to
our navy we would have some security
for our vast coast line. Who then
| Will think 1t unwise or needless ex-
| travagance to give subsidies OF eight
| or nine millions dollars for Il few years
| 80 build up merchant marine, even
when only Its great utility ns de-
| icnsive measure Is considered7
The construction OF tho Nicarnguan
| canal Will render necessary Il merchant
marine. That the canal will be COM
| Dleted In few years no ono doubts.
When 1t IL and our froights are carried
| by ships over which floats tho AmerI-
| can flag, tho south will DO In n posi-.
tlon to command tho eastern trade,
and her ports OF Now Orleans, Mobile,
SnVnnnah and Charleston will TO tho
avenues through which our exports
| vii reach the markets OF the world,
and they will become tho great cen
tres OF our commerce In tho place of
| Now York, Philadelphia, Bopton and
| Norfolk. What brilliant possibilities
for the south! WIN our people allow
these opportunities 10 remain unm.
provcd7 All they have to do IL to
move along on tho lines OF tho pro.
grcss of tho ago and work for tho
without fritterinR away their time and
| 0nnrYiGs In the confederation OF dead
| pOli,i1al Issues and what arc and are
not JefYers0nian democratic principles.
For myself, ! propose to take advnnt-
ago Of tho splendid opportunities Of