The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1901-03-01
THEE OF KID

THREE OF A KIND.
Since the commencement Of the
present session of congress, The Re-
PUBLIC has received the speeches Of
Senators Frye, Of Maine, Hanna. of
Ohio, and Depew, Of New York, in favor
of the ship subsidy bill; and not
single scrap has been received on the
opposite of the question, except as con
tanned in the daily press. Yet the
false cry is made by the advocates Of
the measure that a lobby of foreign
ship owners and a press bureau of for
eign capitalists are endeavoriug to
defeat the bill This howl is a lying
canard put up to pull the wool over
the eyes of the people while they are
| being feeced by the trusts.
Senator Frye Acknowledges in his
speech that he fought the proposition
to re-admit those vessels to American
registry which, for safety in the time
of the ciril war, went into foreign reg
istry and few a foreign flag; and that
he helped to frame the law, and even
now uphOlds it, that fOrbids any ship
to be admitted to American registry
unless built or rebuilt in an American
shipyard. And, in the case of a ship
rebuilt in an American yard, at an ex-
pense of three-fOurths of her value
when again ready for sea, she must have
been previously wrecked on an Ameri-
can shore.
Senator Hanna acknowledges in his
speech that the subsidy is needed to
Offset the greater cost of building ships
in American shipyards (mainIy because
of the repacity of the steel trust), and
the laws on the federal statute books
as to crews, pay of seamen and ship al
lowances, which makes the expense of
operating American ships nearly
double that of foreign vessels. Let it
be remembered that these laws we're
put on the statute book about the
same time as the others as to registry,
and that they have numbered the stat
ute book and handicapped American
shipmasters for now nearly 40 years.
Senator Depew admits all the fore
going, but appeals to national pride
and the flag" and, he argues, Incl
dentalIy, that we appropriate such vast
sums for the army, the navy, for pen
sions, for river and harbOr improve
ments that it is no great matter to pay
100000 a year for ship subsidies. All
oppose free ships, the purchase of yes
sells of other countries, and discrimin-
alive duties in favor of goods imported
in American vessels-the very meas
ures that we're in vogue 80 years and
more ago, and that caused the ascend
ency of the American merchant marine
in the first half Of the last century.
All admit that the species of legisla-
ton, enacted since the republican
party came into power in 1861, has
brought down the American merchant
marine to per cent of our carrying
trade, whereas, in 1858 81 per cent of
our products went out in American
bottoms and under the American flag
which floated on every sea and flutter-
ed proudly at the masthead of our
ships in every port of the world. The
gall manifested by the advocates of a
ship subsidy is simply monumental. In
substance they say: "Yes, we did it;
but come boys, pass around the hat
and throw in a few millions for the
poor steel trust and the impecuniOus
American shipy5rds."
All these adv COATES try to make it
appear that the bill is in the interest
of the American IabOrer and the Am
erican farmer. 1t is not true. The
bill proposed d oe5 not regulate ocean
freight rates; and as TO the labOrer, all
well informed persons know that the
larger number of most ships crews are
made up of different nationalIties,
Portuguese, Italians. Malays, Kanakas,
Chinese, japanese, etc. This has al
ways been the case, and IN the recent
sinking of the Rio de JaneirO off San
Francisco it comes out that large
part of her crew were Chinese. In the
ship subsidy bill, where the American
laborer would get dollars the combines
and trusts would get millions; and the
advocates Of this vicious measure, In
speaking a few words, professedly, in
the interest Of the farmer and labOrer,
are really spea king yolumns for the
great capitalists 1t is a gigantic swim
die, but it viii probly pass at the ex-
ira session of c, ongress.