Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1901-02-06
WASHINGTON LETTER
LABOR GIVES SUPPORT TO THE
SHIPPING BILL.

Let American Labor Build Ships to
ibusters Are Blocking Business In
the Senate.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1.-Delegates rep
resenting labor organizations are
drifting into Washington for the pur-
pose of interviewing their senators and
representatives regarding their position
toward the shipping bill. 1t has been
pointed out to u few supposedly in
different or hostile congressman by
these labor delegations that the pas
sage Of the shipping bill is desired by
the labor organizations Of the country,
not as a political or as a partisan, but
as an industrial, measure. These men
talk plainly and generally very tersely.
They are quoted as having said that of
course some n must make money out
of ships, If there are any to be built in
this country, and that no sane man
with capital can be expected to invest
in them unless he is pretty sure of get
ting his money back. with fair interest.
r.
The spokesman Of one delegation is
thus quoted, he having been asked by
his representative if he was willing to
subsidize the Standard Oil company to
carry it's oil across the a IF that
company will build it's ships in the
United States and place American Off
GERS, seamen and fremen on board of
them, instead Of building them in Eng
land and putting Germans and other
foreigners in command of them, with
foreigners making up the crews, as
they now do, of course I shall be will
ing to see a reasonable subsidy paid to
the Standard Oil company-enough to
make good to that company the loss
It will bear from building ships at high
er cost at home and Of running them at
higher cost under the American flag.
What we want is work, and it doesn't
matter to US whether the Standard OIL
company or the United States OF an
individual furnishes it. We expect to
get wages enough for our work to
make it worth our while to expend our
energies at it, and we expect the peo-
pie who put their capital into ships will
receive q return upon their investment
as good as labor receives for it's work"
-.
The senate is beginning to dispose of
public business with a tri1e more &C.
lerity than it has shown during the
preceding six weeks Of the present SEES
sion. With but one month remaining
before the close of the session and a
dozen appropriation bills yet to be act
ed upon, as well as the river and har-
Dor improvement bill, the war tax re-
duction bill, the Grout oleomargarine
bill, to say nothing Of pension legisla-
ton, private bills and the like, it will
be clear that the senate is likely to be
pretty steeply immersed in it's public
duties every legislative day that still
remains.
The house takes up and disposes of
Its work with it's accustomed aplomb.
Nothing disturbs the serenity of its
progress. Bills come up, are fairly and
reasonably considered and are then
peremptorily brought to a vote. The
man who would attempt to flibuster in
the house would be like the late la
mented Billy Patterson. He wouldn't
know who struck him. In the senate
they do things quite differently, be-
cause there the flibuster is the king
pin-that is to say, the most disagree
able and obnoxious man in that branch
of congress is, by the consent of his
agreeable and genial associates, allow
ed to say what shall and what shall
not be passed through the upper branch
of congress. The warped and p~ervert-
ed, even If honest, views of the fill
buster in the senate is the standard
by which public business is measured!
Some little fear is being expressed by
the friends of Cuba that a year is like