Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1901-02-05
SHIP SUBSIDY BILL,
SPECIAL WASHINGTON LETTER.


Into "the Divide"-The Attitude of
Dissatisfied Republicans.
WASHINGTON, D. C.-The advocates
OF the Hanna-Frye-Payne ship subsidy
bill continue to retreat before the crit
| lies of that measure.
When it was first presented to the
senate by Senator Hanna during the
first days of the now expiring congress,
they said that it was the result of
}nany months of study by the shipping
experts and the best law constructors
of the country, that it condensed into
a congressional bill lifetimes of study
upon the best means of building up the
merchant marine and that it was as
perfect as human brains could make it
and ready for passage without any
amateur legislative tinkering.
| This was when it carried an unlimit-
ed appropriation. What it would have
done for the country in it's thus per-
fected state the Lord only knows Very
soon n howl of protest went up from
Dan to Beersheba against the "unlimit-
| ed provisions of the measure, and an
amendment was accepted limiting the
appropriation to 100000 year.
| Ever since this time the elasticity of
the bills perfection has been drawn
upon. Its advocates have yielded inch
by inch until the bill has quite diff
ferent complexion from the unphoto-
graphable countenance that it at first
presented. But with all this carving
and splicing and remolding it retains
its essential feature of taking out of
the pockets of the whole people some
300, 100000 for the benefit of favored
few composed mainly of the lifetime
experts who drew the bill.
The critics to whom it's original pro-
motors have been yielding are all with
in the Republican party and among
those whose support has been counted
on from the beginning. If the supposed
friends Of the measure have brought
upon it the Disagreement that now APP
pears, what would it look like If its op-
ponents drove their criticisms through
1t? Verify it would only be useful for
waste paper!
This constant retreating Of the adv0-
Gates Of the bill does not indicate that
1t is measure founded on principle
but that it is desire to pilfer from the
treasury many millions for the benefit
of private parties. None of the changes
that have been made apply to the prin-
ciples or purposes of the bill. Those
originally provided for wanted to trans
fer from the taxpayers money to their
pockets 100000 year. Finding that
they had overreached themselves, they
have gradually let others into the "di-
vide" Now all of those originally in
and those let in and their various pot
swabbers and bottle washers are de-
claring that the bill has been perfectly
adjusted to the needs of the times and
that its passage is only matter of
few days. In sending out this bugle
note Of victory they have forgotten all
the Democrats and all the Populists
who oppose this sort Of grab on princi-
pie. They have also forgotten num-
Der Of Republicans who feel the same
! sort of opposition. They have forgot
active pie hunters who have not yet
been let into the divide" The result
of this forgetfulness will be the failure
of the bill.
There has been no lobby in Washing
ton opposing the ship subsidy bill, but
there have been some very strong men
| who have worked hard against this
measure as matter Of principle Some
of these men have been Republicans
and some of them have had no connec-
ton, directly or Indirectly, with the
shipping business. They have been in
tensely in earnest. 1t is largely due to
the fact that they have not worked |
along the usual lobby lines that this
bill has not yet been passed and in all I
probability will not be passed. They
have absolutely stripped it Of its pre-
lenses and shown to the world that the
Standard Oil company, which controls
the Pennsylvania Railroad company,
the International Navigation company
and the National Transit company,
would receive not less than S5O,OOO,-
900 out of the $90,000OOO provided for
| within the next ten years and that 1t
would be very easy matter for com.
bine to be formed by which they would
receive practically the whole subsidy.
Those who were inclined to favor the
bill as party measure are becoming
alarmed and are not willing that the
Republican party should shoulder the
responsibility for such scheme
There are many Republicans VITO do
not oppose Boss Hanna Il TIE czzerzss
Or the steering colnEttss meetings
who viii still lend the weight o. ta=a-
influence 10 the posrpo1emeat O. IL
bill. These Republicans arg srfI ra-
satisfied with the methods u dt7Esssr
During the last days Of this repsdIg
waning session they are getting ell the
concessions that they can get They
know that they can now get many
more concessions than they could get
in long session, where there would be
the greater probability of their being
driven into line by the party whip
| Having made these concessions In this
congress, the favored few who at first
started out to bag all the game can
hardly revert to their first purpose
when the next congress convenes. The
hope of the reasonably good Republic.
ans is that in the next congress they
can pass ship subsidy bill having in
1T the elements Of fairness to those en-.
gagged in the shipbuilding and the shin
sailing business. The hope of those op.
posed to the subsidy principle is that