The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-03-08
Friends Of Frye Bill Quote
Him as Authority.
UNDER GERMAN FLAG
What Will Happen if Hills Ships
Fly Such Emblem.
NOT so HARD TO SPECIFY THIS
James j. Would Face the Obnoxious
Task of Paying Much Lower
81 Wages. .-....

From, The Journal Bureau, Room, 50, Post
Building, Washsngton
Washington March 8.-Members OF
congress who are interested in ship sub
sides are having quiet fun over the an
nouncement from New York that James J.
Hill is thinking of placing his two large
freighters now building at New London,
Conn, under the German instead of the
American flag. ..
The most of the fun comes from Mr.
Hills own interview giving reasons why
he thinks it may be advisable for him to
make this arrangement. He says, as
quoted in T e ] O u r n a l last Tuesday,
under a New York date, that the German
laws furnish much the better results for
ship owners by comforting on captains the
more effective control of crews. In other
words. it is merely question of proper
ship discipline, the German navigation
laws being more perfect that the Ameri-
can in this respe ct.
Senator Frye's Interpretation.
Senator Frye and other senators in
terested in the pending ship subsidy bill
have examined MIR. Hills interview care
fully. They say there have been no
changes in the American navigation laws
for many years, so far as sailors are con-
cerned. While it is not admitted that Mr..
Hills stat ements about American sailor
boarding houses are correct in fact, they
are positively denied-yet the conditions,
| whatever they may be, have been the
same for many years, and Mr.. Hills argu-
ments for putting his ships under for
! eign fag-that the sailors are too we'll
treated under American laWs-WOuld ap-
I;ply to all ships under American flags.
| The real point of the matter is, as a
senator remarked to-day, that wages and
the cost of operation of ship under the
German flag are only about one-haf what
lhey are under the American flag. Mr..
Frye, in his speech in the senate Mon
! day, stated the wages paid on the st.
Louis of the American line and on the
| Kaiser Wilhelm Der Crosse of the Ger
man. line, excluding captain, the wages
| of -4he ST. Louis amounted to- $11,305 per
month and on tie Kaiser Wilhelm der
Crosse, s7,715, but the latter ship carries
! 120 more men than the American ship.
| Reducing the German ship to the same
size as the American ship and the same
number Of men, Mr.. Frye said that 'tthe
! German ship is running monthly on wages
and food alone for half what it costs
J LII
Arguments for Subsidy Bill.
The Hill situation is claimed here to
be great argument in favor of the pass
age of the Frye subsidy bill. A promi-
nent subsidy authority said to-day regard
ing the Hill matter: -
That explains why Mr.. Hill contemplates
putting his ships under the German flag
after having built them in America and fur
nishes a most conclusive argument why it is
necessary to pass a bill like that pending IL
the senate to aid the merchant n arine in the
! foreign trade, In order TO put it on an equality
with that OF other nations. If the shipping
! bill becomes a law Mr. Hill will not find il
necessary to put his ships under foreign
flag But If the bill fails Mr.. Hills ships will
probably go under German flags
/ Mr.. Baker, president of the Atlantic
transport line, says that the ships which his
company are now building in American yard:
| will: be put under foreign flags if the ship.
ping bill fails to pass congress-.
i r Tor,