The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-11
Mr.. VEST ON SUBSIDY
ELOQUENT MISSOURIAN SPOKE
WITH FIRE AND FORCE.
WAS BRILLIANTLY ELOQUENT.
FACTS AND ARGUMENTS MARSHAL
ED TO GOOD EFFECT.

Ocenn Commerce Carried by Her
Tramp steamers which Receive
Not n Penny of Subsidy-Our Navt-
cation Laws the Trouble With
Americas Merchant Marine.
Washington, March 10.-For nearly
two hours to-day Mr.. Vest of Mis-
souri, addressed the Senate in oppo-
sition to the pending ship subsidy
bill. No member of the body has
been accorded more hatteringly close
attention than he received. Despite
his evident feebleness, he spoke with
fore and fire and at times became
brilliantly eloquent. He carefully an
alyzed the pending measure and mar
shaded his arguments against it with
cogency and effect.
Mr.. Tillman of South Carolina fol-
lowed with brief speech in oppo-
sition to the bill. He denounced the
policy of giving subsidies to any
body, particularly to individuals and
corporations engaged in the for1na-
ton of shipping trusts.
Mr.. Vest declared that 70 per cent
OF the proposed subsidy which would
be received by ships on the Atlantic
would go to a single line-the Inter-
national Navigation Company-the
American line. 1t was in this respect
open to the same objection as the
bill presented to the last Congress.
The vessels would get the subsidies
whether they carried single postal
card or not
He declared that the pending bill
provided for pure naked and UNI
adulterated subsidy" and said it was
defended on the ground that with the
subsidy, the American merchant ma
rlne could compete with the subsidized
ships of European maritime powers.
He denied emphatically and distinctly
that such would be the result of the
bllFs operation. England had SO per
cent. of the ocean-carrying trade Of
the world, but he denied that England
paid subsidies to her vessels. Most of
England's ocean commerce was carried
by her tramp steamers. They were to
be found in every port and came into
competition with each other. but not
penny of subsidy was paid to any
of them.
In adverting briefly to the operation
of the Dingley tariff law, MIR. Vest
spoke of the lumber schedule.
Mr.. Hanna interrupted to inquire
how many Democratic senators had
voted for tax of 81 a thousand feet
upon lumber when the Dingley bill
was before the Senate.
Mr. Vest replied that he could not
tell He did not care to if he knew.
Inc fact that any Democratic Senator
did vote for it indicated only the force
of tariff combinations.
TiIlman Voted for the "steai."
Mr.. Tillman of South Carolina re-
marked that he had voted for the 81
tax on lumber, although he knew it
was steal, and had so stated at the
time. He had voted for 1t, however.
because he proposed to get out of the
tariff bill share for his state and that
was the only way South Carolina could
get anything.
Mr.. Vest criticised the majority OF
the Commerce Committee for elimina-
ting from this bill the provisions which
required a subsidized ship to carry at
least so per cent of her cargo capacity
upon any voyage upon which she was
to receive subsidy.
Mr.. Vest urged that if the shipping
trusts were to be subsidized there was
no reason why the farming industry
and the mining industry, too, should
not be subsidized.
built in this country as cheaply as
they could be built anywhere. The
shipyards of the United States were
never more fully employed than they
now were, and had been for several
years.
He made a vigorous attack upon the
navigation laws of the United States,
declaring that they were responsible
for the decline of the merchant marine.
The remedy was to abrogate the navi-
cation laws. and permit citizens of the
United States to buy their ships where
they could buy them cheapest.
Mr.. Vest said if this subsidy is given
1t would be but the beginning of the
end. and will result in a monopoly
equal to that of the Standard Oil Com
pany.
One Kind of a Democrat.
Mr.. Tillman answered a question, pro-
pounded by Mr.. Hanna during the
course of the latter's recent speech, by
saying that he voted for the 81 tax on
lumber, because he saw an opportunity
to enhance the value of a Southern
product. He had, he said, since then
been unanimously reelected to the
Senate, which stamped him as a very
good specimen of a South Carolina
Democrat.
He then addressed himself to the sub
ject of the ship-subsidy bill, and de-
clared that foreigners win not surren-
der the trade they enjoy without a
struggle, and will, if necessary, resort
to the cutting of rates in order to hold
it. He said that the bill would foster
monopolies, and referred to the pro-
posed incorporation of the United
States Shipbuilding Company, which
would absorb the large shipyards of
the country.
Speaking of the use of vessels in case
of emergency by the government, Mr..
Tillman said he would cite as a COM
mentary on patriotism and love OF
country the fact that the four scout
ships, st. Paul, Paris, New York and
St. Louis, used during the Spanish
war. cost the government S2,s64S35.
and these had been subsidized under a
pretense that they would serve us in
time of emergency. He said he was
surprised to find the Republican party,
which claims to be the peculiarly
American party, stand sponsor for such
a bill.
The Senate went into executive ses-
sion and adjourned.