The age-herald., 1902-03-11
Makes Powerful Argument in Opposition to the Pro-
 posed Measure
SAYS T WOULD ONLY TEND
 ID FOSTER MONOPOl|ES.
Denies Emphaticaliy That Provisions of Bill Would Permit U. S. to Com pete With Subsidized Ships of
 European Maritime Powers.

Washington. March 1O.-For nearly two
 hours today MT. Vest, Missouri, address
 ed the Senate in opposition to the pend
 ing ship subsidy bill. No member of the | body has been accorded more fiatterngly | close attention than lie received. Despite
 his evident feebleness, he spoke with
 force and fire and at times became bril- | liantly eloquent. He carefully analysed l the pending measure and particularly at | tackled the present navigation laws,
 which he declared were relics of barbar-
 ism and responsible far the decline of our
 merchant marine.
 | MT Tillman. South Carolina, followed
 with a brief speech in opposition to the
 bill. He denounced the policy of giving
 subsidies to anybody, particularly to in-
 dividuals and corporations engaged in the
 formation of shipping trusts.
 The Senate passed a considerable num-
 Der of objected bills on the calendar.
 The Senate agreed to the conference
 asked for by the House on the diplomatic
 and consular appropriation bill and
 Messrs. Hale, Cullom and Teller were
 named as conferees.
 Compound With Postal Subsidy. | Mir Vest, Missouri, began his speech in | opposition to the pending subsidy bill, comparing 1t in it's details with the postal
 subsidy act of 1891 and showing that in
 the pending bill it was proposed to in-
 crease the subsidy because it was claim
 ed by the majority that the present post
 al subsidies were not sufficient to achieve
 the results hoped for from the pending
 bill. The Missouri Senator declared that
 73 per cent of the subsidy which would
 be received by ships on the Atlantic
 would go to the International Navigation | Company-the American line. The pend- ing bill he said, woulu take money out
 of the treasury of the United States with
 out giving anything of value in return for it. The vessels would get the sub
 sidy whether they carried a single postal | card or not. The peoples money ought l not to be paid out to individuals or cor
 porations upon any such hypothesis as l that suggested in the present bill He | said that MT. Frye and MT. Hanna had claimed that trade would follow the mails. As matter of fact. he asserted, | the mails followed the trade, that had been proved by the history of the world. He declared that the pending bill pro- {, vided for a pure, naked and unadulter- ated subsidy" and said 1t was defended 1 on the ground that with the subsidy, | the American merchant marine could compete with ne subsidized ships of Eu- | ropean maritime powers. He denied | ''emphaticaly and distinctly that such
 would be the result of the bills opera | tion England he asserted, had 6S per | cent of the ocean carrying trade of the | world. but he denied that England paid | subsidies to her vessels. He declared that 1 Great Britain paid the steamship lines for | carrying the malls upon the number of | pounds of mail carried.
 Carried by Tramp Steamer. | Most of England's ocean commerce was | carried by her tramp steamers and not
 a penny of subsidy was paid to any of
 them. The only real subsidy which Great
 Britain paid, Mir. Vest said, was $30O.0OO 1 a year paid to the owners of certain
 vessels which could be called into use
 as auxiliary cruisers in time of war.
 MT. Vest sharply criticized the provision
 of the pending bill looking to the comple-
 ton of the deep sea fisheries.
 MT. Vest criticized the majority of the
 commerce committee and for eliminating
 from this bill the provision which requir-
 ed a subsidized ship to carry at least
 50 per cent of ner acrgo capacity on any
 voyage upon which she was to receive
 subsidy on the ground that the provision
 was of doubtful constitutionality." He
 had read letter from Hon. George F. | Edmunds, taking the ground that such | provision was not unconstitutional. | MT. Vest further along urged that if | the shipping trusts were to be subsi- | dized. there was no reason why the farm | ing industry and the mining industry | too, should not be subsidized.
 The Senator from Maine. MT. Frye. | continued MT. Vest, had said subsidy meant protection. And he might have | said truthfully," said MT. Vest. that
 protection meant subsidy" The manu- | facturers of this country, he said. were | protected by tariff of B per cent against l the pauper labor of Europe and yet they sent their products to these very pauper labor countries and sold them from 20 to 50 per cent lower than they sold them to our people
 Case of Building Ships. Mir Vest maintained that ships could be built in this country as cheaply as they could be built anywhere and that the contention of the majority to the contrary was not well founded. He made | vigorous attack on the navigation laws of the United States, declaring that they were responsible for the decline of the merchant marine. They had weighed down the merchant marine until 1t amounted practically to nothing. The remedy was to abrogate the navigation laws and permit the citizens of the United States to buy their ships where they could buy them cheaper He serted that if the Democratic party should regain power no ship subsidy would. be permitted to remain on the statute books.