Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1902-01-29

COmmlItee on Commerce today au'
thorlzed a favorable report on Senator
Fryes ship subsidy bill. The report
will be made by Senator Frye.
The Democratic members of the
committee voted against reporting the
bill. They also voted sondly for a
motion offered by Senator Mallory to
strike out the general subsidy provi'
sion of the bill. The committee made
several amendments to the bill. The
most important are those allowing
mail-carrying vessels under the bill to
be either iron or steel, instead of steel
only. as originally provided, and re.
duCing TO 1000 gross registered tons
the vessels receiving the bounty un-
der the bill.
The report prepared by Senator
Frye was read to the committee. II
says that the purpose OF the bill Is to
establish the maritime supremacy Of
the United States in trade with Asia
and in the Gulf of Mexico and the Ca.
ribbean sea: to establish thoroughly
trade between the United States and
South American republics, and to give
the United States a respectable repre-
sentation on the North Atlantic. The
claim is made that all these results
will be accomplished within ten years.
The report also asserts that the bill
will so extend shipbuilding as to
transfer in time from abroad to the
United States the center of that In
dustry. as the centers Of other indus
tries recently have been transferred,
and also that II will give to the United
States a measure OF maritime indie
pendence corresponding to our indus
trial and agricultural independence.
Senator Frye furnished to the press
the following summary OF the report
THE establishment of this complete
American ocean mail service, involv'
ing much shipbuilding will require
several years. 1t will render the Unit
ed States as independent of foreign
powers for its ocean mail service as is
Great Britain. The cost of the Ameri
can service by American mail steam
ers will be $4700,0JJ; the cost of Brit
ish and Colonial service by British
steamers is S4,700,000. Receipts from
ocean postage by the United States
are now estimated at S5.1vu 900. The
annual deficit under the American sys
| TEN proposed. including minor ser
vices. will be about 100000. The
annual deficit under the British Co
/ lonial system is $2lSS,0OO.
THE postal subsidy provisions en-
able the Postmaster General TO estab
! lish an American ocean mail system
superior to the systems of Great Brit
I ain. France and Germany.
The American ocean mail system
outlined Contemplates on the Pacific
weekly mail service to Hawaii. to the
Philippine Islands, Japan China ant
! Hongkong, and a fortnightly service
10 Page Page, New Zealand and Aus
tralia. The maximum cost would bt
! S2.33j, 900.
"On the Atlantic the bill contem
plates semiweelily mail services Il
jamaica, Havana and Europe, weekly
to Mexico. once in ten DAYS to Nene
zuela and fortnightly to Brazil at 1
maximum cost OF So 365, 900.
The report compares in detail thu
American services proposed with tht
! British service. and asserts that the
/ bill will revOlutiOniZe in American ia
vOr as against the SueZ route, the
worlds ocean mail connections witt
Japan and China, and will affect Aus
| tralian connections. II will give the
United States twenty.four auxiliary
mail cruisers, compared with Grear
Britain's fifty.
The second part of the report deals
with the general subsidy to all Amerl
can vessels, steam and sail eXcep
mail steamers. II quotes Presiden
Roosevelt's message, showing that thu
cost of building American ships Ii
greater than the cost of building ship!
abroad: that American wages on ship
board are higher, and that the HOUSE
should recognize these Inequalities
Discriminating duties, export bountie'
and subsidies based on export cargoe!
are in violation of our internationa
obligations, so direct subsidy, II says
Is the only practical method TIL,
subsidy proposed is not a naked boun
~, for IL Is based on public services
to be rendered.
Americans have absolute free trad,
in foreign-going ships, so no ship
builders trust is possible under tn,
bill Shipbuilders can import now
free of duty, materials for ships To-
foreign trade, so no man can rails,
prices of materials.
III any American shiDowner will
build his vessel in the United States
employing home labor, employing
American officers and crews, perform
ing certain services for the American
Government and using the vessel Il
promote American commerce, he viii
be paid a subsidy sufficient to put hin
on an equality with the foreign shin
owner, emnlov'ng foreign labor anC
serving a foreign government.
"The average cost Of building iroI
steamers mainly for cargo is $l06 PEI