Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1902-06-06
THE STORY IS VERY OLD.
Senator Frye Sings the Same Sad Sub.
sidy Song Sung by the Shlp-
builders OF Yore.

OendUOF fTyo, IN Ills speech n6LOE6
the senate, said:
"of all the steamships in the world Of
ia knots aud upwards, 50 per cent. are sub
sidi2ed by the countries whose flags they
carry; Of those Of 16 knots and upward,
all but six are heavily subsidized by the
countries whose flags they carry"
This statement is not quite acau-
rate. The report of the commissioner
of navigation for 1901 gives list of
154 merchant ocean steamships with q
speed of about 16 knots. OF this num-
Der 81, or about one-fourth, receive alb
solutely' no payments from govern
ment, and only As, or about 30 per cent. :,
receive anything more than payment
for carrying the malls, except the An
significant neutrality-suspicious. paid
by the British government to certain
steamers. Of the 1855 ocean going
steel screw steamships above IA knots
speed 154 or 10 per cent. recSiye no
government payments of any kind, and
less than half receive anything more
than mail pay.
Mr., Frye says Great Britain paid &c.
100000 in subsidies last year. in fact
during the last fiscal year Great Brit
ain paid $3,764,055 under contract FOR
the carriage of 3,O75, 800 pounds OF let
ters and 2o,97O,3oO pounds of prints.
OF at the rate of15 cents q pound Dur
ing the same year the United States
paid out under oontract$913,55 5 for the
carriage of 172, 500 pounds of letters
and 1,G00, 500 pounds of prints, or at
the rate of 81 cents q pound. This
shows that the United States Is now
paying on mail contracts more than
three times us much as Great Britain.
per unit of weight. On n mileage basis
the showing is even more overwhelm.
ingly against us. Yet Mr.. Frye pro-
poses to multiply the rate Of Pay fol
mail contracts by two, and attempts to
Justify this by pointing to the subsi-
dies paid by other countries.
'"rrade cannot precede the mail. The
mail must preceae the irade-and they
1.-THE other countrtesl paid over $50 .o0l
| last year for postal subsidies Tor one sin
gle purpose, and that was to put them
| selves in n position to dispose of theil
| surplus products in the markets of thu
world
by implication he says that our mer'
chant marine Inns declined because WIG
have not granted subsidies. The facts
show that we are paying large bonus
or real subsidy for mail carriage, whik
the countries he accuses OF paying sub
sides for the most part pay only com
petitive rates for their mails. MOI
is the payment of mail subsidies "a new
departure for us. AS far back as 1880
| the United States government granted
| a subsidy TO the Collins line from New
| York 10 Southampton In 1856 q sub
sidy was given to the Garrison line II
| Brazil. Tho next year the Pacific Mai
| Steamship company was voted a sub
(! sidy for carrying the mails to Chin
| and Japan. Every one Of the attempts
| to foster the merchant marine ct gov
eminent expense was preceded b,
brilliant bursts of oratory predicting
untold blessings, vast increase OF thu
merchant marine, and enormous e1
| pansion of trade. Every one provet
| disastrous failure, financially ant
| commercially. In the case of the P. NJ
| S. S. company, tho failure involved
morals as well as money, and the con
| tract was evoked when It Yves discov
cred that the company had used {
| million dollars to induce congressman
TO see the needs of the American steam
merchant marine in thedight OF prog
ress and patriotism.
In view of the fact chat we have tried
subsidies TO encourage shipping f6ll
distinct times and have developed
nothing but dishonesty and corrup
| tion, would st not be wise to go u lit
tie slow on Senator Frye's propositios
to rehabilitate the American meY
chant marine?
ROYAL MEEKER.