The sun., 1902-03-11
DEBATE ON SHIPSUDSIDY BILL.
sryaTOR VEST or MISSOURI
ARGUES AGAINST 1T.
lie Denied That England PAID subsidy to
Any OF Her ships, and said sne oniy
Paid So Much q Pound for Carr,ins
the MALLS TtIiman Also Attacks b'"'

,ne walls TtIIman Also Attacks biil'
VAsurNaToN, March io.-The shipping
Subsidy bill was taken up IN the SENATE
today. and Mr.. Vest Dem, MOI d I'M
noritv member Of the Committee on Noln
n,oroe. made an argument against IT, ne
began by crticising some oi the s's'e-
,oen,s made by Mr.. Frye Rep.. Me.) last
aook He said that the result Of the Hanna
r,vs hill Of the last Congress was to IN
,,roa . largely the subsidy to the American
limo ~ steamships. which did not carry
forr, nroducts, but manufactured Injuries
wbich came not from the farmers but
from the trusts. and the pending bill openly
and avowecllv proposed 10 accompnsh
che same result The Senator from Maine
rod said the other day that trade must
folloy the mail, whereas the fact was sald
u, Vest that the mail must follow the
.r,da He characterized the bill as pro-
,osi,g "a pure. naked unadulterated sub
.,dv.S and said that it was defended on
,be ground that with IL the American mer-
ctont marine could compete with the SUBJ
.idized vessels Of other maritime nations.
Mr. Vest denied emphatically the state
,1ept that England which had now % per
cent. Of the carrying trade OF the whole
world. paid subsidies 20 any OF her ships.
II was an abuse Of the word Sub sidy'
IN arplv il 10 the mail which was paid TO the
mail steamers al so much per pound. lhat
vas a very different thing from the sub
sidv proyided for in the pending bill. He
asserted and challenged successful CON-
iradiction that most Of the 55 per cent.
oarryjnR trade in Tho hands OF England
was done by her iron tramp ships, which
Ig1 never received a dollar OF subsidy.
gl, u1ly subsidy which could properly
la ra,ed such. paid by England 10 mail
....lnships, was $500 600 year, paid to
,r. owners of vessels who construct them
81 hat they can become auxiliaries TO the
..sval power Of the empire in time of war.
Having referred 20 the tax on lumber
Mr. Hanna (Rep.. Ohio asked Mr.. Vest
how many Democratic Senators had voted
for the 81 per thousand feet tax on lumber
when the Dingley bill was before the SEN
ate.
Mr. Vest replied that he could not say.
He knew that he did not, and the fact that
any Democratic Senators did vote for II
only showed the enormous force Of tariff
combinations.
Mr. Tillman Dem, S. c. interpolated
the remark that he had voted for the lum-
her tax, and had stated at the time that
Of the tariff bill the share which his State
should have; and because that was the
onlv way that it could get anything out
Of the bill. tLaughterl
. Mr.. Vest had a letter read from former
Senator Edmunds, holding that the bounty
on agricultural products carried by United
States vessels would be unconstitutional.
II was written while that question was
under consideration in the Frye-Hanna
bill OF last Congress. He also quoted
statement made by Mr. J. J. Hill, President
Of the Great Northern Railroad Company,
ap1 ,thA ha SaiA hnN IN q
at London two freight steamers Of 2l 900
tons each, TO this effect:
Il have no quarrel with the International
American Navigation Company; they have
been very courteous TO me personally.
Rut they do not need any subsidy"
Mr. Vest said that when he came to the
Senate, nearly twenty-five years ago, he
heard the statement OF the shipyards that
II they had free raw material they could
compete with the world. I'VE gave them
he exclaimed, free raw material, and now
here they are demanding subsidy, holding
up their hands, and, like mendicants, beg
gng the American people to sustain the
shipping industry. II this subsidy be
given to them II is but the beginning OF
the end,
81 am sure that the dream Of ocean SUI
premacy which has been so gorgeously
painted will never be realized under the
provisions of this bill. ! hope that the
time will come when the glory and power
Of this country will be greater than that
Of any other people on earth. II we make
good our promise to the world and to COM
ing generations, Of liberty, equality, jus
tice to all, and exclusive privileges to none,
we must have no unjust and unequal dis
crminations. We must have a govern
aent OF the people and for the people and
their children forever Some applause
in the galleries.
Mr.. Tillman Dem, s. c. attacked the
bill as in the interest Of monopolies and
denied that II would accomplish the pur-
pCses for which il purported to he designed.
After a short executive session the Sen
ate adjourned until tomorrow.