Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1903-07-15
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
81 POLITICS aaaa 3
~ =- THE DAY III
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iSubsidy Graftcrs Getting Busy.
The ship-subsidy grafters are show
Ing signs Of life again. They got a
resolution passed by the Ohio Repub-
lican State Convention few days
ago, saying: 1--WE favor every en-
couragement possible to our merchant
marine in the extension of American
commerce and American ships uron
every sea-
A few days previously the New
York Board Of Trade and Transpor-
tation appointed special committee
to inquire into .the alarming state Of
American shipping in the foreign
trade"
Just why our shipping is more
alarming now than for 40 years
we are not told. 1t Is true that at
no time during the last 40 years has
more than a small percentage Of our
ocean carrying trade been done With
ships under the American flag. This
fact. however. is because our capital
lists are making more with their cap
ital on land, In protected or non-com-
petitive industries, than they can make
on the high sea. In open competition
with the other nations of the earth.
In other words foreigners are willing
to transport our goods over the water
for less than we can afford to do this
work. That the present system of
giving the job to the lowest bidder
is good for us is shown by the fact
that under 1t our foreign trade has
increased more rapidly than has that
Of any other nation.
But the sibsidy hunters are not real
" concerned about our foreign trade
or the flags that fly on the ships.
Their patriotism is bottoined on
something more substantial They
see In this subsidy scheme an oppor-
tunity to abstract money from the
peoples pockets. They are getting
through the protection scheme all
that is possible In this way. They
expect, with their subsidy scheme, to
get any loose change we may have
left. Hence they bodily ask Uncle
Sam to donate to them enough to en-
able them to make the exorbitant prof
Its on the free ocean that they are
making on the protected land.
Although they have failed in two
Congresses these subsidy beggare are
preparing to beset the next Congress.
OF course the greater portion of the
subsidy would go to two great Nor
gan trusts-The Ship Trust and the
Ship Building Trust. Three -fourths of
the capital Of both these trusts Is wa
ter on which dividends will never be
paid unless they are paid out Of In
Gle Sans pocket. The United States
Ship Building Company formed year
ago, with S7O,00O,00O capital, is al
ready in bad way, and Is being reor-
ganized. The International Mercantile
Marine Company, organized last Octo-
Der, with $17O,0OO,O0O capital, is also
in such a bad condition that Its COM
mon stock is selling at 61a, and the
preferred at 20 cents on the dollar, and
Mr.. Morgan is said to have hurried
home from Europe to keep this trust
afioat as long as possible He liz find
ing ont to his sorrow that 1t is not
as easy to float successful trust on
the ocean, where competition Is free,
as in country where competition is
restricted by high tariff walls.
While, therefore, these two trusts
are badly In need Of more capital, II
dividends are to be paid on their
highly Irrigated stocks, vet there does
not appear any good and sufficient
reason why Uncle Sam should contrib
ute several millions year to help
Morgan and these trusts out of hole
What view the next Congress will
take of this proposition remains to be
seen. 1t is however, perfectly evil
dent that If Congress will repeal our
antiquated and absurd laws, SO that
foreign built ships owned by Amer
leans can fly the American flag, all
of Morgans great fleet of steamers,
composed of seven great lines, may
soon be doing business under the
American flag. But. as said be-
fore, they are less troubled about the
flag than about the appropriations
| to go with it. We cannot, however,
but admire their colossal gall.-Byron
| w. Holt.