Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-03-18
THE SUBSIDY GRAFTERS
They Are Planning a LOCALIZED
Raid on Our Treasury.
COMMISSION NAMED TO DRAFT LAW

COMMISSION NAMED TO DRAFT Law
tries to Revive shipping Interests
Experience of France and Italy
ShfpbuiIdeTs In France RAISED
Price of Ships.
The fact that the old ship subsidy
gang of grafters has again made ii:
appearance in Washington and is max
ing more determined effort than ever
before TO break into Uncle Sans treas
ury and that commission Will be ap
pointed to draft Il plan for this con
greSs to pass at its short session which
will legalize the raid upon the treasury
calls attention to the results of ship
subsidy experiments in other coun.
tries. No countries in proportion to
their population have paid greater
subsidies to the shipping interests than
| have France and Italy. And no coun-
| tries afford better examples than do
| these of the failure of this means of
providing shipping.
| The French ship subsidy system
| dates from the year 1881 and was re-
arranged in 1898. The payments in the
year 1896 Cthe latest date contained in
the United States consular repOrts)
were:
Francs.
/ Bounties to navigation. 9547. TO
| Bounties to construction. 41OS.S4S
Postal subsidies ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 1s3. 900
Total subsidies. Sc. S64. O6S
Thus the yearly payment from the
French treasury for the encourage
ment OF shipping reached in 1896. an
| average year, the great sum of nearly
100000 francs CSS,OOO,OO0). Now, let
US see the result. According to the re-
port of the United States consul at
Havre of Sept 6, 1899. the total in
crease OF French mercantile tonnage
In the FIVE years from 1898. the year of
the enactment of the new law, until
1898 was 66,961 tons. 1.-The increase be-
ing limited to vessels which receive no
benefit from the bounty law of 1898.
while the steam tonnage engaged in
meeting competition actually showed
decrease"
After eighteen years of bounty pay
ments committee of the French par
lament in 1898 reported as follows:
I'VE do not hesitate to say without
fear Of contradiction that our mer-
chant marine is in such state of de-
cadence that there is reason to be I'M
easy about our naval fleet"
This is taken from the report of the
United States consul at Havre TO the
state department of Sept. g. 1899, which
continues as follows:
MANY other extracts may be quoted
from the reports OF various chambers
of commerce. from the speeches made
in the two houses of parliament and
from lectures delivered by experts in
economics, all lamenting the depressed
state OF the merchant navy of France"
As appears from the figures given
above, the French government pays
postal subsidies. premiums on the con
struction of French ships and premiums
on voyages made by French ships. The
effect of this policy is thus described by
the United States consul at Marseilles
IN his report TO the state department OF
July 20, 1899:
1.-THE shipowners found the shipbuild-
ers constantly increasing their prices
until the point was reached where the
builders were accused of calculating
the amount which proposed conStruc-
ton would command and adding that
amount to their own cost price, thus
absorbing the premium for navigation
and the one for construction
This consul concludes that 1.-THE me--
chant marine of France is in an unsat |
isfactory condition"
The Italian government pays naviga |
ton subsidies and construction boun- |
ties, but the United States consul gen |
eral at Rome in his report TO the state /
department Of July %. 1890. makes the |
following comment:
"In view of the efforts OF the Italian |
government to encourage italian ship |
ping, the long seaboard and the neces |
sity of shipping TO the economical life
OF the country. the results are certainly |
far from satisfactory"
1t remains for the American people /
10 decide whether TO adopt the artificial |
expedient of the subsidy system, which
must he continued indefinitely at ever
increasing cost, or whether to approve
the more logical principle announced by
Mr. !. ]. Hill in the New York Journal
OF Commerce of Nov. 10. who pins his
faith TO the natural advantages of the
country and the wideawake enterprise
OF its people and not the paternal care
and coddlinE of the government. which
can help one interest only at the ex-
pense OF others. All that really live
business men ask of the government is
that II shall not put difficulties and OBJ
structiOns in their way and shall afford
such protection of the laws as will give
them n fair field for their energies.
What they cannot then succeed in they
ere willing 10 leave TO others"