The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1905-02-09
OPPOSING Tilt SHIP MEASURE.
An Interview with Senator Bailey of Texas.
Why Business Men are Driven From the
Democratic Party.
Especial to the Bath Times.

Iue prevailing Golc VI uHItdSoIldUly
blind opposition which blusteringly ig-
nores facts and will not submit to the
arbitrament of a fair argument, were
typically illustrated in discussion l
had the other day with Joseph w.
Bailey, who now occupies the place
once honored by Senator Rusk of Tex
as-one of the ablest and most persist
ent champions of government aid to
American shipping.
As soon as Senator Bailey understood
my purpose in coming to him, he burst
out with:
"Have you come to talk to me about
the shipping bill?"
Eyes, Senator"
"Well, you'll only waste your time
and you might as well 60 home. I'm
against it."
"But I've some facts that haven t
been presented to you before
81 don't care if you have; | dom
want to hear EN-
''But are you aware that during the
past two years the foreign ship owners,
who now control, have practically
doubled their freight charges on cotton
and are taking out of your people mil
lions of extra dollars for carrying the
crops?'
81 don't care if they're taking the
whole crop, I'm against this BILL"
''But do you know that since 1901 the
foreign ship owner, who has now driven
every American out of this trade, has
exactly doubled his freight charges on
grain shipments across the Atlantic
and that our exports have largely fai-
len off,
mo l don't, and | don't want to
you re wasting time on me-"
May be am, but do you know that
the extra freight money which these
foreigners are taking out of our cotton
ralsers is more than enough to pay all
the amount which this bill allows to
American freighters?"
81 don't give - if it does"
care you aware that on the two ar
ticles of export of grain and cotton
alone, the foreigners by their increased
rates are taking out OF our farmers and
producers three times as much as this
bill calls fo1?"
Look yere," he said, (and by this
time we were standing in the middle of
the room within about a foot of each
other and both talking under the APP
parent delusion that the other was ex-
ceptioEally hard of hearing)'' 81 wouldn't
support that bill, not if every man in
Texas came up here and asked me.
There's some things man of prin-
ciples can't do. | believe in a merchant
marine; | believe we ought to have one
and to get it I'd go far enough to swal-
low discriminating duties because,
though l don't believe in such things,
still in that case the tax falls on the
people who buy the goods and not on
the public generally. But when you
ask me to take money out of the poe
kets of honest people and give it to
folks to run a losing business, why I'll
be md if I'll do it."
$50 you prefer to let the foreigners
take three dollars out of our people
rather than have one dollar go to the
American vessels"
II don't care about that-if you can't
stay in the business, get out"
1--WE are out and now that the for
ei2ner has secured control, he's soaking
it to us on our EXPORTS
''Well now see here. | want to be
polite to you but you people are wrong
and you might as we'll 60 home-I
won't stand for such things
''rhomas jefferson did"
''No he didn't
Eyes, he did"
''No he never did
Il tell you he did. He gave us a ton
mage bounty of forty-four cents per
ton every time we came into port.
ooh, that's a rebate
whats the difference"
'Why | don't know but what I'd go
far enough to vote for that old tonnage
tax-but don't vote for any bill with
a five dollar subsidy in it,
''Then you propose to let the for
elgnerS continue taking the money out
of our farmers and manufacturers"
but the bulk of this question was ad-
dressed to pair of massive coat tails
the Senator had withdrawn to the ad-
joining office, and l came away.
This was the substance of our in
terview-parts of it were of personal
character and not intended for publ
cation and so omitted-but, it shows
the spirit that dominates among the
Democrats in Congress.
There are Southern Congressman,
like Senators Stone and Martin, Repre-
Davis, who are not only willing to hear
evidence, but who will consider it and
have some respect for it when arriving
hU q uCSlSloiI, utI ol1OoO diC iloo oiiO ohCo
who noisily push themselves to the
front and declare themselves to be the
party.
AS left the Senator, there flashed
before me the records of the men who
had made and unmade the Democratic
party. On the one side stood Jefferson
and Madison, the two founders of the
policy of government aid to shipping,
then Andrew Jackson with his blunt
declaration for protection, and Presi-
dent Polk, Lewis CaSs Senator Bayard,
Bell of Tennessee, King of Georgia and
other peerless Southern statesmen who
stood with Webster and other giant
figures around the merchant shipping's
flag and voted liberal subsidies which
put us at the head of the steamship
world.
And then 1 saw that policy. which
had done so much for the nation, at
tackled; and the men who led that
attack and who comprised the destruc-
ton of that policy in 1858 and who fur
nished the arguments which, with
scarcely verbal change, are being used
by the opponents of American shipping
today-it is the record-were Jefferson
Davis, Robert Toombs, r. NJ. T. Hunter,
Judah P. Benjamin and j. M. Mason,
the last named the man whom England
honored so much.
There's the record and it will be
necessary for the Democrats in Con-
,f,kn foI