Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-03-23
SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.
EASTERN OPINION ON GREATEST
GRAFT OF MODERN TIMES.
Bill That Recently Passed the Senate Will Sur
pass the Famous Railroad Land Grants. When
the Graft Becomes "vested Rights" Framed
to Blind Public Attention.

Bill That Recently Passed the Senate Will Sur
pass the Famous Railroad Land Grants. When
the Graft Becomes "vested Rights" Framed
to Blind Public Attention.
The newspaper comment on the ship
subsidy bill is not greatly different in
tone from that which has appeared
frequently in the past, but there are
some new points OF view. The Coun.
Gil Bluffs Nonpareil, for example, COM
pares the Senate's alacrity in passing
this bill with its delay in rate legisla-
tion:
"This may remind the west of the
cry for bread that was answered with
a stone. The west is hungry for rail-
road rate legislation, but it has little
use for this subsidy business. OF
course there is no deliberate effort on
the part of the Senate to insult large
portion Of the country, but the chro.
nology OF events is such as excite CON-
ment."
The Detroit Times fears that when
we have started OH the subsidy road
the vested interests argument will
force US to travel it to the end:
ain vain will the taxpayer ask why
on earth he is taxed by a tariff which
has for its purpose the restriction of
commerce with foreign nations and
then has to see the money taken away
from the county to be given to linn.
tied number of men whose business is
foreign commerce, in order to encour.
age them. And in vain will he inquire
how ship subsidy is going to help us
sell goods to people like the Chinese
and South Americans who like other
peoples goods and other people better
than they like our goods and us. OF
what avail are such considerations in
reasoning against an organized class OF
men who want the money and are able
to point out, to our standpat Congress,
that everything in the United States is
protected except the shipowners, and
that they have as much right to gov
ernment coddling as anyone else"
In stating the reason for the intro.
duction and passage OF this bill the
Atlanta Constitution says:
"Anybody who knows anything
about the genesis and object OF the
ship subsidy bill knows it was framed
at the behest OF the steel trust and is
a subterfuge employed by the stand
patters to blind public attention to the
real reason why our merchant marine
10 in such q decadent condition,
namely, the Diugley tariff on steel
and other material entering into ship
construction"
Senator Frye's argument that the
$2OO.OO0,OOO now paid annually to for
eigners for carrying our freight would
be used in developing our merchant
marine is attacked by the Indianapolis
NetUs:
"This foolish argument shows how
far astray our great men are. The
theory is that this money is lost to the
nation-indeed it seems to be the idea
that it is the nation pays it. The
truth, Of course, is that this money is
paid for service rendered, and it is
paid by the men who get the service
% an equivalent. Further than that
it would not be paid to the men who
get it unless they provided the cheap.
est and most efficient service available.
1t is now proposed to tax the people
to build up service which ehall be
more costly and thus again to burden
the people,"