Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-04
HAD A LIVELY SESSION
COMMITTEE HEARING ON THE
SHIPPING BILL.

Ship subsidy hearings were begsn today
by the House committee on merchant ma
rine and fisheries. Rough weather was
struck at once by reason Of the cross-fire
and controversies Of chairman and commit
tee members taken with the endeavors of
witnesses to get themselves understood.
First came John Mcneil. past national
president of the Boilermakers' Association,
In favor of the bill. Mr.. Mcneil learned
his trade in shipyards on the Clyde. and
said he had travelled from one end of this
country to the other in his official capacity,
but 1t took him some time to get launched
into his argument by reason of the many
questions which members of the committee
submitted.
Appealed to the Chairman.
Finally he appealed to the chairman. He
was nothing but plain working man and
did not wish to cope with the professional
legislators he saw around him. He simply
wanted TO state that the men who actually
build the ships in this country were enthu-
siastically in favor of the ship subsidy bill
He described the poverty of the EnEiSh
workmen, and pleaded with the committee
to stand out against the deterioration of
American conditions to the same level
That both sides might be heard George
l.. Duvall chairman of the ship SUBSIDY
committee of the New York Merchants
Association. was next allowed to state ms
name apd official standing.
He had no more than got these facts In
the record when Representative Humphrey
of Washington began to catechise him at
an exceedingly rapid rate. Mr. Humphrey
stopped long enough to explain TO the COM
mittee, after he had asked dozen ques-
tions, that he wanted to show that Mr.. Du-
vail simply representing foreign SHIP
ping interests.
Every One Declared Out of Order.
This Mr. Duvall holly denied. 1t was at
this point that practically every member
of the committee endeavored to express
himself on the manner in which the wit
ness was being treated either In favor of
or against the method pursued, and Tenn
porary Chairman Miner vanly called every
body to order and declared everything and
everybody out OF order.
Finally 1t was concluded to allow Mr..
Duvall to put himself in the record as he
saw fit. In doing this he said he did not
wish it understood that he or the interests
he represented were opposed to ship subsidy,
Notwithstanding they had opposed every bill
of that character for the past three or four
Congresses The opposition was not based
on the principle of subsidy, but On pro-
visions of the bill, which, 1t was believed,
would permit of some of the subsidy get
ting into the hands of foreign ship owners.
With several amendments. which he said
the legal adviser of the association, j. II.
Dockery, would present, the association
would support the bill.
Amendments Proposed.
These amendments were later presented
by Mr.. Dockery. The important one would
permit the Postmaster General to enter into
foreign mail contracts with foreign ships
pending the entry of American ships into
the service at such increased rates of COM
pensation as would aggregate half the
amount of the subsidy proposed In the bill
for this service performed by American
ships.
Long discussion followed the Offering of
these amendments, one of which related to
the tonnage tax provision of the bill.
The committee concluded to proceed
throughout the day with the hearing of as
many representatives of labor as desired
to be heard. 1t was stated that the Amer
lean Federation of Labor favored the bill.