The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-02-08
SHIPPING BILL IS
VERY LIKELY TO
PASS
Old Objections Are Eliminated
From Ship Subsidy
Measure. Z
BY e.. c: Snyder.

BY E.. C: Snyder.
Washington, d. c., Feb. 8.
The friends Of the shipping bill be-
lieve that 1t has now been perfected
to APPOINT where no further objection
will lie against it in the senate and
they hope for an early vote. Nothing
could illustrate the earnestness with
which the friends of the measure are
working to secure some benefit for
the merchant marine than the man
ner in which the bill has been trim
med Of all features which have been
regarded as Objectionable as being de-
signed to principally profit special in
terests. There is no question that the
prospects of shipping legislation has
immensely suffered from the odium
which attached to the old ship subsidy
bill. That measure was introduced
under the patronage or the American
line and few allied private interests
which would have .rece-ed millions
of dollars in subsidies had it become
a law. 1t was denounced by press and
public as a steal and although the
"Griscom Committee as it was known,
managed to push the bill through the
senate, 1t died in the house. An anus
ing incident connected with the fate
of this bill is that after it passed the
senate its sponsors were SO well
pleased and SO satisfied of it's passage
through the house that they scattered
to Europe and elsewhere leaving the
bill in charge of local agent. At that
time, had the American line been will
ing to give the freighters even small
part of the loaf, sufficient support
could have been obtained from the
Western members interested in secur-
ing facilities for the, Transportation of
wheat, corn and other farm products
as we'll as machinery and other man
ufacturers, to have insured the pass
age of the bill with a few changes.
But, believing they were safely out
of the woods, the agent went to sleep
and when he woke up it was too late
and the bill failed.
Since then the interests back of the
Griscom bill have let ship subsidy leg
islation alone and when the American
line was swallowed by the Interna-
tional Mercantile Marine company,
popularity known as the Shipping
trust" hope of getting additional SUBJ
sides for this line was abandoned in
Difference to the public hostility to
legislation for the benefit of combines.
For several years interest in the SUBJ
ject languished and it was not until an
organization of merchants, bankers,
manufacturers and business men was
formed in the middle west with head
quarters in Cleveland, that the sub
ject took new lease of life. These
gentlemen were interested only be-
cause they wished to open new mar
kets and to have our commerce car
ried in American bottoms. AS the re-
suit of the work of these business
men, supported by the individual eff
forts of the handful of American ship
owners and the few shipyards which
have not gone into bankruptcy the
joint congressional maritime commits
sion was created. This commission
reported the present shipping bill
after two years patient investigation.
1t was the original intention to have
the bill entirely free from graft" so
to speak, making it impartial and en-
tirely for the common good. But GER
tain influences cast an eye on the bill
and while they did nothing for it nor
were they sanguine of its passage,
nevertheless they felt that If it were
to pass they ought to receive some
benefit from it. Therefore they Sc
cured amendments to the bill provid-
ing an additional mail subsidy of
$250,O00 per annum for the American
line and a clause which would have
mitted the Standard Oil ships. AS
might have been expected this aroused
tremendous opposition and although
the amount involved was small, the
great benefits of the bill were lost
light Of while the attention of the
general public was focused on the pro-
visions benefitting the Standard Oil
and steamship trusts. The hostility
thus excited was slillfully stimulated
by the agents of foreign steamship
AACS.t WIZ NATURALLY WISH W prevent
American competition. incidentally it
should be said that the International
Mercantile company 1.-THE shipping
trust) has no interest in the bill in
general as almost all of it's ships are
foreign built in almost everything ex-
cept the American money and water in
Its stocks. The situation confronting
the friends Of the bill was thus very
unpleasant; If they threw over the
steamship trust and the Standard Oil
they would lose the support Of these
two powerful corporations and on the
other hand it was felt an otherwise
clean measure might be dragged to de-
feat by the cry of subsidy for private
interests" But as the real friends of
the bill had never favored the amend
ments in question it was finally deter,
mined to eliminate the mand under the
bill as 1t now stands not a odllar can
be earned by the steamship trust ex-