Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1907-02-01
WASHINGTON LETTER.

WASHlNd IUN Lei len.
Washington Special, Jan. %, '07.-
The action of the House Committee
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries in
agreeing to favorable report on the
compromise ship subsidy bill and its
endorsement by the President proba-
bly, insure the passage of a subsidy
law during the present session, but
do not necessarily indicate the char
acter of the law that will be enacted.
The House bill is reported as sub
stitute for the bill already passed by
the Senate. This will give the con-
ferees between the two houses juris-
diction Of everything in the bill and
they can prepare an entirely new
measure without regard to what eth
er the Senate or House has
done. The House bill is by far the
most moderate subsidy proposition
that has yet been put forward. 1t
proposes to pay the subsidy in the
form of compensation for carrying the
mails and to confine the payment to
lines running to Panama, South
America, Australia, and the Orient.
The maximum that can be earned
under this bill is three million seyen
hundred thousand dollars per year.
This would provide fortnightly SER
vice from the Atlantic Coast to Brazil;
fortnightly service from the Atlantic
Coast to Argentina; weekly service
from the Gulf Coast to Panama; fort
nightly service from the Pacific Coast
to Panama, Peru, and Chile; fort
nightly service from the Pacific
Coast, via Hawaii, to Japan, China,
and the Philippines; fortnightly SER
vice from the North Pacific Coast to
Samoa and Australia.
Complaints from shippers as to the
operation of the Hepburn railroad
rate law are multiplying. This law
which was intended to benefit ship
ders, is found, in practice, to work
injuriously in many respects and il
lustrates the difficulties that are en-
countered when the government at
tempts to regulate business trans
actions by prescribing hard and fast
rules. Many of the shippers who
were in favor of the legislation are
now finding that it prevents prac-
tices that had formerly been adyan-
tagous to them without involving any
discrimination. The American Ship
pers' Association, with headquarters
at Chicago, is directing attention to
some of the harmful effects of the
law. The requirement for thirty
days notice before the change of a
rate comes in for much criticism. 1t
is pointed out that this prevents the
making of emergency rates which are
in no sense discriminatory and which
have been put into effect in the past,
whenever occasion arose, to the great
benefit of shippers. 1t also prevents
the equalization of rates between
competing lines and makes it neces-
sary for shipper to either pay a
higher rate or ship by line less con
venient for him. The provision of the
law requiring seperate charges fol
terminal services and all other ser
vices to be stated in the tariffs is also
complained of on the ground that il
works against the shipper. In view
of the anxiety of some of the men who
compose the American Shippers AS
sociation to secure the new law, it il
rather interesting to find them nov
hoping for the adoption of lenien
policy by the Interstate Commerce
Commission and expressing the be
lief that there should be no crimina
prosecutions on technicalities on &C
count of anything reasonable that il
done by carriers or shippers to ex
pedite business. In other words thu
shippers are urging that some of thu
provisions of the law be not enforced
! Alexander Graham Bell, one Of th'