Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-07
SUBSIDY BILL AGAIN
Attempt to Secure Legislation
to Be Renewed.
WHY THE LAW IS SOUGHT
To Benefit Farmers and Manufactur-
ers of the Country.
MAIL SERVICE TO COMPENSATE
Some Means to Encourage Capital to
Run Standardization
Taft Interested.
MAIL SERVICE TO COMPENSATE
BY WILLIAM z. CURTIS.

Herald.
A renewed attempt will be made at
| the approaching session of Congress to
| secure the passage of law to encour-
age the establishment of steamship lines
| between the Atlantic ports of the United
States and South America and between
| the Pacific ports and the Philippines via
China and Japan. A lire to Australia
| will probably be included. There will be
| the usual opposition no doubt and the
same old objection-that it isn't fair to
| tax the people at large for he support
| of American shipbuilders and shipown-
| ers. But if that rule had been applied to
all of the expenditures of the government
1 this would still be an undeveloped coun-
| try. The assertion that such a measure
| is intended to enrich one class of the
| population at the expense OF another Is
| answered by the results of calculation
which shows that if the maximum com
pensation proposed, which is 81 a mile
/ for the outward voyage, were to be paid
to a modern siXteen-knOt steamer it
would amount to less than . per cent
upon the original cost of the vessel, with
out making any allowance for malnte-
! nance, operation, insurance, repairs, de-
probation or any other of the innumer-
able expenses of running a steamship
| line.
The objects of the legislation, how
ever, are not to benefit the shipbuilders
| or the shipowners, but to benefit the
| farmers and manufacturers of this coun-
try by furnishing them transportation ia
! cilities TO the markets they seek and to
| secure an auxiliary fleet of transports,
| for our navy i'll time of war. The pay
| ment OF fair compensation for carrying
| the mails for Il term of years, 1t is be-
| lieved. will give sufficient encoura cement
| to capital to lines of sixteen-knot
| steamers between our ports and certain
Il for -ntc ricIl
sufficient communication, and 1T is pro-
| posed to pay for it out of the profits
which the Post Office Department re-
ceives from foreign postage and not from
| taxation This arrangement Will cOnclu-
sively meet the objections that have been
raised against taxing the people to pay
| subsidies for ships. for it would simply
apply the surplus earnings of the foreign
| mail service to its own support and eA-
| tension.
The foreign mail service is one of the
few branches of our government that
pays profit, and it has been paying a
profit of several millions year for many
years, which has been turned into the
Treasury. In 1908 the receipts from for
eign mail We're $500 84 and the eN-
penses were so,s7o,911. During the fiscal
year 1909 the receipts were Ss,621, O0o and
the expenses were s.. i34 Cts.
Therefore, the profit enjoyed by the
government from the foreign mail Serv-
ice in 1908 was $5,IO9.655, and in 1909 it
was s.. So, $50. From this should be
deducted the receipts from the railway
mails to Canada and Mexico. and the
cost of the land transportation OF foreign
letters from their place of origin to the
port of shipment. This can be easily
calculated, and will leave net balance
of not less than IS 100000. which can be
applied to the establishment of regular
mail service to the east coast of South
America, to Australia and New Zealand,
TO China and the Philippines, where it is
very much needed. without using dollar
of money raised by taxation.
Urged by Taft.
This proposition will be strongly urged
by President Taft. It will be the leading
administration measure Of the session,
and assurances have already been re-
ceived Of support from the, southern
states whose representatives in the House
voted solidly against it last year because
it was a republican measure, although
the representatives themselves and
large proportion Of their constituents are
in favor of the measure.
Indeed. this plan was proposed by Sen
ator Simmons of North Carolina, and was
adopted by the Senate unanimously. The
House of Representatives showed ma
jority of three votes against 1t, although
it would have passed by one vote il two
representatives from Louisiana had not
been persuaded to change their votes
from YEA to may after the roll call,
but before the result was announced.
June 30 1909, the merchant marine OF
the United States, including every kind
of craft af1oat on rivers, lakes and seas,
comprised 25,6SS vessels of 7,3SS.7oo gross
tons, which was an increase Of 263 ves-
sells and 3,31O tons. This improvement is
scarcely worth mentioning, because the
additions TO our merchant fleet averaged
only a little more than twelve tons each,
which represents a very small canal boat.
There has actually been a falling off in
the number and the tonnage of our ocean
going ships. We have not added single
ship to our transatlantic trade since
1901 nor to the transpaclfc trade since
1905: notwithstanding the fact that for
military and commercial reasons the
United States has more need of A com
plete ocean mail service under its own
flag. than any other nation except Great
Britain.
Whatever may he tho opinions OF indi-
vid,lals upon the subject and whatever
the relative advantages of a high or low
tariff may be- the United States for many
years has been the leader among nations
i'm the application OF a protective tariff for
the purpose Of creating industrial inter-
prises which would not otherwise exist.
At the same time our Congress has re-
fused to do anything for the encourage
ment of a merchant marine in which the
products OF those enterprises and the
products of our soil and mines and for
ests shall reach foreign markets.
On the other hand Great Britain has
been the most consistent, continuous and
comprehensive exponent of ocean mail
subsidies, for the purpose of extending
her foreign trade. her political influence
and her military power. At the same time
she remains the only nation of any i'm
portance which adheres to free trade.
Great Britain's Bill for Mail.
Last year Great Britain spent So, $50. 1854
for ocean mail service and the United
States spent s2,734.655. One of the prin-
cipal objects and strongest arguments in
support of the British subsidy policy is
imperial defense and commercial indie
sides I'm addition to furnishing means of
transportation for British products to
reach colonial and foreign markets is
to secure ships and seamen adaptable to
military purposes for the support of the
regular navy in case of war.
Although the United States now ranks
second 70 Great Britain in naval strength,
our bsttleships would be practically
useless during time OF war at any dis
lance from our own ports because We
have no merchant marine to furnish
| transportation for fuel, ammunition and
supplies. When our feet of battleships
recently made its spectacular cruise
around the world the Navy Department
was compelled to charter foreign steamers
| to act as tenders to carry the coal. the
| food, the clothing and the ammunition.
| The helplessness OF the United States as
q naval power because OF this reason is
| continually (len1Ored by such naval an