Evening times-Republican., 1910-12-03
SUOJEcT WILL Dc TREATED IN
FORTHCOMING MESSAGE
TO CONGRESS.
CHANCES AGAINST PASSAGE
OF BILL ~ CONGRESS
Several Bills Pending and Measure Will
Come Out in ssnats 40 Unfinished
eusinsss-LssisIation Urged Many
Years Still . Live lssue-has Had
Difficult Pathway in Congress.

Washington, Dec. 3.-The fact that
President Taft has had Representative
w. E. Humphrey of Seattle submit
to him memorandum on ship SUBJ
sidy. means that this subject is to be
treated in the message to congress,
probably along lines similar to those
followed Il year ago. when the passage
of subsidy bill was urgently recon-
nlended. Mr Humphrey left his menu
orandum at the White House early
this week.
There is possibility that the
Humphrey bill. introduced at the last
session. and embodying the admins
tration ideas on the subsidy question,
may reach a vote on final passage dur
ing the coming session. II is on the
house calendar. and will no doubt be
reached during the session on call OF
committees. Whether. however. ma
jority Of house members will vote for
1t is quite another question. Mr..
Humphrey does not know, and neither
does anybody else. Toward the close
of the last session OF congress. when
Mr.. Humphrey was urging his bill for
vote. he was told by several members
that if he would permit the bin to go
over until after the election. they
would support it. Whether II is now
their intention to do SO. remains to be
seen. Several of the men thus prom
Using were debated for reelection, but
will probably believe that they can
come back in 1912. Their present
position may make them more eau
tious than if they had been reelected
at this time.
Chances Against Bill.
AT any rate. the vote on the bill
when reached in the house will be
very close, with the chances. pre-
sumably that majority will fail to
support it. But it is the purpose of
Mr.. Humphrey TO do lot Of mission
ary work as soon as members begin
to come to town in large numbers. and
before the holiday recess he should
know what to expect.
In the senate the subsidy bill Of Sen
ator Gallinger. differing in form from
the Humphrey bill in the house, Is the
unfinished business. which means that
it has right of way. This should mean
vote on the bill in the senate In COM
paratively short time following the
opening OF the session. The bill Will
81 liz u SilC SSiAdtC ~ a SOlS S<hI NC
had. Should the house pass the Hum
rhrey bill. and the senate pass the
Gallinger bill. thus sending the subsidy
is that the Humphrey bill will be made
the basis OF the conference report.
Bills Pending Many Years.
Ship subsidy bills have been pending
in congress for many years. but it has
m craf hnfh hnlSpS to
act favorably on them during any one
congress. The senate has passed sub
sidy bills on half a dozen occasions.
and the house once or twice. but it
has not been possible to get them to
pass a bill at the same time. Both
the Atlantic and the Pacific coast
states are favora BILE to this legislation.
but the interior states. which hold more
than the balance OF power, have never
favored the principle Of the subsidy,
or, if favoring 1t, have done so in
rather an Indifferent way. This state
of mind Of course, has reacted on the
members of the house from that quar-
ter. On top Of this, there is the at
;itude of the democratic states of the
south Atlantic and gulf seaboards. The
members from these southern states
have been unwilling to support meas
ures brought forward by the republi-
cans for the purpose of carrying out
planks in party platforms
The subsidy matter has thus had a
difficult pathway in congress. The out
look for a final vote in both houses
is better now than it has been for
many years, but. as has been said, the
outlook for a majority in the house is
not So good as it has been heretofore.