The Hawaiian gazette., 1910-05-27
SUBSIDY COT
BAD BLACK EYE
Patriots Behind American Flag
Had Their Eyes Glued on
the Dollars.

WASHINGTON, May S.-As the re-
suit of the more or less continuous
hearings before the Ship Subsidy n
vestigating Committee, subsidy men are
reluctantly admitting that their cause
has had more serious blow chan was
Expected, as well as one from which it
will not be likely to recover for long
time in the future. Whether it can re.
cover at all within any reasonable
period is admittedly a pretty serious
question for them. The showing made,
although it has not revealed any cor
ruption or anything looking in that di-
rection, has indicated a state of things
that has been a decided surprise to
many more or less wellmeaning and
conscientious advocates of subsidies,
who had supposed that they were be-
ing backed by a powerful movement
representing highly organized public
sentiment in favor of shipping subsi
dies. Such evidence as has been sub
mitted has been directly counter to
any belief of the sort, and nothing
whatever has developed to make it APP
pear that the subsidy movement was
anything more than small, selfish
group of men, who were trying to have
their own axes ground by congress.
Ring of Selfish Interests.
Just how this little ring of selfish
interests operated has been made plain
err than at any time in the past. The
Merchant Marine League had only 200
members at the most, and their dues
(when paid) were only $40 year each,
or $4,000 a year in all The league
spent $4,000 a month in expenses, and
during its brief career it collected
ever $4,000 to carry on it's propagan-
da Tins money came from all possible
sources, for John A. Penton, the secre-
tary, testified that he could not recall
an occasion when a gift had been re-
fused, and the funds came from men
who were interested in the IRON ore
business, in lake carrying and shipping,
and in other allied occupations. A per-
fectly clear case has been made out
against the little group which was be-
hind the schemes, and it may fairly
be said that the actual facts revealed
by Mr.. Penton as a regular officer of
the organization have completely neu-
tralized in the minds of onlookers the
effect of the beautiful eulogies of Har-
vey d. GOulder, who spoke in such
strong terms of the principal figures in
the organization. The fact that this
little group of interests, centered
around Cleveland, o., was largely in
terested in the shipbuilding and ship
owning business, and that from there
it sent out paid agents to organize 9th
er similar bodies in places where local
shipping interests were influential
has also been developed. The outline
of the ship subsidy movement the coun'
try over is thus made clear. 1t was a
string of small local domestic shipown-
ing, shipbuilding and iron and steel or.
CARNATIONS scattered throughout the
country and having simply general
relationship with one another. That a
definite understanding among them eX'
listed has been made, at least infer.
entially, very plain. The extreme
smallness of the various groups and
their i'll success in enlisting popular
support made it necessary to work
largely underground through politicians
and by similar means. 1t was not pos
sible to secure any general demonstra.
l ment.
Methods Employed.
The testimony thus far has also beer
very instructive in showing up the
methods employed in carrying on thu
socalled educational propaganda. i
4 appears that the officers or manage
ment of the league carried on a pretty
elaborate correspondence with news
papers and others throughout the coun
+ try, partly for the purpose of calling
t attention to alleged errors made ii
e their columns, thereby warning then
against taking any distinct ground ad
verse to subsidies, and partly by com
d municatOn with legislators, who wer
+ led to think that opposition on thei
t part would he visited with the penalt,
:, of an attack in the publication of tn
league, Very enlightening on this poin
u has been the testimony of a publishe
u from Mr.. Stevenson IS district, who re
lated how he had been written to b.
- the representatives of the league i
" order that they might ascertain fact
T. that perhaps could be used in a wa
IS detrimental to Mr.. STEVENSON in cor
It nection with the subsidy movement
q They failed to get anything from thi
. local newspaper publisher, and so the
y seem to have gone on and made charge
of a vague and abusive sort withou
n having evidence of any satsfactor
- kind upon which to rest the attack
:, they directed against members of col
III | grass onnosino newsnanera md NfO
may have been. Although only yer
to the check, been made your slaves,
At Won from the sentence so Justly mon