Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-06
House Asks Information About
South American Lines.
SUBSIDY BILL DEBATED
Secretary of State Required to COL
lect Statistics.
INTIMIDATION IS CHARGED
Stevenson Says Congressman Are
Coerced Into Voting for Meas
ure-Minority Denunciation.

Additional information relating 10
steamship lines. bearing upon the ques-
ton of ship subsidy. will be sent 10 the
House of Representatives by the Secre-
tary Of State In accordance with the
terms OF a resolution passed by the
House yesterday.
The resolution calls on the Secretary
Of State for recent reports from diplo-
matte and consular officers in regard 10
the steamship service between the United
States and South America"
Mann Answers Fitzgerald.
rs this resolution required by tire SUBJ
sidyites to bolster up the committee on
merchant marine in order to help them
make good before the country" inquired
Representative Fitzgerald OF New York.
Or is ii to show that the committee
knew what they We're doing when they
reported the ship subsidy biil?" shouted
back Mr.. Mann of Illinois.
Representative FaSsett of New YORK
supported the resolution, saying he was
glad to get al the information he could
because. under d recent executive order,
1t is impossible for a member OF this
House TO obtain any Information without
the consent Of The official head OF the
department concerned III furnishing it,.
intend TO quarrel with that order.
why not now?" asked Representative
Champ Clark, the minority leader.
Because | don't feel quarrelsome." re-
torted Mr.. Fassett
Without further debate the resolution
was adopted.
Intimidation Is Charged.
Letters. which 1t Is claimed were written
for the purpose of intimidating members
of Congress into voting for ship subsidy
legislation, were presented to the sub
committee of the House committee on
Judiciary yesterday by Representative
STEVENSON. republican, OF Minnesota. who
is demanding an investigation OF the al
legged lobby In favor of the subsidy bill
now before the House.
The letters, according to Mr.. Steener-
sons statements, indicated that cam
paign had been begun to defeat certain
members of the House who opposed ship
subsidy, himself among the number.
1t was stated that Representatives kus-
termann and Lenroot were prepared to-
Substantfate these statements and would
be asked to appear next Monday.
Mr.. Stevenson presented a list Of witt
nesSes, including several men of PROM
inence, whom he desired interrogatedl
about the alleged lobby. The committed
informed him that it had no power to-
subpoena witnesses and that If he de-
sired the testimony of others, he must
produce them.
Representative Humphrey Rep.) of
Washington. author of the ship subsidy
bill, was present at yesterdays hearing
and Intercepted Mr.. Steenerson
Minority Denounces Ship Subsidy.
The administration ship subsidy bill. an~
troduced in the House by Representative
Humphrey Of Washington. Waa de-
nounced as dealing unfairly "W4eh Cons
gress and the people," and az "a 6e11s
sion and snare. shrewS1ay DEVISED to
catch the unwary and misleaA pubic sen-
timent," in a minority report nled yester-
day by the seven democratic members of
the committee ON merchant marine and
fisheries. led by Representative Spight OF
Mississippi.
The minority report declares that the
passage of the Humphrey bill would
suit in no unbuilding of the American
marine unless its enactment should en-
gender the hope that much larger SUBJ
sides would be granted after the bali is
started rolling This Is doubtless the
purpose of the chief advocates of the
pending BILL
1t AYERS that the profit now derived by
the government from handling ocean mail
would be absorbed by the Morgan syndi-
cate and other lines on the Atlantic
coast and by the Spreckes line on the
Pacific coast. so that no new lines would
have the opportunity of sharing in the
subsidy.
Subsidy Not Self-Supporting.
The statement that ship subsidy would
take no money from the national Treas
ury is declared to be a transparent pre-
tense" in that the profits of the Post
Office Department on ocean mail carry
ing would be diverted to a subsidy Of
steamship lines and the department,
therefore, would be deprived of that much
revenue, which would have to be gath
cred from the people by some other form
Of taxation.
The bill is criticised as being built upon
the fundamental wrong and injustice o.
taking from all the people and giving 10
particular and restricted few of one
class, to enable them to make their pri-
vate business more profitable"
The free ship provision Of the bill is de-
clared to be valueless and, says the re-
port, "if this section of the bill was
thrown out as a bait 10 catch demo-
cratic suckers the purpose will fall
Looking at and considering the bin
from every standpoint, concluded the
report I'VE are impelled TO the conclu-
sion that no substantial and permanent
good of public nature would be accom-
plished by its enactment"
The report then takes up the subsidy
bill recently introduced by Representa-.
tive Spight, and urges it a substitute