The log cabin Democrat., 1910-02-15

was necessary to make possible such
mail lines.
W. F. Hall, the first speaker for
Ouachita, opened fire by declaring
that commercial interests did not de-
| mand a subsidy. He said that com
petition with foreign countries had
pulled freight rates down until now
they were not excessive. American
capital, he said, if invested in inland
industries, would get better returns
than if invested in ships.
THE ship subsidy measure" he de
clared, "is advocated by the steel trust
and other corporate interests which
would be directly benefited and which
are already protected interestse."
A. C. Maddox replied with an adj
dress in which he answered, one by
one, the points made against the ship
subsidy act by preceding speakers.
The only other means of building a
merchant marine, he said, would be a
free ship" policy. Free ships, he de-
dared, would mean ruin to ship yards,
and would bring about measures in
other countries in retaliation against
the United States A ship subsidy act,
ne declared, could accomplish results
Immediately, and could then be with
drawn. The results would be perma-
nent.
W. J. Jackson, the second speaker
for Ouachita, declared that a subsidy
dill was impractieable. 1t was not
warranted by the history of the ship
ping business, he argued.
"The policy has been failure in
France, Italy and Japan he declared.
In France and Italy it was wholly a
failure. In Japan, the upbuilding of a
navy has been due to other causes,
rather than to a ship subsidy. Japan
found that the merchants could have
quilt its commercial navy without the
act and the country did as well before
The act was passed as afterward. The
policy is artificial 1t is natural pro
,ess of reasoning to figure that the es
adjustment of a ship subsidy would
mean the expenditure of $23,000,000
70 $24,O00,000 per year in order to af-
feet so per cent of our trade"
w. B. Hubbell, the final speaker for
IL, OF OF Of tho
preceding speaker, declaring that the
subsidy policy had built up the com
mercial proves of other countries. He
named nearly all the civilized coun-
tries on the globe as examples. In
two or three instances a similar policy
had proven its worth in the United
States, he said. He mentioned the Col
Inns line from New York to Liver
pool, which, since 1915 had been main
tanned under a subsidy policy in En-
gland. The only existing ships in this
country today, he said were kept
ahoat by subsidy, for if it were not
For the mail contracts, the United
States would have no ships on the
seas.
H. L. Petty, the last speaker, said
that the present standing of the Unit
I'd States was the result of national
economic policy and artificial restric-
tons placed on navigation by conflict
ing laws. He said the soundest way OF
aid the shipping industry was to re-
peal the laws already existing.
Foreign capital" he said, 'is in
vested in American ships and even if
single dollar of money from another
country is invested in an American
ship that ship cannot, under existing
laws, sail the American flag. Some of
the states have exempted ships from
taxation as an encouragement to navl-
cation. Great foreign nations have
taken similar steps and they have
proved successful. | would advocate
| free ships as the most profitable and
reasonable method of building our
merchant marine"
|