Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1910-12-21
SIS, 200, 100 TO SHIP OWNERS.
President Taft's Administration Becoming
Unpopular Even with Republicans,

By Clyde II. Tavenner, special
Washington correspondent to this
newspaper.
Washington, Dec. 16.-Tho
Humphrey ship subsidy bill,
which provides for an annual gift
Of $5.O00,0O0 from the treasury
of the United States to million
aire private shiplowners, is to he
jammed through this session of
Congress at the special request of
President Taft.
Ship subsidies are about as IN
popular with our country general
ly as tariff revision upward. Yet
the Republicans appear TO be- un-
afraid to place this additional
class legislation upon tho statute
books.
The stand-pat Republicans who
were defeated for reelection hayo
nothing to lose through voting
for ship subsidy. The stand-p -pat
republicans who were Reelected
will vote for it to be consistent
with past performances. Be-
sides, Republicans voting against
measures recommended by presl-
dent Taft lay themselves open to
the charge of traitor, for which
changing is to good for them"
and in addition thereto may have
their patronage taken away from
them.
The vote on the ship subsidy bill
will be close. Several progressive
republicans will refuse to support
the measuse, the Prsident's rec
ommendation and i'm lied threat
notW outstanding.
The best that can be said for
8 shipping subsidy Is that it pro-
vldes for the payment of public
moneys directly =, to big private
interests IN the assumption that
The maritime commerce of the
United States will increase and
that the public will then be able
to get the donations back indl-
rectly. But past experiments
have proven that people have
Their own trouble getting it back,
either directly or indirectly.
Although it is not generally
known, Uncle Sam now subsldlzes
few mail steamship lines. Our
heaviest subsidized line is between
New York and England. IF it is
true, as snbsidists. assert, that
trade follows SUI sllies, why is it
that our exports to the United
Kingdom in the ten years be-
tween 1897 and 1907 increased
but 25 per cent =. while our ex-
ports to nine countries to which
We have Ao suo ldIZed lines IN
creased from 1O5 to 1900 per cens?
Two UNPOPULAR APPOINTMENTS
The appointment Of Judge Rob
ert W. Archibald of Pennsylvania,
and Il terstate Commerce Com.
missioner Martin A. Knapp to
she federal court of commerce is
satisfactory, to big. interests, par
ticularly.
Archibald, although the prasi-
dent may not have known it, was
once upon a time the subject of a
scathing arraignment in q decis-
ion of the Pennsylvania supreme
court, when an enterprise t1oa5ed
by him, was denounced as D
fraud upon the public" and q
"disregaFd Of the require men5s Of
business honesty" The suit was
one broughs in 1885 by Hill,
Keiser & Co., in the Lackayanna
county court against Archibald
and Others, doing business as the
Amity Coal Co., limited. The
suit Was carried to the state gu
preme court. The decision a.
gainsb Archibald was written by
the late Justice Williams. II d.
clares that the concern ID
which Archibald was one of four
partners was an "empty she'll"
and it's business, Conducted on g
fake capital of $25 600, a fraud
upon the public -
The nomination of Commis-
sioner Knapp is objected to on
the ground that Knapp has shown
him salf be strongly in favor of
railroad privileges, and is there-
fore disqualified for service on q
I court which is to pass upon rail-