The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-01-13

Beyond the CIuTcH SWcpl tic lllcS'
; bending here. extending there. but
staunch and unyielding through the
long months of summer and the hor-
rors of The last Confederate winter.
lnow many soldiers in the trenches
Hooked and prayed towards tho old
cdidce! How many veterans watched
/, in The sunset. thinking that 1T might
look down upon their deaths!
VIZ arc glad the old building is to
be fully reconstructed and is to re-
vain forever, as we trust, the guard
ian Of pcace on the bloody plains Of
bygcne war.
TIE HUMPHREY SUBSIDY BILL.
prompt fulfilmcnt came to the pre-
diction that the greedy subsidy hunt
crs, backed by a certain number OF
patriotic persons whom their. argu-
ments have deceived, would be early
on the ground this winter, Immediate
Iy after the holidays Representative
Humphrey, of Washington. who ar
IDENTIFY fought for the bin killed in the
closing days of the last Congress, in
troduced a measure which he says has
the approval OF practically all the sub
sidyists. 1t is noteworthy that the
Humphrey bin is moderate, even eau
tious. II is an ocean mail bill, not
a subsidy bill" No restraint is
spared, no sop withheld, which will
: sweeten the real nature of the pro-
$ posal and make its essential principle
$ less badly obnoxious.
First Of all. it is provided that for
n eign-built ships OF $500 tons shall,
under certain limitations, be admitted
, to American registry. This is exactly
!, Nhat the advocates of upbuilding our
.1merchant marine without bounties
: from the public treasury have long
urged, but as the restrictions here cx-
clude vessels so registered from the
profitable coastwise traffic and from
the mail subvcntion of 1891. it cannot
be said to go very far. Certain re-
quirements are laid upon ships to en-
' little them to the subsidy, as that
they must be built according to plans
: authorized by the Secretary of the
Navy, adaptable for use in war. and
must at all times BIZ: al the demand of
the government. Further, there is
added Il tonnage tax on vessels en-
gagged in the transoceanic trade. which
Mr.. Humphrey counts on to bring in
a revenue Of 100000 annually, every
dollar from foreign ships
But the central feature of the Hum
phrey bill. the one around which all
the rest of it is carefully built. is
exactly the old familiar which was
passed by the Senate two years ago
and killed by q narrow margin in the
House last March. The act Of 1891
provided tltat twenty-knot ships car
Trying mail To South America, the Phil
ippines, Japan, China or Australasia
should receive a maximum of 81 "a
mile. sixtccn-knot ships should receive
knot ships should receive a maximum,
OF ST u mile. The Humphrey bill pro-
vides that vessels of the second and
third classes should ~henccforward re-
sceive the pay OF the next higher class
THAT is THAT the compensation of each
should be increased 100 per cent. Mi
Humphrey is responsible for the asser-
ton that not a4ship now running Cal
take advantage of these most liberia
provisions. Ills measure is offered
l.l.eE "A .,j - 49, = .,f#, IL. Ii
'rehabilitating the American mcrchan
marine aud 4leadinS; to thct buildint
4 of a large number of new ships, A.
Representative Lloyd pointed ont OF
I claims were made for the act of 1881
; during tie debates preceding its pass
! age. 1t was going 10 restore our mer
chant marine. 1t has, Of course, don
I nothing or the sort. After eightee
9 years under its operation, our mcr
chant marine Is still waning" and tn
? subsidy hunters return, with cXactl,
g the same spccious promises, to asl
= tia their bounties be doubled, "
; growth has taken place in the line
= operating under the act.,ono line ha
failed. and tho whole practical expert
Z cnce Of nearly twenty years has bee
! such as 70 prove Its entire inability L
/" make good the claims Of its author.
:. No p~retence is made that our for
eign NAL service is so bad that "a
+ the Taxpayers ought to be levied o
= to improve II, The trans-Pncihc SCI