The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1907-1917, 1910-01-27
Ship Subsidy
March 2, 1909.
Speech of Hon. w. C. Adamson-


expediting foreign mails, this bill is
really intended to "rehabilitate' the
American merchant marine. 1t
should more properly be styled "Bill
to impose additional burdens on our
people to establish and enrich an
other privileged class" To restore
our merchant marine would be easy
if it were really desired that it
be done properly and honestly. To
''rehabilitate" implies former exist
ence, restoration of which is sought.
It is we'll known that the splendid
merchant marine which prior to our
Civil War Whitened every sea with
it's sails, carrying our commerce and
our flag to all countries, returning
as argosies to enrich our people with
the wealth of all nations, was Grip
pied, destroyed, driven from the
ocean by protective tariff, that arch
enemy to commerce, the masses of
the people, honesty, and good gov
eminent. If shipping were profitable,
our people would invest money in
the business. 1t ceased to be profit
able when prohibitory duties pre-
vented our ships from hauling for
eign goods into our ports. If they
can not bring home foreign goods,
there can be no foreign demand for
our products, so they could not carry
our products abroad "We can not
always sell to people from whom we
buy nothing
They must exchange some Of their
own products for what they buy from
US. Their stock Of cash is too limit
ed, they must raise their money, just
as our people do, from their prod
ucts. The greatest evil of protection
aside from it's immortality, long ago
admitted by that great republican,
Theodore Roosevelt, is that it de-
prives our people of the markets of
the world to sell their products. If
few prohibitive duties on leading ar
ticles of production in the various
foreign countries were reduced to a
revenue basis, our 100000 pro-
ducers could load ships with cargoes
easily and proitably exchanged for
return cargOes, making business
satisfactory and gainful to shippers
The reason this is not done is the
fear that the profits of a few thou
sand protected favorites who con-
troll the transactions of the other
ten millions would either be reduced
or rendered little more trouble
| some and 1aborious of realization.
| Great as was the loss in men and
| money, the greatest evil of the Civil
| War was the enforcement of greed
| and the installation of special privi
lege. While passion and malice
clOuded reason and blunted the NOR
al sense, a financial oligarchy was
established by law at the expense of
the people by the destruction of fair
| and honest banking and financial
| systems. A manufacturing class was
then created and authorized to usurp
the taxing function of the Govern
ment, limit the markets of the peo-
pie, and grow rich by exacting> tribute
| from their fellow citizens, instead
of allowing them to pay fair and
| just taxes into the treasury.
Tt is now proposed to establish an
other privileged class; but instead
of allowing them to thrive by the
restoration of fair and honest condi-
tons, their wealth and power must
| be promoted by taxation-an addi-
| tional burden on the common peo-
pie without diminishing the privi-
leges and profits of the classes al
ready intrenched. There should be
no objection to appropriating all
money necessary to improve mail ia
cilities, foreign and domestic, but in