The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1911-02-17
al WILL TELL JUDGE DOUG
LASS FRANKLY I AM NOT IN
FAVOR OF NEGRO CITIZEN
SHIP"
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.

A few days ago, the bill known as
the Ship Subsidy law, was passed BY the
United States Senate, Vice-President
Sherman casting the deciding vote, the
Senators being equally divided for and
against the bill Two ballots were taken
and in each the vote of the Senators
were equally divided, and in each ballot
tee Vice President voted in favor Of the
bill. This measure if finally passed
and signed by the President, viii take
out Of the United States treasury hun
dreds of millions Of dollars to enrich
the shipbuilding interests and combina-
tons
The pretext assigned for this mon
srous scheme of graft and robbery, is
that this nation has no merchant marine,
and it is necessary to build up mer
chant marine.
1t is true that this great nation is with
out merchant marine, when it ought
TO have and conld have the largest mer-
chant marine in the whole world. because
it has the trade and business, and the
greatest population, the greatest. and the
most energetic, the most business-like,
the most economical, the most intel-
gent and the finest people of any nation
on the face of the globe. Besides all of
these considerations, we have the most
developed, as well as the most undeve-
oped resources of any nation, not in
Guiding, Of course, colonies, because we
have no colonies as such.
We have no merchant mariue. because
for forty years the Republican policies
have been such as to destroy our mer
chant marine, but the Republican party
has administered the government SO
as to make a merchant marine an i'm
possibility.
The Republican policy of high pro-
tective tariff has placed such high and
prohibitive tariff on all of the material
that's necessary for the building of ships
and the materials used in ship construc-
ton, 50 that it is impossible to build
ships for private business without a posi-
tive loss to the builder. The tariff on
steel, arnor plate, lumber, and all Of the
other material necessary to build ships,
that it cannot be done Then in addi-
ton to that the Republican party passed
law that prohibits any American cti-
zen from buying ship built in any for
eign country for use by any citizen of the
United States, by refusing to register
the ship, and by refusing to let the vessel
sail under the American flag. So that
the Republican tariff policy and law pro-
hibiting the buying of foreign built ships
the right of registry, the Republican
party has destroyed our merchant ma
rine.
Finding that we can not have high
protective tariff and merchant marine
both the Republicans found themselves
in this dilemma-they must either aban-
don the tariff, or admit that we can not
have a merchant marine
The tariff barons will not give up the
tariff graft and the commercial interests
are clamoring for merchant marine.
The Republicans finding themselves
between the devil and the deep, blue
sea" have determined that they cannot
desert their lavorite trusts and the tariff
barons, and deprive them of their system
of graft, have determined to create
another system Of greed and graft, by
adding to the burdens of the people by
taking vast millions out of the treasury
of the people and giving a subsidy TO a
class of ship builders to build ships for
merchant marine.
This is a still more direct system of
graft than the tariff. because it takes the
money of the people and pays duty to
the ship builders. This is more iniq-
uitious even than the tariff because the
steel trust and the iron trust, and the
lumber trust all get part of the subsidy
thus granted. This is graft upou graft. !
The whole scheme ought to be defeated, /
and we hope and believe that it will be |
defeated The whole system of tariff |
and subsidy graft ought to be swept
away.
When it is this country will soon have
the greatest merchant marine the world
has ever seen. Our ships will sail on
every sea, and ship yards will spring
up all over the country, and our com
merce and our flag will be seen in every
port, and then there will be employment
for all Of our unemployed and prosperity
will be greater than has ever been
known in the history of the country
An enlightened people must awake to
realization of this great future which is
theirs for the taking.