The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-08-22
CARRYING OUR COMMERCE

The brief dispatch in Fridays pa
per announcing that the war insur-
ance bill had passed the Senate was
the most important piece of news
that day to Americans. The Savan-
nah News says of it:
The government is doing its part
in the effort to provide transporta-
ton for our wheat and cotton to
foreign markets. Congress has al
ready passed the bill admitting to
American registry foreign built ships
and it has passed the bill guaran-
teeing cargoes on the high seas car
ried in ships having American reg
istry. The bill admitting foreign
built ships to American registry
would be of but little benefit with
out the second bill because insur-
ance would have been sc high that
it wouldn't have been profitable to
ship either wheat, cotton or any
other commodity
The administration is behind the
insurance bill as it was behind the
ship registry bill. There was a
great deal more opposition to the
ship registry bill than there is to
the insurance bill Having passed
the first bill, the passage of the sec
ond became absolutely necessary if
anything was to be accomplished.
1t is we'll understood that the in
surance bill is an emergency meas
ure. It is not function of the
government to write marine insur-
ance but there comes a time in the
history of every government when
the nations welfare requires it to
assume activities outside of its or
binary functions. Tt will take lit
tie time to get the machinery for in
surfing cargoes against war risk in
operation, but we may reasonably
expect within a few days to hear
that the buying of ships has begun
and that they are on their way to
Southern ports to take on cargoes of
cotton.
The government has moved swift
ly in the matter Tt realized that
there was an emergency to be met
and it has proved itself equal to it.
Wheat was accommodating in the ele-
vators at inland points and at the
ports and the movement of cotton to
the ports was only few days away.
1t was under these circumstances
that Congress and the administers
ton was called on to act. And they
have acted with commendable
promptness. The antitrust bills
were forgotten for the time being
Congress directed its energies to the
solution of the new problem which
| the war in Europe presented.
1t is of the highest Importance
that our crops should he moved te
market. Their value would decrease
immensely If they couldn't be solo
at profitable prices. The farmers
would suffer serious loss. They
couldn't pay their obligations ant
the merchants to whom they are il
debt couldn't meet their debts. /
is easy to see how far reaching th'
effect of stoppage in the move
ment of the crops would be. Ther'
would be hard times all along tn,
line, and perhaps business failure
on a large scale, Besides, thou
sands of people would be thrown gu
| of employment. The transportation
: lines have already laid off many EN-
! ployes for an indefinite time be
! cause of the falling off in bust
ness. This very serious situatio
; comes at a time, too, when tn
5 prices of some of the necessaries Q
: life are steadily rising. No one III
: der the circumstances will CRITICS
t the government for enacting tn
E legislation for meeting the emers
ency which came so suddenly.
+, /