The Washington herald., 1915-01-23
ship BILL. IN
STORMY WATERS
Senator Cummins Attacks the
President Through Leg
islative Pet"
LODGE HAS FOREBODNGS
Sees International Complications if
United States Adopts Proposed
Purchase Measure.

Two speeches in opposition to the ship
purchase bill were the only important de-
veIopments yesterday in the Senate fight
over the Presidents pet measure.
Senator Lodge and Senator Cummins
attacked the bill. Mr. Cummins hinted
at a private control of the shipping cor
poration in a single group Of New York
bankers. This is a charge that has been
frequently made by Senator Bristow and
other PrOgressives in the Senate
Senator Lodge attacked the bill gen.
orally as impractical and fraught with
grave consequences from possible inter-
national complications.
SepatOr Root and Senator GaIIinger
have notices in of speeches to be made
In the Senate Monday. The Senate took
recess early yesterday until Monday at
II O'Clock. This was done at the request
of the Democratic leaders VINO desired to
use all of today in a party caucus in an
effort to harmoniZe differences on the bill.
At the caucus last night Senator Hoke
Smiths plan of taking the government
out OF the business Of operating ships
by providing that such ships acquired
should be leased. was the topic
Senator Cummins, an ardent Progress
sive yesterday attacked the President as
a reactionary.
garded the ship purchase bill "as one
of the most reactionary and dangerous
proposals ever made public" The SEN
ator said he took this view despite
the fact that the President had made
it part of his program and claimed
for it that it was a long stride
in a highly progressive movement
which he is leading" The Senator
declared the Presidents Indianapolis
hnI sszt
lican cause"
Questions ConstitutIOnaIIty.
Senator Cummins raised a question
as to the Constitutionality of the FRO
posed ship purchase bill. pointing out
that the proposed plan did not con-
template that the government shouii
regulate commerce in any way IS pro-
vided by the Constitution, but put
the government into the business as
a shareholder simply along with pri-
vate shareholders
Senator Lodge said:
1T is an advance in the direction of
Socialism. 1t involves international
question of the gravest character and
fraught with most serious possibilities"
Referring to the Dacia case and other
threatened international trouble the
Senator said:
We OhSHl " ne pIOltCleu not only
against the international perils arising
from the purchase of the German ships.
but also from the intolerable waste of
the public money which the purchase
would involve"
Senator Lodge intimated that a grave
suspicion arose in the minds of any
one who would seriously contemplate
the manifest purpose of the bill to buy
these German ships in a block. Con-
cluding. he said:
Il am unable to say whether there
is anything behind this bill except the
desire of the administration. l am GER
tain. however. that to allow il to be-
come a law without some provision
protecting us against consequent in
ternational complications would make
It a very bad bill. indeed. for the Ameri-
can people, setting aside for the mo-
ment all the grave objections to gov
ernment ownership"
Both Senators Lodge and Cummins
intimated that they will have some
thing further to say on the ship bill
later on.