Evening journal., 1915-02-06

Voluntarily and most cOuraseOusiE
our neighbor the World declares it.
self responsible for the un-American
ana purely socialistic conception OF
a Government merchant marine.
we are guilty of il" says our neigh
bor in substance I'VE did it in an
editorial article printed on August :,
1914, in which we said
owe should regard such an en-
terprise as a last resort short Of pay
ing outrageous subsidies, but 1t is
Infinitely preferable to present day
conditions. II would be far better
than subsidies; for If the American
people are going TO spend public
money on a merchant marine they
should control il and have something
10 show for the investment "
II will he observed that in rating
the Government subsidy as a more
outrageous and dangerous thing than
even Government ownership and
Government competition with private
capital and enterprise our esteemed
noighbor is at variance with the late
Mr.. Thomas Jefferson That eminent
Democrat once declared that he would
like to see Congress devote the sur
plus revenues of the Post Office TO
Tho establishment" of a line of pac
kets between New York and Havre.
est the World should hastily assume
from this declaration that Mr. Jeh-
aison had in mind a plan of purchase
and operation by the Government, we
call its attention TO the evidence IN
the context that he meant by "estaD-
Hshment" only Government assist
ance. not Government oWnershipi
hat is TO say. Jefferson meant plain
outrageous subsidy.
We imagine that the Worlds as
sumption of full responsibility for
and paternity and proprietorship Of
this legislative measure may seem a
little amusing to Senator and Re
preventative William Gibbs McAdoo,
Who was reported yesterday as tcle-
graphing frantically lin his capacity
of party leader and whip in both
houses of Congrcssl TO absent Sen
arors to hasten back to Washington
tp save, if possible. the life of the
Worlds ship purchase bill This
however. has nothing to do with the
following question which our neigh
Dor directly addresses to The Sun:
"What is there so terrifying about
such a prospect? If the Government
car manage a navy that costs S140,
O00 600 a year. it can certainly man
age a mercantile marine that costs
10000 900 all told If it can build
ard operate a s400000,000 canal at
Panama. it can buy and operate mer-
chant ships. If il can can own and
operate a steamship line for ten
years between New York and Pana-
ma with admitted success. it can own
and operate other steamship lines
successfully. What is there to be
afraid of"
Is the World. i'm the first place. sc
sure that the Government "can man
ggC navy that costs S140000.000 q
,ear"? We we're under the impress
sion that our ncighbOr had been Civ
ing much space and much intellec
tual energy of late to proving tn
contrary proposition We have beer
admiring it's Efforts to convince it,
readers that the Federal GOvernmor
has shamefully ovortaxed the citizens
for the creation and maintenance
Of ships Of war really worth only
fraction of the money that has beer
fooIishly and improvidently spen
upon them.
Indeed, it was not more than 81
or seven weeks ago that q careful
comparison i'm Tho sun of the nava
appropriations Of the United State
and Germany. with reference to tn
relative efficiency of the two navies
drew from our noighbor these ap
proving remarks:
THE World has repeatedly callel
gttention TO the disconcerting fac
that our naval expenditures oXcoe
those of Germany and Austria com
binod. yet Admiral Fiske has testi
fed that it would take five years Il
set the American navy into a stat
Of efficiency equal TO that of tn