Mount Vernon signal. (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-current, 1915-02-12


the formation of the artificial person
called corporation" but ] can not.
AS far as the purchase or construction
of the vessels is concerned, section
of the bill provides:
THAT the United States, through the
shipping board and with the approval
o. the President, is authorized to pur
chase or construct vessels suitable, il
the judgment of the shipping board.
for the purpose of such corporation,
with a view to transferring them to
such corporation"
1t is here Enthusiastically pro
vided that the United States
shall either purchase or con-
struct suitable vessels for this cor
poration, and here is where our Gov
eminent would take a bold chance Of
reversing it's policy of strict neutrality
ticipation in this world war by the pur-
chase of vessels owned by some one
of the beligerent powers. If vessels
are to be purchased, 1t must necessari-
ly be vessels of this character-those
which are unable to participate in
commerce because interned at the out
break of hostilities. All other vessels
are too profitably engaged to be
bought now at any reasonable price.
Is 1t possible that We are not to view
with alarm or feel any concern If the
United States, through this shipping
the view of subsequently turning them
over to this corporation, in which it
must own 81 per cent of the stock,
and. in fact, will own a hundred per
cent? Is 1t an evidence of timidity to
take this rational view? The very dis
cussion of this bill and the possibility
of its complications by learned
lawyers on either side of this Cham
Der, and the opinion of eminent
lawyers representing the Government,
holding, as they do, so many divergent
views on the right to purchase vessels
of beligerents, and the presumption
prevailing when they were purchased
before the outbreak OF hostilities and
after the outbreak of hostilities, and
whether or not they were purchased
II, good faith, whether the good faith
OF the vendor or the purchaser is to
prevail, and whether a controversy
arising between nations over such pur-
| chase is to be determined by the rules
and laws of the captor country or
whether the declaration of London,
which has not been ratified and &C
| cepted, is to prevail
say if these gentlemen, so eminent
and learned In their profession, disa-
gree about these international ques
tons, experience teaches US what We
| may expect, because when lawyers
| disagree the courts must decide. II
| will then not be court OF this coun-
try, but of the captor country that will
have jurisdiction; then l, for one, be-
come timid and view with deep con-
| Germ the possibilities of serious com
| plications, if not war. Why are We to
| take all of these chances and assum
| all of these risks, fraught with so
much concern to the people of this
country? Because we are told that
| there is a scarcity of vessels engaged
In the OCEAN trade and the freight
rates are high and it is believed that
these conditions may be remedied in
this way. l do not subscribe to this
theory and do not believe for a mo-
ment that the suggested plan will
prove efficacious, but granting that it
| will are We justified in taking such a
hazardous step for a mere commercial
advantage?
Mr.. President, every day brings
forth new angles, a stronger and
clearer light with which to view this
momentous question. New situations
are revealed. The morning papers of
this country are all quoting an edi-
torial from the London Daily News of
| February 3, headed President Will
sons problem" At first there was
great hostility in the average British
mind against this shipping bill. This
editorial was written for the purpose
of disabusing that idea, for what rea-
son is here revealed. l quote the last
paragraph of the article:
I'VE do not here discuss the bear
ings of this matter on our interests,
but there Is one point We ought not to
overlook, and that Is that the sub.
marine has become in this war a seri.
Gus peril to our food supplies. 1t will
dominate our position unless science
discovers an effective weapon of de.
tense. Should 1t threaten our shipping
with destruction and ourselves with
| starvation it will not be an unim.
| portant fact that great neutral coun.
try possessing a mercantile marine OF
its own can send it's ships into our
ports unmolested and unafraid."
Democratic Senators, l solemnly
warn you that it is madness to push
this bill to embark our Government
upon this perilous and uncharted bust
ness sea. Does not Britain we'll know
that il one of this country's boats
should be sunk by floating mine-in
| an accidental way-we might say
then, we would not only be feeding
Britain, but we would find ourselves
fighting for her, which sh, well
knows. We have seen how treaties
are regarded by nations that are fight
ing for their existence. All interna
tional law and precedents are upset
md made chaotic by this holocaust
now raging Any of the belligerents
who felt that their adversaries were
securing a genuine advantage and
their success in the war injured or jeo
pardized by the entrance of this Gov
eminent into the carrying trade might
regard whatever understanding they
may have had with US, as did the Ger
mans the Belgian treaty-"merely a
scran of naner" They would brush