Evening star., 1915-02-27
SHIP BILLS DEATH
|SDEEMED CERTAIN
Friends, Though Without Hope,
Plan to Press for
a Vote.
CONFERENCE REPORT GOES
FIRST TO LOWER HOUSE
Due About Wednesday in Senate,
Where Filibuster Will Be
in Waiting.

The administration ship purchase bill
is scheduled to die next week with tho
close Of the session of Congress. it was
declared at the Capitol today. Friends
of the bill will make one more effort to
get it through, but it is not believed even
by them that they will be successful.
The conference report on the ship bill.
agreed to last night at meeting Of the
conferees. probably will be submitted to
the House today and taken up by that
body Monday. Senator Simmons, who
has been one of the leaders in the fight
Tor the bill in the Senate, said today
that the conference report could not come
up in the Senate until after the House
had acted upon it
1T probably will not reach the Sem
aye for consideration before Tuesday or
wednesday" said Senator Simmons.
he admitted that the situation was
pretty much the same in the Senate as
When the bill was before that body and
the fiibuster against 1t in full swing.
II the hlibuster is confirm 4, he said.
tnefe seemed to be little prospect of
getting vote on the conference re-
port in the Senate.
we Will do our best to get some ac-
tion on the BILL" he said.
Conferees Agree on Report.
Despairing of amending the govern
ment ship purchase bill to meet the oh
1ections of insurgent democratic sena-
tors, the conferees on the weeks-Gore
Dill last night agreed to a report which
would make permanent the proposed
government shipping board and cor
poration, subject to the will of the
President and Congress- BY this
chanee the supporters of the bill hope
10 win back the votes of republican
progressive senators. which were lost
when the House put through a bill
which provided for doing away with
the shipping board after peace has
been established in Europe.
senator Fletcher. in charge of the
BILL. said later there was nothing to
encourage the view that the conference
report would overcome the opposition
of Senate republicans. who have reiter-
ated their determination to hold out
against the measure until it is killed
suggested that the report might win
the support of some progressives who
favor government ownership.
The report will be submitted first to
the House, where it will probably be
called up Monday.
House Provision Stands.
No change was made by the con-
4erees In the section of the measure as
II passed the House stipulating that
ships should not be purchased in any
way that would disturb the neutrality
of the United States.
The Weeks naval auxiliary bill. tc
which the ship purchase measure was
attached as an amendment in the
House. was left practically unchanged
except it was provided that the naval
auxiliary feature should not become ef-
fective for three years after passage,
instead of two years. as originally con-
templated.
The amendment which would have
directed that two years after conclu-
sion of the European war the govern
ment vessels acquired under the act
should be turned over to the Secretary
Of the Navy vas eliminated The ef-
feet of this change would be to sepa-
rate instead of amalgamating tho gov
ernment mail line system, as proposed
in the Weeks bill and the government
ship purchase enterprise. 1t would give
the latter a clear field for three years
without any attempt on the part Of the
navy to operate ships in commerce.
1-~ aY~ a-o~. -o.