The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-01-05
Measure Now Foremost Is- sue Before Congress, But
 Opposition Is Active 5
CHARGE UNDUE HASTE
 ON MEASURE IS MADE
Bill Made Unfinished Business By 46 to 20 VOte-Designed 10 Facili- tate Export of American
 Goods to Europe

Washington. January 4-Government purchase of ships as proposed in the ad- minlstration bill to create a shipping board. finance Noooo,o 900 shipping cor poration and expend not to exceed so o0oo,- ooo for the purchase or chartering of ocean carriers. became today the foremost issue before Congress.
 By vote of 46 to g the Senate made the ship purchase bill the unfinished busi- ness. to be suppianted only by appropria- ton bills. This action on motion of Sem ator Fletcher, acting chairman of the commerce committee. precipltated show ing on the part of opposition senators which gave certain indication that there were breakers ahead for the proposed leg islation. Charging that an effort was be- Ing made to rush the bin with undue haste. republican senators, amotsg them Senators Gallinger, Lodge and Root. served notice that the measure would be fought to the last ditch
 File Minority Report
 Minority members of tho commerce committee filed report. written by Sem ator Burton and indorsed by Senators Nelson, Perkins, Smith of Michigan and Oliver. asserting that the plan proposed would not relieve shipping conditions be- cause it would be impossible for the gov ernment to get ships enough to do any good. It pointed also to dangers of Inter- national complication arising, declaring that every craft set afloat by the gov ernnent would add one more risk of our being drawn into the present war"
 Senator Fletcher. who has charge of the bill and who recently conferred with President Wilson concerning it. urged tha measure in a lengthy speech after repub- lican senators had issued their pronuncIa- inonto of opposition. He declared the war had produced ship faminc'' and that tnos intorests of s,li people ni tho tnit,.1 States demanded that the goyernnens take immediate action to supply ships to carry American products demands in the markets of Europe and South America. He instanced the fact that cotton sold at 1s cents pound in Germany, when it was bringing cents in the United States Germany would consume 800, GOO pounds of cotton if she could get it. he said. and the south had 1o times that amount to soil.
 When the war began, Senator Fletcher declared, England had 5000 and Germany 2000 vessels In the overseas trade. while the United states had only six. He said that American merchants gave annually to foreign ship owners $500, 0,00O. 1000 in ocean freights. Charter rates here had in- creased. in some cases 400 per cent, since the war began, he added, and ships under the American flag were not cbtainable at any price.
 Needs Not Met
 The emergency bill opening American registry to foreign built craft Sem ator Fletcher said had not met the needs of American manufacturers He lead lists of the 105 ships which transferred their flags to show that none was first class cargo boat. that over so per cent of these wer. ships of companies which needed them for their own business and consequent iy added nothing to the facilities for the transportation of general csrgoes. We must see to it. he said. that
 
 hever again cripple our industries for lack of ships"
 An amendment to tho Dill submitted by Senator Stone designed to prevent secret shipment of contraband to for. eign ports would authorize the Pres ident to designate from time to time ports where customs collectors would be required to inspect all cargoea be- fore loading. Heavy penalties would be imposed upon shippers aud vessel mas ters for violations of the provision.
 Discussion of the bili was deferred late in the day to make way for he urgent deficiency appropriation bill and other appropriation measures pron- ably will be taken up as they come from the House. Republican leaders ir- sist that many weeks will be consumed In debate on the measure.
 on the minority report the govern ment ownership feature of the Dill was discussed at length and objections to such a policy were enumerated as fol- lows:
 Subtraction from the field of per sonal endeavor. destruction of indi- vidual initiative and motive for effort: the constant tendency to maximum cost multiplication of government em- pioyes and officials: increased orpor- tunity for corruption; labor problems; administrative and executive tnsffi- ciency; restriction of the motive to invent and improve the facilities cf service etc, and in general 1t may he said that industries reach their high est perfection and greatest efficiency when allowed to develop in the fires play of economic forces.