The Washington times., 1920-05-28
Will This Republican Congress
" Rutify Mr.. Wilson'S Secret Deal
With the "British Ship Irust?''

could be ratified the greatest ship of the feet the Leva
than, actauy turned to the "Ship Trust" by
orders Of the Government, the flag of the Ship Trust
raised her masthead and the British employees of
the Ship Trust" began marking the linen of the Levia
than with the alien monogram
But the sale stopped by Mr.. Hearst's suit in the
Supreme Court.
President Wilson had given written permission to
John Barton Payne to carry out this secret DEAL and
reward for what Mr. Payne had already done, the Pres
dent had promoted the corporation lawyer to his Cabinet
making him Secretary of the Interior the Cabinet post Of
the greatest importance to the railroads. in whose private
service Mr. Payne had spent most of his professional life
The Supreme Court, in Mr. Hears's suit, found that
neither the President the Shipping Board had any
legal right authority whatever to sell the exGerman
ships to the foreign "Shp Trust" Congress had never
conferred that authority upon the President.
The Court forbade the sale!
The Supreme Court decree thus NAILED UPON THE
DOOR OF CONGRESS the sole authority power to
sell these ships.
When President Wilson proposed to sell them by
secret contract price about onequaer of their value
to the foreign "Ship Trust,' committees of both the
House and Senate had protested
Public objection founded in a universal patriotic
feeling and normal sentiment raised from one end
of the United States to the other against the SALE There
was dissent from this protest
No one defended the sale No one could excuse it.
No could explain it. 1t is today black mystery
why or how this sale planned and attempted
But the action of the court in Mr. Hearst's suit-un-
expected both by the President and by Chairman Payne
took away all authority responsibility from the
tive department of the Government The court decision
vested that authority solely in the Senate and the House.
The powers of ''Invisible Government which had
been strong enough to influence the judgment and
troll the action of the DEMOCRATIC President,
then exerted upon REPUBLICAN Congress. They were
again successfu These influences completely achieved
their purpose when they succeeded in getting inserted
secretly in the "Act to Promote American Commerce."
then pending in Congress- clause expressly provd
ing and directing the Shipping Board, upon the authority
of Republican Congress, to do exactly the thing which
the Supreme Court had forbidden the Executive to do
namely, sell the ex-German ships
This meant that the secret deal transfer these ships
for $2sUOUOOO to foreign Ship Trust which had already
capitalized its own much inferior feet at $154 OOOO
would be carried out by Republican Congress exactly
as negotiated in secret by Democratic Administration
We put the responsibility squarely up to the Repub-
ican party and the Republican leaders in Congress-
If this unpatriotc deal, this waste of public prop
ery this subservience to power that has always
sacrificed American interests, American commerce and
American prestige to its international schemes of
private profit is ratified after its character has been
so fully exposed in the Supreme Court and by Hearst
papers, Republican party will be alone responsible
not President Wilson who began the surrender
This secret deal with ship trust closely identified
with the Morgan banking house would have turned a
Democratic Congress against the Administration just as
surely inevitably and finally the Cleveland Admin
istratons $125OOOOOO Government bond deal in secret
With the same Morgan banking house in 1895 put an end
forever to Mr. Ceveland's control of the Democratic
Congress of that day
The Republican Congress then halted for all time