Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-18
CONGRESS CAN SINK OR
SAVE OUR TRADE FLEET
The Fate of the Great New Merchant
Marine Ii Critically Dependent
Upon the Subsidy Bill

Upon the Subsidy Bill
TT Is not necessary to ascribe perfection
\ to the Ship. Subsidy Bill in order to
read in its defeat. should that be accom-.
p!!shed. the doom Of the American merchant
! marine.
What the Nation. acting through the
special session of Congress. which opens on
Monday, will he called upon TO estimate is
IN" value "f Il great and prosperous CON-
nercial feet. II this be deemed handicap
10 public welfare, burden upon the many.
convertible into advantage for the few. the
country rnn scrap or sell the vessels now
under lis flag and foreign nations can be
safely counted upon to transport goods aud
passengers.
Switzerland has nourshsd without ships
or saltwater ports 10 receive them. We
will not s,arve II our foreign trade Is en-.
'ircly captured by Great Britain. France.
Italy. Norway. Denmark and other nations.
There are ayriculMr>'s inland who, so
long a. loans nrc easy and soils fruitful. nre
ready To rejoice Ut the extinction of our
snafaring activities. The national effort will
thus be cirrumscribpd and rrdurcd TO the
presumed benefit of those sections in which
farming is the ma jor industry.
This is the parochial view Of which elsb.
crate exposition may be expected in Com
gress. The principle underlying such opn.
ion is exceedingly simple. II Is the prin-
cipe animatng Southern Democratic legts.
lators who advocate tariff when II is on
sugar and Northern Republican les slators
who favor the admission of raw materials so
long rs manufactured products are protected.
II is. in other words. s"s'y and nenr-
sightedly sectional. unniOrn'd by the least
concern for the development OF III" Nation
az whole and without regard for the
average interests OF average citizens
Politics Of this kind Is familiar product
In this country. but II is particularly TO he
regretted that it should assume such mem
acting form upon an issU" which warrants
the most earnest and s!n"c-" consideration
upon its merits. or even its defects
Argument upon possible flaws IN the
sh p. subsidy measure Is. in a sense. beside
the mark. until the Nation has mad" ur its
mind upon the broader question Of III" de-
STABILITY Of possessing its own commercial
fleet
DO We or do we not favor III" main'e
nance of ships under our own flag II we
wish to keep them and increase heir num-
bers. relief measures must be Immediately
applied. II the advantages "a Us o: having
other nations take charge Of ocean trade 20
and from our shores are iairly Judged as
more than compensating for our losses. then
the whole deep water commercial expansion
Of the United States has been mistake in
need Of speedy repara'ion
Whatever It's faults--and II would b. idle
to deny that SO comprehensive a measure Is
not free from error in every detail--the ship.
ping bill IS an attempt {" safeguard the
merchant marine. Without assistance this
will. save IN the coastal trade protected by
special legislation. degenerate. shrink and
eventually vanish,
II those Senators and Representatives. now
primng themselves TO oppose President
Hard!ng's program can be conceived az en-
terta.n!ng n passion for logic they will con-
denim the possession Of large and splendid
ocean feet as detrimental 10 'he progress of
the Nation. That they will lack the hardi-
ness to assume such n stand may b" taken
for granted. This will mean that the worth
of its shipping to the Nation will not be
tested impart!ally by the opposition. but
with exclusive regard for selfish small.
minded. sectional interests
The truth. OF course. is that nations do
flourish nnd capital!z" varied resources and
activities by developing their merchant ma
rines and. when needful. directly protecting
them. Nothing would delight Great Britain
more than the failure Of the subsidy bill
and the consequent ruin OF our shipping
interests.
Sir George Pash til. English fnanrier
and economist. on q recent visit 10 this
country, did not hesitate TO be candid on
this theme His perhaps not wholly disin-
terested advice TO the United States was TO
retire forthwith from the ocean. carrying
trade Even the barkwooi. Congressman
knows what this would mean and what
nation would be the gamer. II IS his fam
,ast!r id.a, however, American shipping
could survive III" defeat Of the bill
Experts, whose advice was much relied
upon by the Administration In preparing the
measure. have long since reached the oppo-
site conclusion, They know that the policy
OF protection when applied with honesty and
discrimination may b" legitimate factor in
widespread national development.
They know that shipping has been the
Cinderella of American industries and that
foreign nations have rrjOiced in the chaos
and obstructive nature Of our laws on this
subject. and are eagerly awaiting at this
moment a further misuse Of the magnificent
opportunities which the building OF huge
commercial feet in the war period and i'm.
mediately afterward brought to the Nation.
OF the salient features Of the subsidy bill
It NAV be said that they provide for an
annual protective expenditure Of about