The labor world., 1922-12-16
RISES IN
PROTEST AGAINST
!. !. !. SHIP BONUS BILL
National Leaders Express Sen
::timent Of Workers on Subsidy.
=,
Continued from page y

!; Continued from page y
from the taxpayers" writes NJ. S
;Warfield. president, Order Sleeping
Car Conductors. He also adds:
/ 1.-THE public will be compelled tc
establish and maintain a profitable
business for few individuals by fl
nancial guarantees. Shipping will
thus become private enterprise al
public expense, and for this reason
:the bill should not pass. The prob
lem of handling the United States
:'merchant marine should be solved
in the interests Of all the people,
:. It's Class Legislation.
Daniel J. Tobin, president of the
;Teamsters International union and
"treasurer of the A. +. Of L., says
its class legislation. I'm every in
stance" he holds. X have found
posed to the passage Of the meas
ure. In many instances business men
as we'll as the workers. call it a
steal from the American people in
behalf Of certain shipping interests.
They say, If the government has the
right to sutsidize the shipping in
terests, why not subsidize the farm
ing interests which are suffering
as a result Of the many perplexing
conditions that surround agricul-
tureo'
They say, Why not subsidize the
packing houses or the packing in
dustry. SO that the price of meat
may be reduced?' In short, the
masses Of people say that no special
interest in this, or any other coun-
try, during times Of peace, should
be subsidized by the government
taking it from one class and turning
it over to another class
An Endless Drain.
]. P. Noonan. president of the In
ternational Brotherhood Of E!ec-
trical Workers, stands squarely with
the A. F.. Of L., in its position against
the ship subsidy bill and tells the
senate about it In the following:
I'VE are entirely in accord with
the American Federation of Labor
on the ship subsidy bill, because we
are fully convinced that the public
have been systema tically robbed and
hurdened with taxes: first, by pay
ing the railroads unearned money;
second, on a more gigantic scale by
the passage Of The Fordney-McCu
ber tariff bill and because our ex-
perience with such legislation leads
us to the belief that a ship subsidy,
however innocent appearing at the
time of its birth, will develop into
Feeding trough for certain financial
interests whose appetite will prove
Unsuitable, and while the first year
OF its operation may cost what. our
financially erudite administration
may term nominal sum Of $780,
100000 a year. difficulties and ex-
igencies will continuously develop
hat will cause expenditures far
more than s50,O0O,O00 a year.
AN indebtedness of this nature
under a contract such as proposed
would, in my opinion, be progressive
and if the tenth year would see the
country escaping an Indebtedness
for that year of $20O,0OO,OOO it
would, in my opinion. not only sur
prise those who desired it, but would
also surprise the oldest and most
capable Of our politicians.'
An Invitation to Graft.
~"[ am unqualifiedly, whole-heart-
.edly and bitterly opposed to this
legislation" says E. H. Fitzgerald.
president of the Brotherhood of
Railway Clerks. He gives the fol-
lowing reasons for his opposition to
the ship subsidy bill:
First, it will adversely affect
American seamen. I note that twice
within year the pay of American
now the official shipping board rate
1856 for seamen and $3.50 for fire
men per month. Why should the
American people subsidize an indus
try which treats it's employees in this
fashion? Why should such indus
tries be given further authority by
the United States government to mis-
treat American seamen?
SECONDLY, the great American
public, most Of which consists of us
common people, must foot the bill,
which will be more than fifty million
dollars annually, to be handed to
ship owners II this nefarjous legis-
lation is adopted. In return, the
public gets no guarantee of improved
shipping conditions, no assurance of
lower freight rates, and no assur-
ance Of better service.
I 1.-The bill further provides that
merchant ships which have cost the
taxpayers of this country three and
one-half billion dollars are not only
= to be given away at panic prices,
but the big ship owners are actual
ly to be paid for taking them. The
bill does not provide that they shall
be sold under competitive bids
Therefore, in that respect it is un-
American and is, in fact, an invita-.
ton to graft and thievery."
Minnesota Protests.
"The labor forces of Minnesota
protests against ship subsidy, writes
E. G. Hall. president of the state
federation Of labor. He says:
1--WE believe that the shipping
trust. the railroad trust, steel trust
the Standard Oil trust, United Fruit
trust, the sugar trust, etc., have go'
more now from our government anG
its people than they are justly en-.
titled to. We do not believe in 6
government paying premium >tt