Evening star., 1922-11-26
QUESTION OF SUBSIDIES,
TO SHIPS AND OTHERWISE
Records Show Farmers Have Been Chief
Beneficiaries of Government Aid
in the Past.

most recent tariff law of all. made it
possible for the farmers Of America
to obtain greater. prices for their
produce.
Arousing Farmer Prejudice.
Every effort has been made by the
opponents of government aid to the
merchant marine to make the farmers
Of the country believe that such leg
islation would be inimical to them.
Yet the farmers are dependent prob
ably more than any other class OF
producers in the country upon means
of disposing of their surplus prod
ucts. Unless they can ship their sur
plus wheat. cotton. corn and other
crops to foreign nations. the market
here is flooded and prices fall. So an
American merchant marine means
more to them-to all people in this
country who have something to sell
abroad-far more than to the men
who will make living out of oper-
ating American ships. The shippers.
among them the farmers. learned dur
ing the war what a merchant marine
means to the United States. In the
event of another great war-even
though the United States may not be
involved-and the shipping of the
world is taken in large part from the
use of the American shippers. the
! farmers and other producers will be
! tremendously hard hit. During the
! mt
! 81. 600. .0OO.0 to build a merchant ma
rine to carry troops and supplies to
| Europe. How will the country look
! upon another such expenditure in case
| the need should arise through the fall
ure to maintain at all times an Amer
| lean merchant marine?
Opposition to Land Grants.
When the great states OF the middle
for government aid to construct rail-
| roads through their territory-rail-
roads that meant everything to them
| it must be admitted that sectional
| ism played part in delaying this
government aid. or subsidy. or what
! ever it is desired to call it. Votes
in the Senate and House showed that
the men from these states favored
grants Of land belonging to the ma
tion to the railroads, while men from
the older states, developed far more
and with means of transportation,
were found opposing these grants. 1t
was a short sighted policy on the
part of the opponents of the grants.
as is now admitted. The develop
ment of the railroads of the country
meant everything. not only to the
states of the west, but to the entire
nation. The short-sighted policy of
! some Of the legislators at that time
delayed for a number of years the de-
velopment Of the railroads. But even
tually consent and assistance OF the
settled portions OF the country was
gained, and 133 separate land grants
were made to railroad companies.
There resulted from these grants the
construction of 21,510 miles OF rail-
road. of which 14,184 miles were COM
pleted within the time prescribed by
the acts granting the land to the
roads.
The area of the land granted as gov
ernment aid or subsidy to the rail-
roads is equal to the entire territory
of the thirteen original states; it is
greater than the area of Germany and
,, Italy combined, or Of France, Belgium
and Great Britain. This gives an idea
of the government aid extended to the
railroads which linked up the great
producing areas Of the country with
the consuming and shipping sections.
Half Billion for Roads.
Government aid has not been con-
fined only to the railroads when it
comes to the matter of transporta-
ton. AS has been said, some $780,
600, 900 has been appropriated and au-
thorized for the construction of good
roads in the country in the last six
years Last year the Congress put
through the federal highway act, car
rying SIS 900, 900, and the current post
office appropriation bill provided $780,
100000 for the first year and author
lied S65, 100000 for the second and $751;
100000 for the third year. The appro-
priations for good roads are made on
ing compelled to match dollar for
dollar with the federal government
for the construction of roads within
their borders. so in reality the aid to
good roads in the last six years runs
over s1.OO0.00O.OO0. Who benefits the