Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1922-07-21

|. Never start q had about dhoth;
err person. Sons. one may confuse the
names and hang onto you. 81.
THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL I.
(By Wallace Bassford)
Washington, D. c., July :1S:-Presi
dent Harding has gone to the country
to sound sentiment on the pending Ship
Subsidy Bill. Unfortunately, he will
not tell certain facts about the effect
of this bill-he is so intensely for the
measure that he will sing it's praises,
with none present to state to the audi.
ence the following truth which the
people are entitled to know:
The bill proposes to turn over to the
shipping trust $3,000,Oe0,000 worth of
fine steel ships built by r: 2 the Govern.
ment, the most modern fleet in the
world, most Of them oil-burners. The
people Of the United States own these
ships. The bill proposes to sell them to
this group Of capitalists for $200,000,.
900, or one-ffteenth Of their cost.
The bill also proposes to lend these
men $l25,0OG,00O to recondition the
ships. If they had been properly cared
for during the Harding administration
this would not be needed.
The bill provides for the payment of
a subsidy Of $750,000,000 to the CAPT
talists in the next ten years for using
this great grab Of ships for their own
private gain. During three recent
years the Atlantic Gulf and West In.
dies Steamship Company made clea,
profit Of 100 per cent on it's shipping
business without subsidy; the pub
lished reports Of the company show
this, and it is merely used here as an
example because it is one of the largest
of American companies. During the
war some ships earned their entire
cost in one trip, There is no reason
why any.of them should fail to be self
supporting at any, time.
This subsidy will be paid even to the
ships Of the Standard Oil Company ane
the Steel Corporation for transporting
their own products in their own ships
for their own profit. Is it any wonder
they are all for=.Harding7 And the
passage Of this bill9 greatly increases
the list of calling places for the cam
paign fund collectors Of the Repub
lican party when Mr.. Harding come:
up for reelection. Is it any wonder
therefore, that Warren is for the bill
Under this bill the army and navy
! transports will be abolshed-sold fol
junk at a great loss-and the business
turned over to the trust, when we al
ready have the ships, built ard paid fol
not only the transports, hut the ner
chant f1eet-in our own possession. Il
there business man in the country
who would make such deal?
The bill does not require any reports
to be made to Congress and no account
ing as to earnings Of these SHIPS. Thus
the people will never know how badly
the Republican party sold them out.
The bill exempts the shipping Trust
from the payment Of all Federal taxes
providing the amount is set aside fol-
the building Of new ships-ard all the
time the party is claiming that toe
many ships are already built for tho
business being done-under Republi
can administration.
The bill makes no provision for regu'
lation of freight rates on the water
and creates gigantic combination
which can make rates as high as il
chooses and leave the shippers helpless
Whether they will make the rates high
can be determined by barking back to
the open robbery Of the war rates.
In the committee hearings practical
steamship men admitted that the wages
of our seamen do not hurt the American
steamship in competition with European
vessels. Their testimony showed that
the difference in these wages does not
exceed two per cent. John G. Seager
Jr., vice-president Of the Seager Steam
ship Company, admitted in the hearings
that there is no reason why American
ships cannot compete with the world
under present conditions; his and othe1
companies are doing it. The only diff
ficulty he saw was that some Of tn,
American companies paid very large
salaries to unnecessary executives, som,
of them as high as 100000 per year
greater than that Of President Harding
The bill provides for the shipping
board to make subsidy contracts will
the shipping trust covering periods O.
ten years-this to prevent an effective
repeal Of the law, for its repeal by ;
new Congress would not stop the rob
berry Of the people 8 treasury. The bill
even fixes it so that this fund is no
dependent on each Congress appropriat
ing the money annually, as it done TO
all other expenses Of the Government.
The bill confers on the Shippin
Board the most enormous and unre
stricted powers in regard to selling
ships, making loans and subsidy con
tracts and in handling enormous sum
Of money. The present members Of tn
board are rushing about the countr,
making speeches in favor of the bill a
government expense.
The bill provides more money in tn,
form of subsidies, by fifty per cent, thar
the total amount paid in subsidies
bounties and ocean mail pay by al
Of the other countries of the worlt
put together.
President Harding goes to the coun
try on this measure and says he il
ready to stand or fall with it. It seems
certain that any citizen who considers
these facts, taken from the minorit,
report on the bill, will agree that tn,
president who would support such ;
steal deserves to fall with the bill b,
advocates. The minority report wa,