The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1922-09-02
SHIP SUBSIDY ONL 7 ANOTHER way
OF PLuNDER|NC PUBLIC TREASURY

Our troubles relating to foreign
shipping originate in the fact that
our shipping board, instead Of be-
ing composed of men who thorough
~ understand the merchant marine,
consists of politicians whose incom-
potency and lack Of experience Is
frankly admitted by its own chair
man.
This shouidey punch was given to
ship subsidy by j. A. H. Houkins
mittee of 49," who ha' been asso-
ciated with the shii ing business all
his life and is Intimately acquainted
with the ms and outs of the ship
ping problem.
Mr.. Hopkins puts ship subsidy up
to the people in such way that
any child may understand what it
means. He contends that it is only
a SUFFERING. to plumber the public
treasury and that it will not solve
Americas ship ping problems. This
is how he sees it:
Enormous Cost.
THE governments fleet which
cost the taxpayers Of America ap-
proximately $4,000, 100000 is today,
according to Mr.. Laskcr, chairman of
the shipping board, costing them
$50,000,o00 a year to maintain ex-
elusive Of depreciation, interest and
insurance.
Mr.. Lasker states that the board
does not know how to operate these
vessels economically, that it is un-
able to sell them for American ac-
count and that it does not wish to
sell them for foreign account, nor
is it willing to :.slvage them because
the board is aehamed to admit that
the United States is bankrupt in
craftsmanship, and that it lacks the
ingenuity and ability to convert this
immense fleet into revenue pro-
ducing asset.
What They Want.
These amazing admissions alone
are sufficient to disqualify the pres
ent board and to nullify it's recon-
mendations.
briefly it demands that we turn
over vessels costing $3,500,0O0,000
to a group of individuals for their
own personal profit, pay them a
bonus of $5O,O00,000 per annum for
accepting the gift, and in addition
lend them revolving fund OF
$125,O00,O0O at per cent interest
Edward c. Plummer of the shipping
board designated this proposal as the
melting of frozen asset Mr.. Las
ker's admissions establish the fact
that the present shipping board by
its own incompetency has done the
freezing. It by no means demon
strates that under proper manage
ment this frozen asset cannot be
Of revenue.
The Plundcrbund.
LAS matter Of fact, the ship
subsidy bill is only another means
Of plundering the public treasury
for the benefit Of certain special in
terests. This is we'll illustrated by
Mr.. Plummer's naive suggestion that
inasmuch as we are spending $780,.
100000 per annum for nothing, we
may as well give this to the private
ship owners. But why not save it?
If these vessels are absolutely
|. useless except for junk they should
be salvaged at once and the annua
tax burden Of $50,000,000 cut off
IF, as Mr.. Lasker states, they are
suitable for world trade and coulc
easily be sold for foreign account
CHI IN y,
should be put into service for ou1
own account, even though this re-
quired considerable remodelling, as
for instance, the changing Of theil
motive power from steam to Diese
engines as suggested by the nava
architect, Theodore D. Wells.
"And, if the government does it:
own remodelling and operates then
itself, the profits will flow into thu
public treasury (instead of the poe
kets of our private bankers) thu:
not only avoiding an additional tai
levy, but actually reducing our pres
ent burden.
Likelihood of Nation.
Commerce, is the lifeblood Of {
nation. One of the functions Of gov
eminent is to foster commerce by
encouraging production and provid
ing adequate channels of distribu
ton, through which our commodi
ties may reach the consumer, thu!
opening up the markets of the world
to our raw materials and manufac
tured products.
ITO accomplish these purposes b!