The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-11-29
RADICAL CHANGES. ARE MADE IN SHIP. SUBSIDY MEASURE.
Vote Will Be Taken Upon Amended Bill This After noon-Passage Be-
 lieved Certain
By Associated Press


 cal changes in several provisions of the administration Shipping bill, all of them proposed by republicans, were made today by the House as 1t approached a final vote on the measure. More than two score of amendments were offered but less than dozen were approved.
 Amendments proposed by demo- erats hostile to the legislation were quickly rejected. Practically all of them came from four democratic members of the merchant marine oommittee-Repres Davis of Tennessee, Hardy and Briggs of Texas and Bankhead of Alabama. Friends of the bill, encouraged by their success in turning back the democratic attack. predicted they would have a comfortable margin on the passage vote scheduled for not later than 1 D. m. tomorrow
 Among the important changes made in the measure today vas an amendment by Chairman Madden of the appropriations committee making
 | necessary for Congress each year 10 authorize payments for the mer-' chant marine funds to the operators of American ships.
 
 Al the suggestion of Representa- tive Edmunds, Pennsylvania, ranking republican on the committee, the House decided not to make govern ment aid available to industrial con cerns such as the Standard Oil com pany. for the operation of vessels carrying their own products. The bill. as amended. permits such com panies, however to receive assistance for transporting of cargo of other shippers,
 Representative Bankhead proposed that the bill specify that compensa- tion was not to be paid to any op- orator whose ships carried liquor The supreme court it was pointed out. might decide that American i ships outside the three-mile limit were not subject to the prohibition law and the Bankhead amendment ! was offered to make doubly snre dis-
 barment of liquor for American Nes- ] sells.
 Changes Proposal Mir Edmonds offered substitute ! for the Bankhead amendment mar rowing it's scope to provide that ships should not receive government aid for voyages on which liquor was carried The Edmonds substitute was adopted 56 to 5l There was a general assault on the provisions relating to the DOW CTS of the shipping board, but they remained intact until one section ,stipulating that the general account Ing office was not to review the boards determination of the amount of compensation to be paid. was eliminated, at the suggestion of Rep iresentative Graham, republican, llll- nois by a 52 to f6 vote.
 Another amendment approved made sailing vessels of 800 to 1000 gross tons eligible for government aid.
 MT Madden's amendment providing an annual congressional cheek on the payments of compensation was of fered after Mir Davis had attempted to strike out the provision creating a merchant marine fund from which payments would be made.
 Opinion Differs Mir Davis and others coDtended that appropriations should be made annually for the purpose so the peo- pie would know how much the law was costing.
 The Madden amendment retained the merchant marine fund section but required that no payments were to be made to operators having con tracts with the government until Con gress had authorized them, There was difference of opinion among House members as to it's probable ef- feet although 1t was generally agreed | thata it did away with permanent appropriations, afforded check on lexpenditures and probably would re- move one of the features considered objectionable by members waiverlng lin their stand on the measure.
 House members were appealed to | by president Gompers of the Ameri- ,can Federation of Labor in letters ]. sent out during the day to defeat ithe bill. Expressing the opinion that it would place tremendous drain on i the treasury without effectively re- 1 habilitating the American merchant marine. Mir. Gompers declared that l labor denounced the bill as fraud, 1 robbery and wholly indefensible.'