Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-12-13
May HOLD
UP ON SHIP BILL IN
FAVOR RURAL CREDITS


enactment Of. the administration
shipping bill was urged in the Senate
and at the White House today, but
at the same time. indications grew
stronger that the measure might soon
Of rural credits legislation.
Developments in connection with
these two major pieces Of legislation
came thick and fast at the Senate
wing of the Capitol and we're sup
plemented by the declaration at the
White House that President Harding
believed the merchant marine meas
ure should be disposed of before any
other legislation was taken up by
the Senate. The President, it was
further asserted, held the view that
the country was entitled to have a
decision with respect to the measure
without undue delay.
Almost simultaneous with this
declaration was the announcement
by Senator Jones, Republican,
Washington, in charge of the ship
ping bill, that he would agree to lay
aside his measure temporarily,
should advocates of rural credits
legislation be able to bring before
the Senate a bill in which there was
a considerable degree of unanimity.
He added later in the day in the
course of an extended address. in
behalf of the shipping bill, the OPEN
ing statement for proponents of the
merchant marine measure, that
there is no legislation we can pass
except possibly a rural credits bill
that will benefit the farmers more
than this bill to afford transportation
across the ocean for their products.
The announcement by Senator
Jones of his Willingness to lay aside
temporarily the shipping bill was
preceded by series of conferences
between Democratic and Republican
opponents of the ship measure. dur
ing which the stronger advocates of
farm relief legislation in both parties
were enlisted in the support of a
proposal that a motion be made as
soon as a rural credit bill was re-
ported from committee to take up the
farm measure and to displace the
merchant marine legislation.
Senator Fletcher of Florida. ranking
Democrat on the commerce committee,
leaders of the farm bloc and Senators
LaFollette of Wisconsin and Brookhart
of Iowa. Republican members of the
new progressive bloc, conducted these
conferences and tonight announced
they haC So senators, or considerably
more than a majority, to support the
move.
Rural credits legislation also was
taken up again at a meeting of the Sem
ate farm bloc tonight. Members of the
bloc have been trying to agree on a
definite measure. but leaders indicated
that, owing to differences Of opinion,
the bloc would not go on record in
support of any one bill
Although farm credits legislation
was being pushed to the front, the
shipping bill received It's share of at
IGNITION. Senator Simmons, Democrat.
North Carolina. while delivering a
speech in behalf of real farm credit
bill" paused to attack the ship meas
urc, and after doing SO offered as
amendment the soldier bonus bill We
toed at the last regular session of Con-
gress by President Harding and also
his own farm credits bill.
Senator Jones. in his trening speech
in behalf of the shipping measure, de-
scrbcd the shipping business as "our
most infant industry" end traced the
various steps taken BY Great Britain
in way of discriminatory laws and
subventious in building Up the British
merchant marine. He warned against
allowing the warbuilt American mer-
chant marine to disappear from the
seas through inaction b. Congress.