Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-15
THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.

men, farmers, or professional men.
THE SHIP SUBSIDY BILL.
DRESIDENT HARDING has
sent a hurry up call to congress
to pass the ship subsidy bill, dis
tributing some forty millions of
taxpayers cash to the owners of
American ships each year, and adj
vantages which are probably worth
many more millions. It is thought
in congress that the presidents
message to hurry up the passage of
this subsidy bill carries a threat
of an extra session of congress if
it goes unheeded. The president
seems to be most decidedly and re-
markably interested in this bill to
give an annual bonus to American
ship owners. We would rather see
the forty million bonus be distrib-
uted among American sailors, or
American soldiers, or American
tailors, or carpenters, or railroad
right-of-way men, or any other spe-
cial class Of workers or investors.
The American shipowner has been
bowling for a bonus for fifty years.
This subsidy bill has long white
whiskers on it. Several republican
presidents have recommended it.
More than one republican national
convention has Endorsed it. And
yet it could never quite get through
both houses of congress. Enough
republicans in one branch or the
other Of the national legislature
always flew the coop at some crit
ical moment so that with the assist
; ance of the democrats the bill fail
ed to pass. In spite of the efforts
of President Harding and the ship
ping lobby that is quite likely to
happen again. In the first place,
the middle western states are gen.
orally against it. So are all the
states except those on the sea
coasts who fear to lose their ship
ping to foreign competitors if the
taxpayers do not make them an
annual gift of two score millions
of dollars and other advantages.
While the president of the United
States was urging congress to get
busy and pass this ship owners bill
the American Federation of Labor
by a unanimous vote was denounc-
ing it as class legislation and a
political graft. And they are quite
right about it too in our opinion.
The ex-service men also who are
not very pleased with the efforts
of President Harding to postpone
action on their promised bonus bill
are getting rather bitterly sarcastic
over the presidents keen anxiety
to get this other bonus bill for the
benefit of ship owner through con-
gress and up to his signature. Then
there are a whole host of American
taxpayers who are by no means
anxious to increase their taxes by
making vast gifts of money to ship
owners, ex-soldiers, or any other
class in the country. They want to
cut down their present taxes and
look with i'll favor on any new
taxes at all.
All these factors will cut some
part in the action of congress on
this pet bill of the presidents to
give the shipowners forty million
dollars each year out of the collec-
tons made under the new tariff
bill. The lower house of congress
has to go before the people next
November for a new vote of conf
dnce. So have one-third of the
senator's. The signs of the times
are that even the men who voted
for them two years ago are not very
well pleased by their record. We
have a strong suspicion that there
are enough republican members
ready to join with a practically
solid democratic vote against this
ship subsidy bill to defeat it in this
congress wen if the president
called a special session to get it
through. And if that came about
it would only be repeating the his
tory of the past. If we can only
maintain an American merchant
marine by paying the sh;p owners
an immense yearly subsidy, we