The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-11-23
FILIBUSTER IS
PROBABLE ON
SHIP SUBSIDY
ThreeG Groups Opposed
Friends to Fight
By MARK SULLIVAN

YIN Il. N|.s wv SO'
Even If you were an ardent advocate
OF America having a great merchant
marine, even If you believe President
Harding's proposal to be the only prac-
tical way of bringing it about. even
If all your hopes were centered on its
passing. you would be compelled to
admit the strength of the forces in
opposition especially in the senate. 1t
is true that the aggregate of these
forces is bare half Of the senate
If that.
AS things stand now, If the bill
should come to vote in the senate,
it would probably pass or not pass by
not more than two or three votes
either way. But the opposition is the
more determined and truculent and
having the greater dynamic quality,
If 1t seems to them desirable, to fill
buster the bill over into the next ses-
sion, with changed senate and a
changed house, the bill would almost
certainly fail.
OF course 1t is not to be expected
that the opponents of the bill will have
things wholly their own way in this
OC0otOAs OAO VI Tic IlOSL nOllCCdDlS
things about the regular Republican
leaders and the friends of Harding is
their equanimity about their recent
adversely.
Won't Learn Lesson.
In the judgment of many they are
too little disposed to take note of what
has happened. They regard it as one
of those occasional catastrophies es-
sential to a political career. Most of
them argue that the thing to do is to
stand pat and wait for the wheel of
political fate to complete another cir
Gle. Some of them affect to believe
that as the pendulum swung violently
one way during the years of 1920 to
1922, it may swing with equal violence
the other way during the years from
1922 to 1924.
There Is some evidence that Hard
ing personally takes the mandate of
the recent election more seriously than
some of the other leaders do.
Harding does not regard himself as
having franchise to be a standpatter
In his eyes his franchise is to carry
out the prevailing will of the Republi
can party. as expressed in conven-
lions, primaries and elections. Since
1t is apparent that an important sec
ton of the Republican party wants
certain legislation for the relief of
farmers. 1t will be Harding's pleasure
to try to provide it.
Fight for Measure.
To get back to the shipping bill, the
regular Republican leaders and the
1nends of Harding will fight every
inch of the way to make the measure
a success Harding's speech not only
L. R-s
and firmness impressed many who
had not made up their minds on their
position.
There was a high note in Harding's
appeal to Judge the bill as a matter
of national policy rather than by the
log rolling test of whether individual
congressional districts would be ben
efitted.
The opposition to the bill in the
senate will include, on party grounds,
practically all of the Democrats ex-
cept a few from states like Louisiana,
which have a direct interest in ship
ping
The Republican senators who will
oppose the bill include three groups.
The farm bloc generally will oppose
it merely because it has the nature OF
a subsidy. Another very small group,
led by LaFoIlette, will oppoEe the bill
because they are almost fanatically iu
favor of going on with government
ownership. Still another group will
help in the effort to carry the bin
over into the next session on the
theory that the matter should not be
decided by the present congress
which has just been rebuked at the
polls. but by the new congress which
has recently received the peoples
mandate. In the senate 1t is so easy
comparatively, to filibuster the bill
over into the next session that it looks
like the more probable outcome
Copyright. 1922, by the New York
Evening Post. Inc.)