The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1922-11-30
HARDING ASKS
SHIP SUBSIDY LAW
Presses for Enactment OF Meas
ure in Speech Before Joint
Session OF Congress.

Washington The President made
his plea TO Congress for Government
aid 10 American shipping. At the
close he made passing reference 20
his intention 20 recommend for ae.
ton at the short session rural credit
legislation for the relief Of the farm.
ers. The rest OF the speech was de-
voted TO the subsidy project
"Three courses OF action are pos
sible. and the choice among them isI
no longer 10 be avoided" the Presi-
dent declared q
''The FIRST Is eonstructive--enact
the pepdiug bill. under which, firm
iy believe. an American merchant
marine, privately owned and privately
operated. but serving all the people
and always available TO the Govern
ment In any emergency. may be es-
tablished aud maintained
"The second Is obstructiye-con
tinue Government operations and at.
tending Government losses and dis
courage private enterprise by
NH0Atf NDlFAh AhtA pfAtAANAif lhhhi WhANh
losses are met by the public treasury,
and witness the continued losses and
deterioration until the colossal failure
ends in sheer exhaustion.
"The third Is destructive-involy.
ing the sacrifice OF our ships abroad
or the scrapping OF them at home, the
surrender Of our aspirations, and the
confession OF our impotence TO the
world IN general and our humiliation
before the competing world in par.
ticular
"A choice among the three Is In
evitable II is unbelievable that the
American people or the Congress
which expresses their power will con
sent 70 surrender and destruction. IL
Is equally unbelievable that our peo.
pie and the Congress which translates
their wishes into action will longer
sustain a program Of obstruction and
attending losses TO the treasury"
Those few paragraphs contained
the meat of the whole discourse II
was a carefully worked out argument.
starting from the premise that the
Immediate problem vas not 10 estab
lish an American menAsn, marine
but rather 70 dispose OF the vast
fleet left on our hands az the close
Of the war and somehow 20 save the
$4,000 600 which. the President do.
clared the operation OF a part OF that
feet was now costing the country
To give thrust 10 his appeal the
d. a. 80 O
described as gloomy picture Of
present conditions Even our present
enormous expenditure in losses was
not of any constructive use. ~ said
II was entirely Ineffective IN building
up a merchant marine Deterioration.
too. was causing additional losses,
losses which were not being charged
on and which. In the Presidents
estimation. would result in few
years more in losses in excess Of the
s50O00.000 a year nov sunk in opera.
tion losses.
The President dwelt briefly on the
arguments for preparedness and
patriotism. and then turned. in the
language quoted above. to a discus.
tiNA ei tilH hNltt AiHeathit Noufefr open
60 the country From that point he
proceeded with the familiar argu.
ments for subsidy addressing himself
partly 70 the inland folks who here
tofore have not been very enthusias
tice about subsidy legislation He
sought % bring them over 10 his way
81 thinking by telling them that from
the point of view of marketing their
goods aid 70 shipping was every bit
a. imperative as such recognized sub.
sldios as ala q highway construction.
The President estimated that The
faune resnlnue from the BIN would
NOR haB pa grr dollar ezpand
81 Is Government ald for twenty i've
years t1 come
60 have come % urse the c1uetruc
tive alternative 10 reaesert su Amor.
feau -us allI. he eseIauad which
hr1arh, le 6r-t applause during ,hs
delivery of tae sH