Evening star., 1922-11-23
ship BILL TO GIVE
u. S. LINES MILLIONS
NOW GOING ABROAD
Representative Greene Tells
House Plan Will Relieve
Years of Injustice.

Representative Greene of Massachu-
setts. chairman of the House merchant
marine committee. told the House today
that the administration shipping bill
would create an adequate merchant
marine. increasing Americas foreign
trade, retain in the country 100000
900 annually in freight money. give
tee the nation against the necessity for
again being faced With the task Of build
ing a wartime merchant neet.
Long Years Of Injustice.
1T is because American shipping in
the foreign trade, alone Of all our in
dustries, has not been aid in the past,
that it has gone down." Mr.. Greene as
serted. I'm this bill we are seeking to
remedy long years of discrimination and
injustice"
The word subsidy" Mr.. Greene said
had become a "bugaboo'' to some and
he asked the House to disassociate it
from their minds in considering the
measure.
What are the irrigation dams and
watersheds set up by the federal
government in cooperation with
certain states if not form of sub.
sidy to landowners. stockraisers and
agrioulturists?" he asked. What
are the land grants and franchises
given to railroads? Subsidy. What
are the advances made for highway?
Subsidy. What are the farm mort
gage banks for if not to provide
those concerned at least an indirect
subsidy. These are beneficient appli-
cations of a principle with which the
public is thoroughly familiar. Why
deny its potential beneficience in an
other quarter because it happens to
come forward under a different
designation?'
Initiatlve Must Still BE shown.
Mr.. Greene said the bill provided
a merchant marine fund of $4,000
900 annually, to which would be added
10 per cent Of the annual customs
duties, amounting to about s3o,oo0.-
900. Excess earnings Of ships re-
ceiving compensation also would 20
into the fund.
Compensation to ships would be
authorized for periods not exceeding
ten years. Even with this aid, Mr.
Greene said, American ship owners
would have to show initiative and
enterprise. because the compensation
would not equalize the difference in
labor cost between American and
foreign ships.
1T is precisely estimated" he con-
tinued, that on the basis Of actual
shipping available the bill will not
cali for a greater amount of subsidy
or compensation than s12,000.000 to
$4,000, 900 for the first year, and that
30,000.0O0 will create and maintain
a total American shipping in foreign
trade of 100000 tons gross register
and capable of carrying from SO to
60 per cent, or the greater portion, of
the import and export trade Of the
United States"
Ban ON ProAteering.
Mr.. Greene called attention to the
feature whereby If, in any one year.
net profits of any ship exceeded 10
Der cent, the balance would be repaid
until the full amount of the COM
pensation was returned to the Treas
ury. This, he said, would prevent
prof1teering.
Calling attention to a recent oc-
currence at Alexandria, Egypt, where
he said American ship owners had
been told the carrying Of long-flber
cotton to the American trade was a
British monopoly. Mr.. Greene asked
if there wis any member of the House
whose face does not flush with shame
and resentment at such a situation"
"Yet British greed and arrogance
had reached that point at Alexandria" :"
he said. What happened at Alex
andria may happen at any port in the
world. Therefore American shipping
must have q powerful law or 1t will
not succeed"
Bill Gets Right sf Way.
The way was cleared for the fight
in the House today, when the ship
ping bill was given right Of way by
the adoption Of q resolution brought
in by the rules committee yesterday.
Although the resolution. which car
ried provision for unlimited amend
ment and . vote on final passage No
vember %, was adopted by q vote of
200 to 10, House leaders did not be-
lieve this could be taken ~ an indi-
cation Of the final lineup on the
measure. On the basis OF a survey
taken after the initial skirmish, how
Ov1 100 D sCv,f,, y4,,s \.