The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-02-12
A Timely Editorial
Push the Ship Subsidy
(St. Louis Globe-Democrat)

tot. LoulS Gl0be-Democrat)
 Only little more than a month remains of the present session of Congress, yet nothing has been done in the Senate with the merchant marine act, the "snip subsidy bill," which was passed by the House of Representatives in November. Whatever may be our differences of opinion as to our duties and re- responsibilities in relation to the sit uation in Europe, there ought to be TO differences of opinion as to our duty to respect and protect our own interests i'll the trade of the world. No one can well deny that the possession and operation of national merchant marine are es- sent1al to the proper care and de- Velopment of foreign trade. If we are to hold our place Tn the worlds commerce, and if we are to pro- mote our share in that commerce, we must be relative.y independent of other nations in the means, the routes and the rates of transporta- ton. The war put us in posses sion of great fleet of ocean-going ships. Arc we to hold the tremen- dous asset we have thus obtained, which cost us billions of dollars, or are we to sacrifice fe to a destruc- tive economy or no less destruc- tive principle? If we are to hold 1t, are we to continue the present inefficient and far more expensive system of government ownership. or are we to transfer the ships t. private ownership with government supervision and government aid to overcome the unacceptable handciaps of foreign competition!
 These are the questions involved in this issue. We must either main tain ar fleet or abandon it. To abandon it would be unthinkable folly, To continue government op- eration is to continue government losses, now amounting to $50,000,- 900 annually, and, in the words of President Harding. "to discourage private enterprise by government competition, under which losses are met by the public treasury, and witness the continued losses and deterioration until the colossal fail ure ends in sheer exhaustion" The alternative is the practical, con structive and economical program embodied in the mercnant marine act, which provides for the sale of the ships to private owners under conditions that would enable them to maintain and operate them eff cient1y in competition with the other fleets of the world Tor the benefit of American commerce, and at a cost to the government of much less than is now being paid under federal ownership.
 What objection can there be to this .rronram? "Iooting the treas ury to enrich sh.pping corpora tions?" A good many millions is saved to the treasury by it, and it's benefits are limited 70 fair return on the actual capital invested, when government aid ceases, and half of all excess earnings must go to the government in repayment of the aid previously given. The actual in vestment and operating xepenses. under this measure, would be audited DN JIC SONSl iiOW IS JDG tTcdS- ury to be footed" when it will be saving S20,000,000 annually by the operation of the act, and how are ship owners to be enriched when their profits are so restricted as long as they receive government aid?
 There are no people of the coun- try who should be so much con- cerned in this question as those of the middle west, who raise 70 per cent of our agricultural products, which are particularly dependent upon foreign trade for the market
 ing of the surplus ana the ma1nte-
 nance of profitable prices for the farmers. The Senate should be
 urged to push this act to it's passage
 before the end of the present ses- sion.