Evening star., 1935-03-21
By C. Could Lincoln.


tiles will be discussed ad lib.
Postmaster General Farley has sug-
gested in q letter to Senator Copeland
of New York. chairman of the Senate
Commerce Committee, that the ship
subsidy should be passed and become
law before April 80. He called atten-
ton to the fact that the special au-
thority given the President by Con-
gress to modify or abrogate ocean
mail contracts expires on that date.
Mr.. Farley contends that If a new
policy Of Government aid for the
merchant marine Is to be developed.
1t should be brought into the light
and made an accomplished fact as
soon as possible. The President wishes
to do away with ocean mail contracts,
with compensation that bears no faint
est resemblance to q fair amount for
service performed, but is Q subsidy in
disguise, and also OF the present policy
of loans to shipping companies. He
would replace them with a frank ship
subsidy. designed to aid In the build
ing and operation of overseas Ameri-
can merchant vessels. The President
believes that more eficient aid could
be given the merchant marine, also the
Government could be better protected
from mistakes.
Senator Copeland Is in sympathy
with Government aid to shipping. He
Is at work now on the details of a
shipping bill. Naturally he will obtain
the views of the President on the
measure before he launches 1t. In his
opinion. 1t will be impossible to get a
ship subsidy bill through Congress by
April 80, however. The House Mer-
chant Marine Committee. headed by
Representative Bland of Virginia,
already has begun shipping hearings
But a shipping bill. particularly if it
bears the name ship subsidy. is not
likely to slip through Congress with
out long debate and fight.
The last ship subsidy bill to make
real bid for passage was bicked
by the late President Harding, early
in his administration. Despite the
obvious need Of Government aid to
keep the merchant marine alive and
despite The need of a merchant marine
which the World War had proved
conclusively, President Harding was
unable to get the bill through. At
that time Democrats were more JEFF
fersonian. Anything that bore the
name of subsidy was anathema. On
the Senate Commerce Committee
which considered the Harding ship
subsidy bill. only one Democrat, for
mer Senator Ransdell of Louisiana,
favored the measure All that has
changed in the last two years ap-
parently. The new subsidy bill will
have strong Democratic backing, and
doubtless strong Republican backing.
It will be fought, perhaps, by some
Of the members and Senators from
the interior States But even into
the interior of the country the idea
should have percolated by this time
that the country, the whole OF it,
needs an adequate merchant marine,
either in peace time or in war time
When the shipping bill comes before
Congress an effort will be made to
compel by law 100 per cent American
crews of the merchant marine Sec
retary Roper of the Department of
Commerce, under which comes the
regulation of shipping, is strongly in
favor of such a move. 1t does seem
that American citizens. native born
or naturalized, should man the mer-
chant marine. At present, a very
considerable proportion Of the crews
are aliens. And In time Of war, when
the merchant marine becomes an
auxiliary Of the Navy and perhaps
the means Of transport .of American
troops, there should be no doubt about
the Americanism of its crews.
Secretary Wallace of the Depart
ment Of Agriculture has issued an
order lifting all restrictions on Spring
wheat planting for this year for the
farmers who sign agreements with the
A. A. A. TO Offset 1885 increases with
reductions in 1886. The reason ad-
vanced is that the drought makes 1t
advisable to let the farmers go ahead
this year with their full crops. The
new order will permit the farmers to
plant perhaps 2,300,000 more acres in
wheat than they would have done
under the curtailment plans Of the
A. A. A. Whatever the reason, the
change in the program is q step away
from the policy Of attrition, of scarcity.
which Lewis w. Douglas, former di-
rector of the budget, said recently
was calculated to make Americans
"fabulously wealthy" when they
reached the point of producing moth
ing at all. Mr.. Douglas attack on
the policy Of scarcity, or limited pro-
duction, as q means of building up
agriculture and the rest Of the coun-
try sounded q note that has been
growing more and more popular.
The soldiers bonus fight is under
way In the House. Most of the
speeches will be made by those who
favor a bonus payment Of one kind
or another. Those who oppose the
present payment of the bonus are
inclined to vote that way and let
1t 60. They have no hope OF pre-
venting the passage of bonus bill.
There Is O large crop OF bonus meas
ures, however, ranging from the Pat
man bill, with its controlled infia-
tion," on down the line. More and
more discussion of the so-called
Tydings- Andrews Cochran compro-
mise bill Is heard. The idea has been
planted IN the minds Of members Of
Congress that perhaps the President
would not veto that bill. 1t calls
for the issuance Of 8 per cent Gov
ernment bonds, negotiable, to be
handed the veterans for their bonus
certificates. Then the veterans can
sell the bonds or hold on to them
until 1s45, as they see At.
New England Is aroused over the
coming reciprocal trade agreement
hetwee9 the United States and