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Show SHIP PURCHASE BILL OPPOSED Commerce Committee Minority Minor-ity Report Sees Risk of Being Be-ing Drawn Into War. TIME OF DANGER Lodge Declares Bill "Thoroughly "Thor-oughly Vicious, Economically Economi-cally and Internationally Grossest Subsidy." Washington, Jan. 4. Opposition io ship purchase bill, chiefly on the ground that it might precipitate foreign for-eign complications and as a tendency toward government ownership, was set forth In a minority report of the commerce committee, filed by Senators Sena-tors Burton. Nelson, Perkins. Smith of Michigan, and Oliver. That eery ship under the proposed plan "would add one more risk of our being drawn Into the present war." was the declaration dec-laration of the minority. The report says: "Undoubtedly It was one of the inspiring motives for those who framed fram-ed this bill to release boats which have been interned as a result of the war. The president has gone to the almost unprecedented limits of using his utmost endeavor to discourage private loans to belligerents. Is it consistent with so strict an application applica-tion of the neutrality policy to make, at least Indirectly, available to one of the belligerents many millions of dollars which had been made unavailable un-available -hy the incidents of urar?" I Concerning the government ownership owner-ship feature of the bill, the report declares it to be an experiment that cannot be justified by any of the arguments ar-guments which apply to the taking over, of a naturally monopolistic pub He enterprise, "because the shipping field is far from being naturally monopolistic mon-opolistic " The report also asserts that the plan would be futile in reducing ocean rates. Time of Extreme Danger. Senator Root, during debate, de clared no measure of equal consequence conse-quence had been brought before congress con-gress in many years. It was proposed, pro-posed, he said, to put the government into foreign trade at a time of extreme ex-treme danger. The result must be, (he insisted, to place in question the good faith of the United States itself in carrying good.-, to belligerents. Senator Root protested against any effort to limit debate. Senator Fletcher replied it was not the purpose of the majority to limit discussion. Senator Lodge served notice on the Democrats that he would resort to "any parliamentary procedure to delay de-lay action on the shipping bill if an attempt were made to 'jam it through ' He characterized the bill as "thoroughly "thor-oughly vicious, economically and internationally." in-ternationally." and "the grossest kind of a subsidy.'' |
