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DEVOTED TO EVERYTHING AND EVERY INTEREST CONNECTED OR ASSOCIATED WITH MARINE MATTERS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Published every Thursday by The Penton Publishing Company, CLEVELAND, OHIO. CLEVELAND: BROWNING BUILDING. CHICAGO: MONADNOCK BUILDING. DETROIT: HAMMOND BUILDING. NEW YORK: 150 NASSAU STREET. Correspondence on Marine Engineering, Ship Building and Shipping Subjects Solicited. Subscription, $8.00 per annum. To Foreign Countries, $4.50. Subscribers can have addresses changed at will. The Cleveland News Co. will supply the trade with the MARINE REVIEW through the regular channels of the American News Co. Entered at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio, as Second Class Matter. FEBRUARY 2, 1905. The annual ship building edition of the Marine Review has been postponed until Feb. 9 in order to make it more complete than was possible this week. If republicans in the senate desire it the shipping bill can be enacted at the present session of congress. We are informed that democrats will not resort to dilatory motions or filibustering tactics in order to pre- vent a vote. .Republican senators cannot, therefore, justly charge democrats with causing an indefinite postponement of a vote. We are told that the demo- crats will content themselves with a proper expression of their views in opposition. The democrats in congress are on record as desir- ing shipping legislation. As a party they may not favor the entire bill now pending, but it is of the ut- most significance that they are evenly divided on the question in the senate commerce committee. Only three democratic senators, Messrs. Mallory, Clay and Berry, signed the minority report. Three other demo- cratic senators on the committee, Messrs. Martin, Stone and Foster, of Louisiana, declined to sign it. Thus divided the democrats cannot and will not at- tempt to carry on an aggressive fight against the shipping bill in the senate. The democratic members of the senate commerce committee who declined to sign the minority report are not opposed to the ship- Re ON ee ping bill; possibly they are in favor of it. Never be- fore has there been such a splendid chance to pass a shipping bill through the senate as now. Senators Frye, Gallinger, Lodge and Penrose should at once make a supreme effort to secure a vote on the shipping bill in the senate. If they fail, they can try again; and they can keep on trying until congress adjourns. In that way they can do their full duty in the matter. What is needed is a vote on the shipping bill in the senate, and the majority in the senate should devise a way to secure a vote. Our information is that the house will pass the shipping bill whenever the house leaders are assured that it has a show of passing in the senate; that the speaker, and the committee on rules--which is the committee that controls legislation in the house--are ready to fix a date for consideration and an hour for a vote on the bill. We are assured that there are a number of democrats in the house who will not vote against the bill; possibly some domecrats will vote for it; It is now whispered that a few over-timid repub- lican members of the house have said that until the steel schedule of the present tariff are revised they will not vote on the shipping bill. They are ready to place themselves in the attitude of using the shipping bill as a club with which to sandbag the so-called "stand- patters" in the house to consent to tariff revision. We cannot believe that any representative will take such a position, but if he is willing to, he should by all means be afforded the opportunity. Our shipping industry is in a chronic state of bank- ruptcy, receiverships and reorganizations. Nearly $100,000,000 of invested capital in ship building yields no profit. Our shipping is the one great American industry that is subject to foreign competition that re- mains unprotected. For any member of congress to say that he will visit the sins of the steel trust or the steel industry upon the shipping bill would be the flimsiest possible method by which to evade a declara- tion as to his real position on the shipping bill. To put forward the weak, disorganized, impoverished shipping industry, that for forty-four years has been appealing to congress for help, to minimize the strength of the great, wealthy and thoroughly organ- ized steel gladiator, would be as ridiculous as it would be unfair. That bugaboo should be laid instanter! And, .finally, how about President Roosevelt? In his annual message to congress in December, 1903, he recommended the appointment of a congressional commission to investigate the shipping subject, and report to congress at the next session. The commis- sion was appointed, it investigated and reported and filed a bill in congress to carry into effect its recom- mendations. The bill has been promptly reported from committee in each branch of congress, and all that is required is that it shall be considered and a vote taken. For forty-four years the republican party has prom-