Rep. LaFollette Tackles Merchant Marine Policy
At a Commercial Club luncheon, Congressman William L. LaFollette discussed his opposition to federal ship subsidies and defense propaganda.
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Congressman William L. LaFollette was a guest of the Commercial Club at a luncheon Monday afternoon attended by more than fifty of Kennewick's business and professional men. The Congressman spoke on the big matters for the forthcoming session of Congress. Notably, he let it be known he was not in sympathy with the administration’s plans for defense or the merchant marine. He stated he was in favor of strengthening coast defenses but was not in sympathy with the propaganda for a powerful navy and a big standing army. He is also strongly opposed to a ship subsidy of any kind, arguing that American ocean commerce has not been handicapped by legal restrictions, but rather by the choices of American investors.
“He said he was in favor of strengthening our coast defenses but is not at all in sympathy with the propaganda for a powerful navy and a big standing army.”
The debate over foreign trade, maritime infrastructure, and military spending remains as contentious in Washington State politics today as it was in 1915, particularly regarding the role of government subsidies in local industries.
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