The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-31
SENATE LEADERS
 PREPARE FIGHT FOR . SHIP PURCHASE BILL
Allege Measure Will Relieve Falling Off of Ocean Ton- mage Facilities and Lower
 Transportation Rates

Washington. December 3O.-Initiating the aggressive fight to be waged in Con- gress for passage of the government ship purchase bill to free American commerce from European war limitations, major ity members of the Senate commerce committee today filed a report recom- mending the measure in vigorous terms and transmitting a coinmendatory letter from Secretary of Commerce Redfeld.
 The committee report, filed by Acting Chairman Fletcher, quoted the report submitted yesterday by Secretaries Me- Adoo and Redield, showing enormous increases in ocean transportation rates since the war began and attendant fall ing off in ocean tonnage facilities The committee predicted that enactment of the ship purchase bill would go far to relieve that situation.
 "Unquestiohably' says the report, If we had additional ships under the Amer ican flag the situation would rapidly im- prove and much of the distress of the producers, business men and bankers, not only in the south but throughout the country, would be relieved. The need is urgent.
 Secretary Redfield, in his letter, writ ten to Senator Fletcher to accompany the report, declared that for years the United States ocean shipping had been in the hands of its competitors, like a department store without any delivery system except such as competitors were willing to supply" The result was easily to be foreseen, he argued when 20 years ago American goods displaced German products in second place among South American sales, and American iron and steel entered into keen competition abroad with German and English products.
 You cannot imagine Germany or Eng land continuing permanently to transport on favorable terms to us American goods on any such scale as to seriously threat en German or English industrial mar kets.' the letter continued.
 At Risk of War
 Like an ostrich with it's head in the sand. we have put our money and merchandise at risk of the European war. American capital invested in ships under European flags can be and has been destroyed by the acts of hos tile cruisers. Two vessels under for eign flags on their way to be trans- ferred to our flag were thus sunk. American capital in goods transported in vessels under foreign flags, which were not owned by American capital, has been lost or injured when such vessels have been sunk or held LIT and American goods for which Amer cans long since paid are today lying in for eign harbors.
 we know now that our commerce, while ocean borne, is subject to war risks not of our making, but by which we suffer. The time has been when war risks shut off the movement of American wheat and delayed the move ment of American cotton and 1t is quite within the range of probability that such a time may reoecur. An American merchant marine is neces- sity and cannot be had soon enough to relieve us from the jeopardy in which we have stood and in which in some measure we now stand.
 Help South America
 "Indeed so vital is the present time to America that it seems as if we were in the very trsnsition from being a debtor to a CT, .itor nation, and the possibility opens to our lending that fand or nndnc1dl 1elloWSHlp io oui iei- low republics in Latin-America which they so much need and by which we should tie them to ourselves in com merical bands of steel which would endure to the great gain of all our | people.
 "Not only are our goods hampered ty absence of shipping but they are also hampered by the rates which are l out of our control but which are now l charged on such shipping as takes place. Our competitors who control our ocean terminal facilities tfor such and no more are ocean steamship companies as related to railways) have seen fit | for their own profit to advance their | rates from one-half to double or more There are ports in Europe today that | eagerly seek our cotton and We know | that our brethren in the south anxious l ly desire to seel their cotton, and the l price abroad is such as our producers | would be thankful to receive. Between these two stands the excessive rate and I the scarcity of ships. The reasons | must be mighty and compelling which | would lead anyone to interpose between the flood of American commerce seek l ing to be free and the needs of foreign l buyers seeking for our products the interest of any one or two or more | groups of our people,"