The Anderson daily intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson, S.C.) 1914-1915, 1914-12-31
SECRETARY REDFIELD A
EARNEST APPEAL FOR
MERCHANT MARINE
LIKE AN OSTRICH
America Has Rislsed Thousands
of Dollars During Present
War Uselessly.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 30.-Initiat-
ing the aggressive fight to be waged
in Congress for passage of the govern
ment ship purchase bill to free Ameri-
q commerce from European wal
limitations. majority members OF the
senate commerce committee today
filed a report recommending the meas
ure In vigorous terms and transmit
ting a commendatory letter from Sec
rotary Of Commerce Redfield.
The committee report, filed by Act
ing Chairman Fletcher, quoted the
report submitted yesterday by Secre-
tary McAdoo and Redfield showing
enormous increases in ocean t%ranspor-
tation rates since the war began and
attendant falling of i nocean tonnage
facilities. The committee predicted
that enactment of the ship purchase
Dill would go far to relieve that situ-
alton.
''Unquestionably," says the report,
"if we had additional ships under the
american flag. the situation would
rapidly improve and much Of the dis
tress Of producers, business men and
banks, not only in the South, but
throughout the country, would be re-
lieved. .
Badly Handicapped.
Secretary Redfeld in his letter,
written to Senator Fletcher to accom-
pany the report, declared that for
years the United States ocean ship
ping had been in the hands Of It's COM
petitors, "lfke o department store
without any delivery system except
such as competitors were willing to
supply" The result was easily TO be
forseen. he figured. when 20 years
ago American goods displaced German
products Ia second place among South
African sales, and American iron and
steel entered into keen competition
abroad with German and English. pro-
iducts.
"You cannot imagine Germany or
England continuing permanently to
transport on favorable terms to us
American goods on any such scale as
tt seriously threaten German or Eng
lish Industrial markets" the letter
continued.
Like an Ostrich.
Like an ostrich with it's head In
the sand we have put our money and
merchandise at risk Of re European
war. American capital invested in
ships under European flags can be
and has been destroyed by the acts
Va HOotttO STuiseTb. Two Vessels nue.
foreign flags on their way to be trans
ferfed were thus sunk. American ca 81
tai in goods transported under foreign
flags. which were not owned by Amer
lean capital, has been lost or injured
when such vessels have been sunk or
held up and American goods for which
Americans long since paid are today
In foreign harbors.
we know now that onr commerce
while ocean borne. Is subject to wal
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 TIKI
movement OF American cotton and II
Is quite within the range of probabif.
lily that such q time may reoccur. An
AInerican merchant marine Is a neces.
sity, and cannot be had withou,
enough to relieve us from the jeo.
pardy in which we have stood and In
which in some measure we now stand
A Pressing Need
Indeed, so vital is the present tirns
ITO America that IT seems as IL WI
were In the very transition from be-
J CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE.)