The Sentinel=record., 1914-08-20

creating Of a hipping board to com prise the president, the secretary of | the treasury, the secretary of com merce and postmaster general. It is proposed to use the ships principally in the foreign trade and the adminis- tration hopes that great impetus will be given to trade between South and | Central America.
 The present plan is 10 obtain money to carry out the project by the sale ol Panama canal bonds. It was de- cided that it might take some time for sufficient ships to take advantage of the recently signed amendment to the Panama canal act allowing foreign built ships to register under the American flag and the necessity for moving the crops of the United States is so pressing that extraordinary steps were decided on.
 It is planned to organize a company similar to the Panama Railway Com pany, controlled by the government, for the actual operation of the ships after they have been purchased.
 The president conferred with Secre- tary McAdoo, Senators Clarke and Simmons and Representatives Under wood and Alexander on. the entire shipping question. The war risk in surance bill was approved at the meet ing. The president was told that it would be almost impossible to move the exports unless the government stepped in, and he finally consented to the scheme.
 No offers to sell ships to the gov ernment have been received, but it was the general understanding that owners of many vessels now tied up in American ports will be glad to dis. pose of them.
 Immediately after the conference today work was begun on the pro posed legislation, and senate and house leaders pan to bring about the completion of the movement as quick ly as possible There already is pending before the house naval af- fairs committee a bill to appropriate $25 100000 for the purchase or con structiOn of a fleet of 20 vessels. An other bill of this character is pending in the senate naval affairs commit tee.
 Before the house navai affairs com mittee today Rear Admiral R. Nj. Watt, chief of the bureau of construc. ton of the navy department, dis cussed the type and size of vessel which would be useful as trading ships, and at the same time would be available as auXiliaries to the navy. He said the ships should be from 10000 to l2.000 tons displacement. lie added that the navy needed 20 or 50 such ships for use in emergencies.
 Fred Woods, president of the Mary land Steel Company, said that 12 or | ] auxliaries of the type described could be constructed in eight or niue months.
 Secretary MeAdoo tonight made public figures on grain in port along the gulf coast and the Atlantic sea- board showing that nearly 50,000.O00 bushels are in terminal elevators or
 in transit, and that few ships are loading. In New Orleans, he said there are 15,700,O0O bushels; in Gal weston 25.645,000 bushels in Baiti, more 3,6oo,o00; in New York 939,001 and in Boston 641.000.
 Railroads have refused to accept further grain shipments to New Or leans and Galveston, and while at New orleans six ships are loading grain virtually none of the grain at Galveston is being touched. Even if all these millions of bushels of grain are disposed of, the secretary thinks the situation will become acute again when the cotton crop is offered for shipment
 P. A. s. Franklin, director of the International Mercantile Marine, came to Washington today to consult with the president and other govern ment officials.
 Mir. Franklin proposed that the go& ernment provide means for the pur- chase of available foreign built ships. declaring the step imperatively nee cssary, owing to the difficulty of rais-
 ing capital necessary from private sources.