The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-10-28
THE ADMINISTRATIONS PLAN.

The merchant marine problem, as
presented by Secretary McAdoo's
''brief," may be summarized in three
short paragraphs:
The United States government
finds itself with navy which would
require, to place it on war footing,
about 100000 tons of auxiliary craft
more than could be drawn from our
present merchant fleet.
The American people finds itself
with a foreign commerce reaching
$4,000, 1000 on the export side
alone in a normal year, and with a
merchant fleet so small that we are
chiefly dependent on Great Britain
as carrier for access to the over
seas markets of the world. In view
of the unlikely, but not impossible,
contingency of war with Great Brit
ain, cher ships would be withdrawn,
and we should be involved~in i'm
measurable disaster
This situation involves much more
than profit and loss, than the ques-
ton of flourishing or languishing
trade. 1t touches the very essentials
of national existence. An extraordin-
airy emergency exists, which must be
met by extraordinary measures.
The solution of the problem Offer
ed by the administration is to create
shipping board of five members
the secretary of the navy and the
secretary of commerce ex officiO, and
three others to be appointed by the
president-and put into it's hands a
fund of $50,0O0,000 for the creation
of a 100000 ton fleet of merchant
ships suitable for use in time of war
as naval auxiliaries. These ships
would consist Of two classes: vessels
fitted for the carrying of passengers
aud freight, and cargo carriers. The
former ships should be placed in SER
vice as liners between the United
States and the Orient and South
America. They should not be operat
ed by the government, but by cor
poration in which the government
should be a majority stakeholder,
con6ucted along commercial lines,
with special reference to the main
tenace of rates which would put the
American producer on a competitive
basis with his rivals in the world
market The cargo ships should be
leased to responsible parties at 3 per
cent on the cost and per cent for
depreciation, under proper charter
provisions. The 100000 ton naval
auxiliary fleet thus formed would be-
come the core of the future American
merchant marine.
This plan is bottomed on the essen
tials of national defense. A navy
without an adequate auxiliary fleet is
of exactly as much use as an army
without Shoes The administration
proposes that the government create
such fleet, and that these ships be
used by carrying corporation to be
organized for the purpose and by pri-
vate parties operating under charters
to relieve the congestion of our for
eign trade. Here is definite pro-
posal in view of desperate need.
Shall it be acted upon? Or shall we
be left, in the hour of naval mobiliza-
ton, to do what we did in the time of
the Spanish-American war, and buy
all sorts of floating junk at whatever
price the owners may choose to name,
with the possibility that the hour of
crisis may find us unable to procure
suitable craft and our war fleet may
be crippled for lack of GOLFERS, trans
ports and supply ships?
There is but one constructive solu-
ton of this question before the
American people, 1t is embodied in
the policy of the administration as
outlined by the secretary of the
Louis Republic.