Valdez daily prospector., 1915-02-11
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY Il, 1915.
LOADED WITH TROUBLE.


 and the country to sanction his plan for a governmentowned and operated fleet of merchant ships to engage in overseas trade. The plan is too well known to need detailed description. Let us suppose that the sanction has been given. What then?
 The ships must be either built or bought. To wait for their building would not solve the present difficult ties. Before any considerable num- Der of ships could be built the Flu ropean war will doubtless be over, if only through the exhaustion of both parties.
 The ships then must be bought. The ships that might be bought are of three kinds. Those now under the American flag; those now under oth- CT neutral flags; those now under rbelligerent flags.
 Those now under the American flag could probably be bought quite easily. Private enterprise tends to get out of any field into which gov ernment enters as a competitor. Pri- vate enterprise sees at once the in- equality of the forces. With it's reg ulatory and taxing powers govern ment "carries too many guns"
 But to purchase American ships would not change the present situ- ation. It would not increase the ton mage under our flag. How, then. about buying ships now under other neutral flags?
 We'll, they could doubtless be bought, or some of them-for a price. It would probably be difficult to buy those under flags of nations that feel or fear that they may get into the war. But others could be bought at a price. It would certainly be a high price, They are very profitable property just now. And for variety of reasons, both economic and legal, it has been, is, and for some time may continue to be, more profitable to build, own and operate ships un- der other flags than the American.
 There remain the ships under bel ligerent flags, of the Allies and of the two German empires. The form CT, or at least all the best of them. may be dismissed from consideration. Their governments need them Tn their war business and will find means to keep them. We might get some cripples and discards. at high prices. But that is about all.
 There remains, finally, the German ships, now lying idle in our own and other neutral ports. Their German or other owners would doubtless be glad to turn them into cash. The acquisition of these ships is in fact, the immediately realizable, if not ex- actly the avowed, pupose of the pending bill.
 The European Allies have, in fact, served notice upon the United States, that they will not recognize the valid ity of any such transfer of owner l ship. That is their interpretation of ! the point of international law involv- ed.
 At this point in the story many Americans will doubtless feel like flaring up and insisting that the Flu ' ropean Allies be told to attend to their own affairs and not meddle in ours. MT. Bryan has, in diplomatic language, told them that they have no right to protest until we do some thing, and not while we are merely talking about doing something. The Allies answer that such is their set tied policy and they are telling us so frankly now that we may understand just what we may expect if we buy and send to sea those German ships. In such a case it is useful. before living into a rage about our rights and threat of infringing them, to consider how the other fellow looks tt his situation, whether we believe le regards it correctly or not.
 The European Allies, like Germany, onsider that their backs are against he wall. Each side believes that here can be no peace or safety for self until the other is beaten down. Ve may regard this belief as a delu- ion-an insanity. However, it hap ens to be their conviction.
 The Allies further believe that the nickest and easiest way to beat Ger any Is to starve Germany out.