American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1915-01-28
SHIPS NOT TO BE HAD.
shipper and S%hipowner Takes Issue
With Rediield on Purchase OF
Vessels.


and ship owner of New York. de-
veloped at the national foreign trade
convention at st. Louis Friday.
Mr.. Hill was not present, but a
paper which he had prepared, was
read and this drew forth a reply from
Secretary Redfield in defense of the
plan for government owned steam
ships.
Welding Ring said he would disre-
gard entirely the speech he already
had prepared.
He said in part;
II venture the assertion, and I think
I will be supported by every practical
mar in the shipping business, that ev-
cry available steamer suitable for car
rying cargoes is employed to its ut
most capacity at the present time.
There are no idle steamers, excepting
those that cannot be employed. l re-
fer, of course, in the first place to
the German steamers. They are out
of business and that means a large
proportion of the carrying capacity
of the world. l also refer to the Eng
lish steamers that are informed in the
ports of Hamburg and Bremen, also to
the large number of English steamers
French steamers and some Russian
steamers that are being employed for
transportation purposes and for hos
pital ships.
Secretary Redfield should tell
us where he is going to get
steamers to carry cargoes. l am
in the shipping business at both
ends of it; l am a shipper and /
am interested in a steamship
company, and / think l know
from a practical point of view
from a theoretical point of view.
Another reason why We haven't
tonnage suffivient for the cargo of
the United States is this: That In
were 54 steamer unable to get IN
loading berths to discharge their car
go and no means OF securing suffic-
lent help to do 1t. The men have gone
cargoes.
"In Harve-I have a ~cablegram:
Send no more steamers to Harve we
have no means of affording them space
to discharge their cargoes and no
means of securing sufficient help to do
it. The men have gone to the wal and
we cannot handle the cargo.
"In the port of Londan the vice
camille marine showed me a cable
gram mentioning the names OF steam
ers that had been there from Is days
to a month and a half asking when
they would be discharged.
Nov, gentlemen. that all takes up
a vast amount of the carrying capac-
ity of the world. How is hat vacancy
going to be supplied? Mr.. Redfield
be bought. | wish he had some char
tered because / would take off his
hands five steamers at the present
time and pay enormous rates for them.
| cannot get them.
mir. Redfield says the government
can do it. viii a ship owner sell any
more readily or charter any more
readily to our government than he
would to an individual or to a corpora
ton?
Now where is the congestion OF
only to Europe. 1t does not apply Ia
the other parts Of the world. Con-
, trary to the letters Mr.. Redfield read
here, | want to make the statement
} of tonnage eve rsince the war com
menced fro South American points
Quite a number of steamers have been
withdrawn from these lines because
of the wait of cargo to fill them.
5 NOW as to these high freight rates
the freight rates they mention are to
European points. A gentleman just
/, handed me a statement of a steamer
in which he is interested, chartered
for a European port at an advance
e of 300 per cent. She went over there
r and is still there, at an expense Of
, $500 a day, in addition to which there
is the continuance Of the war risk I'm,
surance, and she has got to com
S no me inballast. That steamer at al
advanced ate OF 300 per cent vii
show a loss OF $4,000 when she ar
, rives In New York.
"Suppose the government invest
ed $4,000, 900 or s30,000,600 in
tonnage which would represent
from 40 10 30 first class steam
ships. Thirty million dollars
would be a mere drop In the
bucket They r pose 10 estab-
= fish a department. In Washington
TO handle this matter and do
q what men who have been In the
e business for a lifetime are I'M
n