The Hattiesburg news., 1915-02-17
MERCHANT MARINE IS
IMPORTANT TO SOUTH
SHIP OWNERS HAVE MONOPOLY
ON OCEAN TRAFFIC.; RATES
NOW SkY-HIGH.

The administrations ship purchase @
hill is of vital interest to the business a
men of the country, and especially to f
the South, says the Nashville Tennes-
sean, as enormous quantities Of prod c
ucts are awaiting shipment to foreign
markets because there are not enough (
ships to carry the freight. The ship I
owners refuse to supply the ships to {
meet the requirements, and are en-
deavoring to prevent the government
from doing it, There are not enough
privately-owned ships to haul the
products this country wants to sell the
E,uropean countries, and in order to
meet the emergency an effort Is be-
/ ing made to pass bill in congress
providing for the expenditure of $4O,-
| 600 900 for the purchase of ships for
immediate ~use, but those Interested
in the shipping business stand in the
way and say that the government shall
not do this.
The ship-owners have a monopoly
on the ocean traffic, and they are now
charging as much as the commodities
will bear, charging, as they do, SIS
bale for cotton, whereas they former
ly charged only $50; and seventeen
cents for wheat when the former rate
+, on wheat was only four cents. The
:. excuse the ship-owners offer for this
:, eytortion is that the foreign trade
a paws the freight, and that it does not
come out of the pockets of the pro
ducers of this country, The ship
owners take one-third of the cottor
for hauling it, and then tell the cottor
u. growers that the man at the other enc
70 paws the freight. They take one-tift!
40 the value of the wheat based on th
Ct price at harvest time, and then tel
40 the wheat growers that the man a
,d the other end pays the freight. If tn
shipowners charged s45 to haul 50
NO bale of cotton and 81 to haul Sl.o
IN bushel of wheat, they would still So
ID. those extortions affected only the ma
di. at the other end OF the line.
The reason the farmers favor I'll
ship purchase bill and are demandir
that it be passed is because OF Il
extortion practiced by the ship.owne
ice and the inadequate shipping faciliti
nd that are offered They feel the net
the of more ships to transport their Gro
lty at reasonable rates, and if their pre-
rly ucts are to bring high prices in t
'ks- foreign markets they want ami
'ch means of transportation and reasC
able rates, that they, and not t
her greedy ship-owners, may receive
imp benefits.
10 1t is announced that al New Orlea
ISIS four hundred thousand bales OF coti
aeu' are awaiting shipment, with no vess
to carry it; at Mobile. great stores
merchandise intended for South All
lean markets are being delayed
cause of a dearth of ships; at Tam
loes the warehouses are crammed v
4tio" naval stores and lumber; at Galves'
'ouis the docks are congested with cot
and grain, and SO it is with New "
az Philadelphia, Baltimore and Norfol
NM The Atlanta Journal says that
INV less this state of affairs is relic
American business will suffer, and
ticularly will southern business
-, - fer. "The ship purchase bill,
nnor that paper, "is the only plan OF r.
proposed. 1t is the only meant
,rdav procuring enough ships to carry
mhsr cosson and foodstuffs and mill proc
scus. to foreign markets, so that our 4
n fol. ers and manufacturers and merch
may enjoy the opportunities ava
them in the oversee trade"