The Oklahoma City times. [volume] (Oklahoma City, Okla.) 1908-1984, 1915-01-25
TRADE FREEDOM
INDISPENSABLE
America Needs Merchant Ships
as Much as Europe Needs
War Munitions.
JAMES J. HILL READS PAPER

st. Louis Jan. %. James j. IlilI
In II paper on Freedom for cur tOr.
rigu Trade submitted tu the second
National Foreign ludr convention
here today. said the Indispensable
condition for such freedom was adr-
quite ocean carriage boo American
ships. To buy service 10y hlg NupSl-
dies was. he declared. losing game.
'lhe need Of merchant ships IN Amer.
leu was almost Hs great us that oi
other nations for munitions pl wal.
In the month of November he
said, the exports from the port ui
New York were Sl2,UOOOuo more than
the year before There wa, an in-
crease Of about 800 per cent in the
exports OF food products The foreign
demand must Increase 100 direct ratio
with the exhaustion NJ supplies ln
Iwnrrlng nations. How are THESE goods
which We desire lO sell and others
'ure nnNiuu, to buy 40 br ruIIrd to
the oyerSru markets
Drop in Bucket
such slight relief us was afford.
ell by the wise removal of the prout
hltion ur registry Tor fourlEnhuiIt
Vessels has been given u I- hardly
Il drop In the bucket TIP lu Du" week
ending December ~ lpll American
registry has been granted To lu" yes
scI, Heretofore operated under for
.risl control, aggrrgntmg j55 $40 gross
tom, This Is not enough tu prevent
present congestion and holds out liltl"
hopo for the supply of further needs.
American cost NJ ~hiproustructiun
IS from 80 tu 100 per cent higher than
/ that abroad and according to q re-
|pCrtcd statement Of Cupmiu Robert
Dollar, who operated ships iu both do
m,stlc aud foreign trudr IL costs
about SIT .23B more a wear tu operate
II ship Of 1900 tons under the Amer
lean than under the British flug
These are the disadvantages under
which our foreign trade lnhurs
There are but two resources, one
q merchant marine owned and oprr
lated 10y the government the other u
merchant marine provided nv and for
the people
Danger Of War
''Ihr former Just now urgently ud
yucuted, is an unwlsc and would be
|crrluinly Il disastrous experiment
Aside from the complications. almost
Irertalu to drag ny sooner or later into
the European conflict owing to the
uncertain and conflicting claims Of
national neutrality, this policy would
be- followed by the total destruction Of
the private shipping interest Privat,
enterprise cannot possibly compete with
u government which pays no Interest
ION the cost Of lts ships aud throws
aside consideration " profit and loss
What IL the prospect IN this case
Of economical management aud oi
those lower rates which the advocate,
VI the plan hold out Ms n bait for II,
adoption We have an eXnrt measur,
Iof the fact In some comparative rail
road statistics The Panama railway
Is entirely owned and operated by IN,
United States. Like most affairs or
the lsthmus II has been handled b,
honest aud competent men In their sey
eral lines We have liz official rcpur
Tor the year ended June 30 1913
be compared with the statistics Of nj
the railways Of the United States fol
the same period. The rate un IN,
PnnHmn line WAS 34s cents per ton
per mile. ny against 726S NJ cent fo
all The railways OF the United States
That is the government rate was al
most five times the rate made by pri
Iralr enterprise over the entire country
Absolutely Equal"
AT the International Trade Confer
rnrr N the Mississippi valley aud ron
trol west which met at Memphis las
November, The following resolution wa
reported
Resolved that congress be urged /,
enact maritime legislation looking Ia
ward placing the American shipper
aud ship owners upon basis mor
nearly equnl with those NJ compctml
nations. thereby enabling American c\
.portcrs and ship owners 10 meet rn
competition of other nations m uu
ocean carrying trade.
"Nut more nearly equal hur uh.o
mtely equal should he the rc1ulrr
menl " American ability aud Amer
team pride; mn equality secured uclthp
by such protection as Is accorded I'm IN,
weak or boy gih money iu the form u
n subsidy hut Il privilege offered n
the strong that he may conquer WIN
Is his by right That is the kc, tn pI
ample provision NJ American ,blry
There IL the necessary condition o
that expansion In our foreign con,
mercc which We all know lo hr po.
slblc and which win be- lost or vo,
according to our wisdom or uur ul,'