The Washington herald., 1915-10-14
M'AD00 EXPLAINS
new ship PLAN
Government-owned Merchant
Vessels Needed as Naval
Auxiliaries, He Says.
IDEA MAY BE PRESIDENTS
Treasury Secretary Wants Congress
to Appropriate $50,0OO.OOO to
Build Merchant Marine.
Il 10 Ths Washington Herald.

s;-cial 10 Trs Washington Herald.
Jndjanapolis. Ind. Oct 13--In a speech
here tonight before the business men of
this city Secretary of the Treasury Nc
Adoo disclosed his new plan for shipping
legislation.
Nr McAdoo has just started out on n
trip across the continent, chiefly for the
purpose of stirring up sentiment for n
revival of the effort by the Wilson al
ministration 10 push shipping legislation
through Congress. Mr.. McAdoos speech
tunight was regarded as rejecting the
stand that President Wilson will take on
this question.
Mr.. McAdoo presented the old govern
ment ownership plan which was defeated
in the last session. after a long fight, in
a new dress. He proposes that Congress
shall appropriate s5OOoo,0O0 instead of the
s4sOoe,OO0 provided in the original DILL.
Instead of buying ships already plying
the seas. he proposes that the govern
ment build new vessels designed as aux
iliaries to the United States navy.
He would have the government itself
operate some of these vessels between
this country and South and Central
American ports. and also between this
country and the Orient. Others of the
vessels he would lease to private indi-
viduals or corporations under certain re-
strictions. The Secretary also suggests
I0e CTedllOH Ol d SiiltPiiS Oot.i -
to manage the government ownership
plan.
He proposes too, that power he lodged
with some agency of the Federal govern
ment to regulate the merchant marine
companies and suggests that the ship
ping board be empowered to act in con-
junction with the Interstate Commerce
Commission in arranging for through
bills of lading and special rates between
dc ha
Mr. McAdoo empha sized deeply the
naval auxiliary feature Of the proposed
government ownership plan. and many
here gained the impression that the Will
son administration was about to seize
upon the preparedness issue as a means
Of promoting the government ownership
legislation in the next Congress.
-Four Hundred Vessels Needed.
The most remarkable feature of Mr..
McAdoo's speech. however, was an at
tack by him upon the officials of the
Pacific Mail Steamship Company. This
company recently sold its vessels plying
between the Pacific Coast and the Orient.
and went out of business because, accord
ing to the statements of the officers. they
could not afford to operate under the
burdensome provisions of the recently
enacted seaman's law.
Secretary McAdoo charges that it was
not the seaman's law which forced the
Pacific Mail people to discontinue busi-
ness but the opI Ortunity to reap a big
profit through the sale of their ships on
the Atlantic seab"ard, where abnormal
cargo rates were being charged.
Secretary McAdOo said that he had
written to Secretary of the Navy Dan
iels asking him what number of mer-
chant vessels would be required to have
the American navy it is today at its
maximum usefulness and efficiency in
time of war. Admiral Benson replied for
Secretary Daniels that il would require
400 merchant vessels for auXiliaries, with
total of l.172,c"o gross tonnage. Admiral
Benson added:
I'm addition TO the above should our
own coast he invested. or even OCCASION
ally visited. there would be required a
large number of small vessels fitted for
mine Swceping-Sav at least 32f of such
vessels OF about l:0 gross tons each"
Secretary McAd"o said that these 32i
small vessels for mine sweeping could he
supplied from our cOastwisc shipping, but
that of the l.172.Glh gross tonnage needed
for other auxiliary purposes not more
than 10000 gross t,rLaG" could be con-
yerted into naval auNiliaries from our
present merchant marine This. the Sec
retary Contended. leaves us with a dct-
cheney of about $4,000 gross tonnage to
meet the needs of our navy as it stands
today.
To meet this need Mr.. McAdoo pro-
posed that Congress appropriate $4,000
COO for the building of these auxiliary
craft. He declared that the government
should proceed Immediately with the
construction of these auXiliaricS as a
part of the program "f preparedness.
The designs for the vessels should he
passed upon and approved by the Navy
nenarfnaut