Evening journal., 1916-09-29

Secretary Of the Treasury McAdot
has coined the phrase, or popularizeC
the phrase, of a naval auxiliary mer'
chant marine. II is a well chosen anc
& an extremely well balanced phrase. be-
cause il defines the dual uses Of q
merchant marine. from the national
point Of view first. as a naval auxil
iary, and secondly for commercial OF
merchandise purposes. Today Great
Britain is employing upward Of 2,OOC
merchant ships for naval and military
purposes, ships that in peace times
are used for peace purposes, ships
that AFFORD employment to British Ia
Dor I'm British shipyards in their con
struction and that afford employment
afoat for Britons-ships, their officers
and crews, that are part OF the naval
reserve auxiliaries Of Great Britain
Great Britain could not maintain her
position as the premier nation OF the
world without her merchant marine
any more than she could maintain her
prestige and power without her
colossal navy.
Our great foreign trade affords rich
opportunity for the use OF British
ships. Our foreign carrying directly
contributes TO the prosperity OF the
British Empire. because Britons build
most OF the ships, and Britons run
most OF the ships that engage In our
foreign carrying. The British makers
OF shipbuilding materials, the owners
OF and worlmen in British shipyards'
the owners OF the ships and the men
who run the ships. all profit moss
richly. out OF the foreign carrying OF
the United States Were ships useful
only for mercantile or commercial
purposes. our dependence upon aliens
for the necessary supply OF them for
our needs would be most unwise Be
cause. after ALL Il is largely for the
marketing OF our surplus products
and our surplus products grow by
leaps and bounds-that we need mer-
chant ships in peace times as we'll as
In war times Great Britain is our
greatest rival in seeking foreign mar
kets. Her own surplus products come
into direct competition with ours in
foreign markets. and she possesses
superior means TO those this nation
possesses for reaching and holding
and developing those markets for her
surplus products. When, however, we
depend upon Great Britain as largely
as we now do for our ships and for
the men to run the ships that engage
In our foreign carrying, a carrying
directly competing with British car
rying. what a weapon we place In
British hands for handicapping our
foreign tradel And how astutely
Britons make the most OF the advan-
tages we so thoughtlessly yield to
hem. advantages vital to our own
healthy national, industrial, CONNER
oial and maritime growth
During the last two years, the war
years. that is, British shpyards have
all but ceased building merchant
ships. which has thrown a burden OF
merchant ship construction upon the
rest Of the world. that u was unpre'
pared for and which Il is being over
whelmed in endeavoring 10 take care
'-of So that we see that our economtV
reliance upon Great Britain for the
merchant ships we need Is an uncer'
tain and an unstable reliance. Oul
surplus products that seek foreign
markets arc withheld In our OWL
country because OF the lack Of mer'
chant ships available for their car
rage. so large a part OF British mer-
camille shipping being used for naval
and military purposes and so large a
part having been destroyed by enemy
ships.