The sun., 1916-09-25

/, the phrase, OF n naval auxiliary mer-
chant marine. IT is a well chosen ana
an extremely we'll balanced phrase. he.
| cause II defines the dual uses OF u mer-
chant marine, from the national point
OF view first as u naval auxiliary, and
secondly for commercial or merchandise
| purposes. To-day Great Britain Is m
ploylng upward Of 1000 merchant ships
Tor naval and military purposes. ships
that IN peace times are used for peace
purposes. ships that afford employment
to Mitish labor In British shipyards
IN their construction and that AFFORD en-
ployment aHoat for Britons-ships. their
officers and crews, hat are a part Of
the naval reserve a%uxiliaries of Great
Britain. Great Britain could not MAIN
tain her position as the premier nation
of the world without her merchant ma
rlnc any more than .ne could maintain
her prestige and power without her
colossal navy.
Our great foreign trade affords rich
opportunity for the usc OF British
ships. our foreign carrying directly
contributes to tho prosperity Of tho Brit
ish Empire. because Britons build most
of the ships aud Britons run most Of the
ships that engage In our foreign carry
ing. The British makers OF s~hipbuilding
materi ,ls, the owners of and workmcn
In British shipyards, the owners of the
ships and the men who run the ships.
all profit. and profit most richly. out OF
the foreign carrying or the United
states. Were ships useful only for mer-
camille or commercial purposes, our de-
pendcnce upon aliens for the necessary
supply OF them for our needs would he
most unwlsc. Because. after all. II is
largely for the marketing OF our sur
plus products-and our surplus prod
ucts grow by leaps n bounds-that
we need merchant ships in peace times
AZ well as In war times. Great Britain
IL our greatest rival In seeking foreign
markets. Her own surplus products
como into direct competition with ours
In foreign markets. N she possesses
superior means to those this nation pos
scsses for reaching and holding and de-
vclopinG those markets for her surplus
products. When. however. W. depend
upon Great Britain as largely as We
now do for our ships n for the men
To run the ships hat engage In our for
eign carrying. a carrying directly COM
peting with British carrying. what a
weapon We place in British hands for
handicapping our foreign trade. And
how astutely Britons make the most Of
the advantages We so thoughtlessly yield
20 them. advantages vital to our own
healthy national. Industrial. commercial
and maritime growth.
During the last two years, the war
years. that is. British shipyards have all
but ceased building merchant ships. which
has thrown 2 burden ~ merchant shin
construction pon the rest of the world
that 1t was unprcpared for and which
Il IL being overwhelmed In e~ndcavoring
to take caro- OF. So that we see that
our economic reliance upon Great
Britain for the merchant ships we need
Is an uncertain and an unstable reli-
ance. Our surplus products that seek
foreign markets are withheld in our
own country because OF the lack Of mcr-
chant ships available for their carriage.
so large a part of British mercantile
shipping being used for naval and mill
tary purposes and so large a part hav-
lng been destroyed by enemy ships.
II.
In his last annual message TO Com
gress President Wilson preached about
the need OF an American merchant ma
rlne. and he laid stress upon tho dan
gers attending our utter dependence
upon foreign ships. ut Is high time"
he declared, that we repaired our mis-
takes and resumed our commercial in
dependence on the seas" Why? Be-
cause. President Wilson said. "t IL n