Evening journal., 1916-09-29

has the power to form corporations
and to buy and build. to lease and
charter, foreign vessels and put them
into any American trade. foreign or
domestic. in competition with Ameri-
can built ships. and lines OF ships, at
will, for "the purpose of carrying out
the purposes Of this act" unless il
can persuade private American capt
tai to do the things the board thinks
It is necessary to do to execute the
act.
In practice this act will greatly re-
duce the value of American built yes
sells In domestic carrying perhaps to
a point that will ruin their owners
and force reorganizations and ruinous
readjustments. But. by letting for
eign built vessels into our domestic
carrying, in operation the act will de-
stroy American shipyards. and thus
leave the United States wholly de-
pendent upon foreign shipyards for
merchant ships-merchant ships that
members OF the Administration over
and over again have said. publicly. are
essential naval auxiliaries. How is it
possible for a clear minded man TO
comprehend the dire situation of the
United States. lacking a merchant ma
rine OF its own, as clearly as President
Wilson does. and then force upon a
reluctant Congress the passage Of an
act that will make more acute the
dangers Of our maritime situation?
II the dependence upon foreign ships
for MIR fovnferr, nurrvtnor Ia dan
gerous as President Wilson pointed IL
out to be-which II is-then how
doubly dangerous IL is for US to rem
l'der ourselves doubly dependent, who'll
ly dependent upon foreign built ships
for all Of our carrying, foreign and
domestic. Why allow foreign ship
yards to build the ships we require
for our foreign and domestic carry
ing. merchant ships we also need for
auxiliary naval and military purposes,
when we have an abundance OF the
cheapest materials for shipbuilding in
our own soil. innumerable mills for
fashioning those resources into the
shapes necessary for assembling them
into ships, and skill abundant for
building the ships? What matters
merchant ships so long as we need
such ships as naval and military aux
iliaries? Why should this nation be
dependent upon any alien nation or
nations for merchant ships that are
necessary naval and military auxiliar-
les. when we have the materials and
the men and the capital and the trade
for which to build all the naval aux
Hilary merchant ships we need for
either foreign or domestic carrying
Nv.
With all Of his fine words, with all
Of his clear understanding of the sit
uation and OF our national needs,
President Wilson, by his deeds has
made IL clear TO us that he is unde-
pendable. unreliable In the great
emergency that confronts this coun-
try in the building up Of its naval
auxiliary merchant marine. Neither
he nor Democratic Congress is de-
pendable. They have had their
chance, they have made bad matters
far worse. they have btingled things.
they have pretended to want to rem
! edy a situation that they have but
succeeded IN making more dangerous,
more intolerable. They have laid the
foundation. in the shipping act, for
the ruination OF the industry they
have pretended to want 10 build up
They would make our dependence
upon foreign ships far worse than
ever before. and they would dry up.
az its source. the shipbuilding indus
try upon which we should depend.
and upon which we should alone de-
pend, for an American auxiliary ma
rine.
Let us. then elect to control Of Gov
eminent those who will achieve the
true maritime and economic indie
pendence OF the United States through
the building up of a real American
merchant marine, home built, home
owned. commanded, differed and man
ned by our own citizens Let us in
trust this great task this urgent task,
10 Hughes and Fairbanks and a Con-
gress Republican i'm both branches.
ALEXANDER r. SMITH.