New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-07-15

When men in public life. and IN inc
uress and elsewhere attempt puoilcN
10 discredt wooden ships, they do NOT
help, they hurt. the nation, according
70 "The Marine News" a monthly
magazine which specializes IN mer-
chant shipping.
The most glorious and inspiring an
mails of our history record the achieve
ments of wooden ships-the incom-
parable American wooden clippers that
sailed the seven seas. the envy and the
despair of their rivals; the wonderful
american wooden clippers that brought
wealth and power and prestige to inc
United States when the experiment OF
our new Republic seemed doomed 20
ignominious failure and when dire
famine confronted our sorely bese'
neople. The wooden ships OF the
United States covered every sea. Their
white wings covered them gallantly
mast all of their rivals. They carried
their cargoes more quickly. more safe
~ and more efficiently than was true
Of the ships of any other, of all other'
nations.
The wealth and power Of the United
States have their foundation in the
natchless wooden ships her superior
shipbuilders produced in the formative
the most critical-period OF the ma
ton. Those ships and the gallant men
who commanded, officered and manned
thcm-each in a class all his own, I'M
matched for seamanship, the most In
TREND men who ever trod the decks OF
,hips-thcy have laid this nation under
too lasting a debt, too colossal an ooIi-
cation. for any one to succeed in dis
ctediting the wooden ships OF the
United States. From the very dawn oil
time until less than century ago the
wooden ship served all of the mari
time needs of mankind, and served
them well. It has by no means seen
its day." It may yet save our allies
and again preserve our beloved Re
public.
Not More Efficient, but Needed
To be sure. there are limitations TO
tho wooden ship; it cannot be bull,
rs long and as big as the modern steel
ship; it may not last as long as the
well built ship of good steel; it may
not be as efficient and as economical as
the modern steel ship; and If the
United States were concerned only
with the building OF great, enduring,
efficient, economical navy auxiliary
American merchant marine with which
to go out and battle for mere maritime
mastery doubtless steel ships would be
the basis of such marine. But VIC
have immediate and urgent need OF
ships. and wooden ships can most
quickly be created to serve that need,
as we'll as all of the steel ships we are
capable of producing.
An American merchant marine. 1t so
happens, is to be built up, not be-
cause of the ordinary maritime needs
of the nation, not because of the de-
STABILITY OF complete self-dependence
in the expectation of our ever-increas-
( ing surplus products to our growing
/ foreign markets so that we may safely
| hold and develop those markets, not
/ in order that our needed importation
I of raw materials and other foreign
goods may be broug hit to US as ana
J when and where needed, not even be-
J cause as auxiliaries TO our navy they are
1 indispen able-not even because they
are an essential instrumentality of the
national defence. All of these reasons
for an American merchant marine ex-
listed before this European war IN
which we have become involved was
started. These reasons tor naval
auxiliary American merchant marine
had been made public time after time,
iterated and reiterated with tlresome
frequency, and always the arguments
in behalf of an American merchant
marine-a naval auxiliary American
merchant marine -were fouted, lg-
nored and disregarded.
The rebirth of an American mer-
chant marine is due to the necessities
of our allies in this great war, their
need of food, of all kinds of materials,
of munitions, of men, and all OF the
equipment incident TO the placing OF
hundreds of thousands, perhaps mill
ions. of Americans in the trenches
and on the battlefields of far-ott ku-
rome. ready to do battle against the
common enemy. Had Germany stayed
her frightful and ruthless hand IN the
destruction of merchant ships carry
ing Americans we would never nave
become involved in this war. IL IS
we'll at times to remember precisely
what it was that forced US into war