The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-19
TO TAKELEA IN
WORLD SHIPPING
Administration and Opera
ton to Be Taught at Coast
and Lake Colleges

u
When the war Is over, the United
States government will be one of the
largest owners of steamships in the
world. They will be the trade argo
sizes of the seven seas. There must
be not only men to sail the ships, but
there must be men to manage. the
lines to which these ships will be as
signed. The United States Shipping
Board began the training OF men to
make up the complement of officers
and crews for these ships long ago.
Now it is formulating plans to train
executive stats to manage the lines
in whose service these ships will sail
when the days Of peace shall come
again and all the seas are free.
To perfect these plans and execute
them, Chairman Edward N. Hurley VI
the Shipping Board has had several
conferences with William NJ. Britain,
Secretary of the American Steamship
Association, who, besides being an ex-
pert in the steamship business, Is a
Master of Arts, a Bachelor of Laws, a
Doctor of Jurisprudence and a Bach
elor of Commercial Science. AS a re-
suit Of these conferences Mr.. Britain
has laid out course, which the Ship
! ping Board has approved, which will
be introduced, at the request of the
| board, in the colleges and universities
| along the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts
and on the shores of the Great Lakes.
Mr.. Britain, himself, will conduct
| courses in ship operation and ship ad-
ministration in the School of Com
merce of New York University, and
duplicate the courses at the College of
the City of New York
Mr.. Britain also is working out a
correspondence or library course of
study. Under the plan on which he is
working, libraries containing standard
works on ship operation and admins
| tration will be esta blished at all home
| ports and overseas bases so that those
| taking the correspondence course may
| have the necessary books for collateral
| reading. Any man in the navy or il
the transport or cargo services may
| take out a book at one port and re-
| tIrn it at another. When he has fin
ished the course he will be required
to take a written examination and il
his papers receive a mark of 90 pei
cent, or better, he will be in line 70!
promotion to a place in the admins.
trative end of the United States mer
chant marine at the close of the
war.
The first correspondence or library
course has been started at Newpor
News, where so-called stevedor regi
ment is stationed. The library has bee!
provided by H. B. Walker, presiden
Of the Old Dominion Steamship Co
and now stationed at Hampton Road
as Director of Shipping and the Ship
ping Control Committee. Mr.. Walk
err has written to Mr.. Britain that tn,
men at Newport News "are hungry TO
the instruction." 1t is the expectation
of Mr.. Britain that, when the war i
over many of the Newport New
students will become dock superinten
dents, wharf superintendent, chic
stevedores, wharf foremen and tn
like. The university courses, supple
mented by practical experience, viii
train men for higher executive jobs:
my purpose" Mr.. Britain says, 81
to attract to these courses young me
of this port who already have ha
: some transportation experience, fo
Instance, in our coastwise shipping 0
in railroad offices. 1t will be our en-
deavor to supplement their qualifica
, tons witt a knowledge Of the require
ments necessary for successful over
l seas operation and administration.
is absolutely necessary that we begi
| -
ping a body of men capable of success
fully conducting the commercial al
fairs connected with the operation {
the large number of shipping concern
| W hich will be required to manage tn
n merchant marine of the United State
after our armed forces have demobi
7 lied. Unless this is done, we sha
f have to call on young foreigners to d
the work young Americans shout
DO"