Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1918-03-18
TO BRIDGE THE
ATLANTIC WITH SHIPS
Three Wise Men Who Sit In Little
Room And Say What's What.
How They Make Up and Handlo a
Mighty Fleet for Winning the War
and Much of Their Performance is
on the Quiet.
tBy Milton Bronncr.)

Washington, March 18. - Three
! men. named by the U. S. shipping
board, sit in a little room in New
York city with a stack of cablegrams
and kilograms in front of them. look
at a map of the world, and order the
movement of more ships than an"
uody OF men in America eve con
troiled before.
They are II. a. $. Franklin of the
International Mercantile Marine com-
pa,,y: Sir Cannopp Guthrie. Il repre-
scnta tive here of the British ministry
OF shipping. and w. II. Raymond.
president o. the Clyde & Mallory ship
lines.
They constitute the ship control
committee
it has often been said in criticism
| OF he shipping board that there are
irw real shipping men on 1t. The
IMP control committee is made up of
masters Of the shipping game. whose
first .joJ under the shipping board is
50 10 allocate ships as to help win
the war.
! Prior to II entry into the war,
owing to the scarcity of shipping and
the dangers in the submarine zone,
prices for charters of ships II for
freight on ships had gone out of
sigi t.
The average charter rates on ships
in the spring Of 1914 were about 81
per dead weight ton per month. For
six months in 1917, the average rate
was $50 per ton and the charterer Of
= tho ship had to bear the risk of loss
If the ship. Straight freight rates
showed q similar upward trend. Grain
which cost so cents per quarter from
New York to England. before the war,
--- -. a - q n C.4i. ~~-~
we were in the war, seriously crippled
our allies. and interfered with the eff
~rectiveness Of our own commerce. So
on October Is last, the shipping board
reGuisitioned all American-oWned
steam vessels of $500 tons or over
Operation of these is still entrusted
in part to the companies by whom
they were owned, but all receipts
i,ave been for government account.
the owners receiving requisition rate
God by the government. The YES
sells are. however. under full control
o. the ship control committee as to
voyages. cargoes and rates. and AS
to safeguards for their protection in
the submarine This requisi-
tioring brought about:
First@omplete control Of all
American shipping. so that war needs
might be filed in the order of their
emergency.
second-Just and effective regula-
ton OF rates so hat the nations al
war with Germany may not he fin
anc;ally drained by extortionate
transportation charges.
The ship control committee has its
every ship under the flag. II. for in
stance. the allied war council. sitting
at Versailles. should send word here
that unless Italy had 100000 tons OF
shipping for the carriage of Goa
things would become critical over
there. the ship control committee
would at once try to see to it that
the 100000 tons were supplied.
h courage taken with a requisi.
toned ship a hest be illustrated
with a concrete case:
Bill Brown & Co. of Seattle. may
own a ship. the Kentucky. She Is
taken over by h government and
put into service on the Atlantic b,
the ship control committee. Nov
she may be taken. under one of two
forms of contract.
eminent raj contract" Bill Brown
& Co. pay for the wages and provi'
sions Of h crew, pay for the engine
and deck stores. such things as oil
waste, rope and canvas. The govern
nent pays for the bunker COAL tn.
port dues and the cost Of loading ant
unloading the ships. The govern
for use of the ship. a fixed sum pc
deadweisht ton. II the ship Is owe,
10000 ton capacity, the remunera
tion u s. Is per ton; IL between 500
and 10000 tons capacity. So per ton
running up to 81 per TOT for vessel
between $500 ana 5000 tons. Tn,
reason for increasing the remunera
II $1,000