Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1918-11-07

of creating merchant marine in pro-
portion to the country's commercial Importance
came up, the question raised: How are we
going to get men for American ships?"
Young Americans had got out of the way of sea-
going. The country did not think in terms of
ships Foreign seamen chiefly manned what YES
sells we had. Our shipyards could not compete
with foreign yards.
The war has changed all that. The change has
been little short of magical The United States of
America now leads the world in shipbuilding It
will soon lead the world with its seagoing citizens.
Thousands Of young Americans are turning to the
sea every month The old era Of the square-rig-
gers, to which friends of the American merchant
marine fondly refer, is rapidly being dwarfed by
what is taking place in our merchant marine today.
As an example of the extraordinary change going
on In the matter Of crews, may be cited a phe-
nomenal jump in September recruiting for the
merchant marine reported by the United States
shipping board from Washington, in the following
bulletin:
An increase of 4s1 per cont in month, in the
number Of recruits for the merchant marine signed
on the. United States shipping board, reported
by the board. The figures covering four weeks end
ing September Il. are follows: Week ending
August q. sis men; August g. LTD; September
26S; September IL. 44s4 The figures for the latter
week exceed by 4S4 men the number the board had
announced expected msximum for the month
Of September. The men accepted for training
as sailors. hremen. coal passers cooks and stew
ards and will be put aboasa training ships at Bos-
cisco. Seattle and Cleveland.
Every little while hears somebody ask.
what is this merchant marine we hear so much
aboutY
Nobody need feel ashamed If he does not readily
visualize this new commercial maritime force of
the country. The nation for many years past has
been building up such an admirable navy that
many people confuse the merchant marine with
the navy, thinking that all ships under naval
control.
The merchant marine is quite distinct from the
navy. 1t is indeed, navy in itself-a commercial
navy--of vessels engaged In business voyages.
The United States shipping board has charge Of 1T,
and 1t is run national business organization,
much the same as the nations great railroads
run by the railroad administration.
The shipping board consists of five members,
zen of high training in business affairs appointed
from various parts of the country It's chairman
is Edward N. Hurley Of Chicago. Its headquarters
are in business building in Washington.
Control is exercised by this board over every
merchant ship of more than $500 tons sailing un-.
der the American flag. The vast shipbuilding pro-
gram of the country--resulting In "the bridge of
ships to Europe" which enables us to send mil
lions of men to the fighting front and sustain them
there's In the hands of the shipping board The
shipbuilding is done by the Emergency Fleet cor
poration operated by the board and directed by
Charles NJ. Schwab. a master mind In the steel
world and known from coast to coast as business
genius Of the first order
The merchant marine today is American to the
core.
American daring and seagoing ability are taking
our merchant ships safely across the seas and
back again with shuttlelike regularity.
All this is being done by volunteers, who take
up the work because they recognize the greatness
Of the opportunity to help their country In new
epoch of expansion.
The mariner in the merchant marine is not an
enlisted man. A scratch of the pen is all that
binds him to his job; yet he Is firmly fixed In
1t as IL he were there by the operation of the
selective service law.
Every man working for the new merchant ma
rine knows that his is not merely war Job i'm
portant though his work may be as part of his
country's mighty stroke for freedom. The Job
will last after the return Of peace. 1t becomes,
therefore. doubly important.
Ship manning on much greater scale than that
cf the present will begin when the ends. for
&c e1set ttnns many merchant ships temporarily