Evening star., 1918-08-11
Copyright. 1918. by Frank q. Carpentcr)
BOSTON, Mass

the twelfth story of Bostons
white customhouse tower. 1t is ad-
dressed to the young men of the uh'''o
States and relates to new rFoi
for which the government mas oiehe"
schools all over the country ~ 'h''
writing thousands of men from 'we"-
ty to thirty years old nave e"ieie"
these schools and they are uhaefto-
ing the training that will fit them for
n healthy, respectable. Droiitable an"
pleasant life work. Tens Of thousands
more are needed and by the tine 'he
war closes the number OF men en-
gagged in the business VIII probapiy
be quarter of million The pro-
fession l refer to Is known as ioi-
lowing the sea-" The men in IL are 10
be the officers and sailors of our new
merchant marine.
According to speech made by I'D
ward N. Hurley. chairman OF the
United States Shipping Board our
present plans call for 100000 tons
of new shipping. Exclusive of tugs
and barges they include more tnaH
1000 new vessels, and these are oniy
the beginning of what Is pound 10 pc
the greatest merchant feet OF the
world. Mr.. Hurley says that WITHIN
the next three years we shall spend
about Ave thousand millions OF dol
lars for ships. and that in 1920 we
shall have q merchant meet aggre-
eating 25.0o0,ooo tons. AZ tne aae t,me
Britain led the commerce OF the
world. 1t then had less than 20.000.-
900 tons Of shipping. and there were
only seven nations which were cred
tied with more than 100000 tons
each. The United States had less than
5000, 600 tons and this included both
the vessels Of the ocean and Of our
interior waterways. Only 10 per cent
Of our foreign commerce was then
carried in American vessels.
At that time Germany had less than
100000 and France not much over
100000 tons. Norway had but little
more than France, and Sweden and
Japan each were Just rising above the
1000, 900 mark. Austria had less than
any Of the countries above mentioned.
and today the combined shipping of
Germany and Austria Hungary Is
considerably less than one-fifth the
amount we shall have in 1920 Both
OF these nations have lost a great
took over the 11S enemy ships in our
harbors. and they have lost many
vessels interned in other parts Of the
world. So far Austria has not been
able to build more, and although the
of making cargo vessels at the Vul-
can shipyards. the end of the war
will find them handicapped by the
lack of their merchant marine of
every description.
Great Britain has been trying to
replace her losses as fast as possible,
but she will come out of the struggle
crippled by the submarines and the
wear and tear OF her army transporta-
ton; so that the probability is that
we shall be far ahead of the rest of
the world in all kinds of shipping
when the war closes. The amount
predicted for 1920 is equal to half Of
all the tonnage OF the world in 1916
IL. This means that the worlds COM
merce of the future is to be largely
carried in American bottoms. 1t
means also that our own foreign COM
merce will grow beyond the widest
conceptions Of the past. Our war in
dustrial plants will be turned to maxi
Ing goods for shipment abroad. and
the seas will be peppered by American
vessels carrying goods to and from all
parts of the world.
This vast feet has to be officered
and manned by Americans. and it is
estimated that every one of its fab
ricated vessels of 5000 tons will re-
quire crew of eighty men. This is
an average of ten seamen for each
1000 tons. and at that rate, IL we are
to have fleet Of 25.00O,O0O tons, we
shall need 100000 officers and sailors
This means that the business will Gre
alto that many good Jobs and that
they will be better than any sea going
job OF the past The men not only get
their education free of charge, but
they are paid during the learning.
They start into the schools at $40 a
month, and they have free food and
quarters on the sea-training ships
where the schools are. Each man re-
ceives uniform free of charge. Aft
er the school training, which lasts six
weeks, he gets the regular rates Of sea
pay fixed for the emergency fleet, and
this increases as he rises in line
Every sailor has a chance to rise. He
can study navigation and become an
officer, and, in time, may command
his own ship with the pay of a cap
tain.
The present pay Of the men ranges
from $40 to SIS per month, according
to their position, and these wages are
increased by a bonus of SO per cent
for voyages through the war zone. SO
that the pay rises from $50 to $1125O
per month. If they become officers
per month, according to their rank
and the class of ship upon which they
serve. and to this is added the above
bonus. On the twin screw ships of
the emergency fleet the regular pay
of the captain is $275, that of the first