Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1918-09-13

about 100000 tons fol coastwise West Indian
and South American trade.
The navy overseas transportation service
started operations last autumn. It's first act
to take II oil taniers to supply ships with
fuel OIL In the emergency 1t was necessary hur-
riedly to commission the shippers who had been
running ships under civilian auspices put them
into lieutenant commanders uniforms and send
them on their way with book of navy regula
tiOnS. 1t is not strange that in the circumstances
the average new reserve officer more or less
Gin the air"
The service starting in New York and Nor
folk, was extended to Philadelphia. 1t now is
expected that 80 additional Offices will soon be
opened, including those the other side of the
Atlantic The navy overseas transportation serv-
ice must not only operate its ships, but it must
see that they operated at their maximum
efficiency. They must be loaded in record time
They must carry record cargOes. They must go
across in record time They must arrive the
other side in safety. The sinking of ship
would mean not only the loss of the cargo she
was carrying at the time, but of all other cargOes
that she might have been called upon to carry
other trips.
Officers of the service figure that If by i'm
proved efficiency in the engine room they can
ten ships across the ocean at one knot better
speed than that at which inferior engine-room
crews would put them over ship has been
created In ike manner IT they can put an adj
ditonal 10 per cent of cargo each of the ten
ships an additional ship has been created.
The transportation officers figure also that
night and day ship costs about 500 hour
In other words every hour saved to ship is 500
gained. battle may be lost to the allies through
the sinking Of cargo ship.
In the matter of defense of cargo ships at sea
the service places particular stress upon these
four elements: sharp lookout, ability to
is increased 300 per cent by guns merchant
men. They force the submarine to operate under
the surface of the water where its speed is
slower and its deck guns are useless
The situation today in New York and the other
ports of enbarkation in regard to the operation
of ships is more or less complicated. Not the
navy alone is operating ships but the shipping
board, the quartermasters department and the
navy supply department. Besides this the ship
ping board assigns ships to private owners to
operate, and certain ships manned by the navy
are assigned to private owners The general opin-
ion with regard to these ships seems to be that
under current labor conditions navy recruiting
offers the best means and the only guaran-
tee for manning most of the great new fleet of
cargo ships under construction.
There has been disposition in certain quar-
tiers to belittle the cargO-ship service. The no.
ton prevails that there is no romance in some of
the old tramp ships being used in this service
In answer it is shown by the in the service
that 1T is not only the most useful but the most
interesting service in the war.
Outside of the destroyers, the men-o'-war carry.
ing freight probably will be the only warshps
that will see active service in this combat. AS a
clinching argument this service is about the only
that is constructive and not destructive 1t
is laying the foundation for a great American
merchant marine after the war
That America did not have an immense mer
chant marine at the outbreak of the war was due
to several causes. Confederate raiders dealt il
blow. Metal ships and the development
of railroads followed. Then came the blocking
in congress of all legislation for such a merchant
marine. The La Toilette act was the blow that
killed the project.
The transportation pressure due to Americas
entry into the war brought the realization of the
nadeQuacy of the number of American officers
in the merchant marine. AS the first step toward
supplying the deficiency, n great school was es-
tablished at Pelham Bay for the training of deck
officers. In addition to the valuable nucleus of
young officers already given to the naval reserve
from this school, accommodations have been pro-
vided on a greatly enlarged scale for thousands
more. Here the men t0ke two months intensive
practical and theoretical training, followed by
two months Of real experience at sea- The cadets