The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-08-15
President FOrbids the Sale
or, Lease of Vessels or
Yards to Outsiders
PLAN OF NEUTRAL
COUNTRIES BLOCKED
Production in Yards Not Building for
the Fleet Corporation Comes Under
Prohibition schwab Calls a
Conference.

Conference.
WASHINGTON; Aug. ia procla-
nation which win secure American
ships and shipyards against foreign en-
eroachment of any kind during the war
has been issued by President Wilson
today under authority given by amend
ments to the shipping act designed to
make it impossible for foreign interests,
friendly or otherwise, to obtain control
Of American shipping or shipyards.
The proclamation follows the gcner
Il form of that issued several weeks
ago placing the shipping board in com
plete control Of the chartering of all
American ships and Of foreign ships I'M
Ter American charter.
1t makes effective the provisions of
he shipping act by declaring a nation
al emergency under which it is a erin
inal offence to sell, mortgage, lease or
deliver an American ship to a foreign
er without the consent of the shipping
board, or to make any agreement by
which control of a ship is turned over
to foreigner The prohibition applies
not only to completed ships, but to
ships under construction
1t is also made illegal without the
board 5 consent, to make any contract
for ship construction for foreign ac-
count unless the contract expressly pro-
videS that construction on the ship
shall not begin until after the war or
emergency ended. Shipyards may not
be Transferred without the consent of
the board
The act also has provisions which it
i believed viii prevent attempts to
evade the ship transfer sections Of the
law by means of dummy directors and
stockholders in corporations nominally
American but actually dominated by
foreigners.
The shipping board has been fighting
efforts, participated in by Americans,
70 purchase ships, contracts or plants
for foreign orders. Many of these eff
forts have been cleverly disguised.
Shipping interests in several neutral
countries have tried every possible
means of getting ships from the Amer
lean yards All efforts can now be eff
tcctuallv blocked as even production
in yards not building for the fleet cor
poratjon comes under the prohibition.
Charles NJ Schwab, director general
of the emergency fleet corporation. has
issued a call to all the Eastern ship
builders to meet in Philadelphia Tues
day. August %, to discuss measures
70 speed UP the shipbuilding pro-
gram The direetor-general expressed
the hope in issuing the call that build
ing along the entire Eastern seaboard
would be Speeded up.
1t is known that "a number of the
Eastern yards. particularly those build
ing wooden ships. have not come up TO
the mark in production. They are to
be brought to time and either lacked
mp or closed up. Unless they can bring
production to a better basis, it is likely
they viii lose their contracts.
The conference also viii discuss aues-
tions relating to distribution of availa-
bile material So that one yard will not
suffer from shortage while another is
storing for future needs. Materials and
supplies are to be more evenly spread
to all the, yards, steel and wood alike.
The Eastern builders viii be told in
detail of the achievements of the yard
on the west coast in rapid building,
particularly the marks made BY the
skinner 4 Eddy company. The Eastern
builders viii be told how it was done
50 that they can emulate the Pacific
coast example.
Employment and the general labor
question is also to be discussed at
length. The builders, some of whom
have been kicking at delays and blam-
ing them on the shipping board, will he
give an opportunity to air their troubles
50 that the complaints can be sifted.