The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1918-11-15

4 AVH chant Ships
KXA This Is the slogan Of the United
lNH States shipping board. which has Ia
X N%4 hand the great task Of creating an
~ adequate personnel for new mer
chant marine.
- Ia years past. whenever the subject
Of creating merchant marine In pro-
portion to the countrys commercial Importance
came up the question was raised: 'How are We
going To get men for American shipsf"
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 hnd Our shipyards could not compete
with foreign yards
Tho war has changed all that. The change has
been little short Of magical The United States Of
America leads thu world In shpbuiiding II
Will soon lead the world with tts seagoing citizens.
Thousands Of young Americans are turning to the
- every month"; The old era u the square-rig-
Ntss. y which friends OF the American merehant
marine fOndy refer, IL rapidly being dwarfed by
what u taking place In our merchant marine today.
An nm example of the extraordinary change going
IN In the matter OF crews, may be cited phc-
nomenai jump In September recruiting for the
merchant marine reported by the United States
chipping board from Washington. In the following
baiictin:
An Increase OF Asi per cent In a month. In the
number OF recruits for the merchant marine signed
On The United states shipping board. was reported
inx September u. are as follows: Week ending
August y 30 men; August 70 I'm. september
se7: september a. ISL The nxures for the latter
week exceed by ca men the number tho board had
announced AZ an expected maximum for the month
of September The accepted for training
- sAiors nremsn. coal passera. cooks and stew
srds. and VIII be pa, aboard training ships at nos-
ton. New York. Norfolk New Orleans. San Fran
cisco. seattle and Cleveland
-what n this merchant marine we hear so much
aboutr
Nobody need feel ashamed II he does not readily
visualize this new commercial maritime force OF
tho 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 arc under naval
control.
The merchant marine ls quite distinct from the
navy. II Ii. indeed. a navy In isscf-a commercial
navy---of vessels engaged In business voyages.
The United States shipping hoard has charge of II.
and II Is run "a national business organization,
much the same the nations great railroads are
run By the railroad administration.
The shipping board consists Of Ave members
Uca Of high training In business AFFAIRS appointed
from various parts of the country Its chairman
II Edward N. Hurley OF Chicago. lts headquarters
are In n business buiidag In Washington.
Control Is exercised by this hoard over every
merchant ship Of more than 200 tons sailing un>
der the American fiag The vast shiphuilding pro
gram OF the countrs--resuitiag In "the bridge OF
ships To Europe" which enables to send mil
lions of men the fighting front and sustain them
thcre--i- la the hands of III. shipping board. The
shpbuildIny Is done by the Emergency Fleet cor
pcration. operated by the board aud directed by
Charles NJ Sehwab master mind In the steel
world ana known from coast TO coast business
genius OF the hrst order.
The merchant marine today Is American to the
sowc
American daring and seagolng ability are taking
our merchant ships safely across the seas aud
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 10 help their country Ia a new
epoch of expansion.
The mariner In the merchant marine IL not an
enlisted man. A scratch OF the pen IL all that
binds him to his job; yet he Is as firmly nxed In
n as II he were there by the operation Of the
selective service law.
Every man working for the merchant ma.
sine know. that his Ii not merely . war Job I'm
portnnt though his work may be ~ part OF his
sountry's mighty stroke for freedom The job
viii last after tho return Of peace. II becomes,
therefore. doubly important.
Ship manning 4 much greater scale than that
= the present viii begin whom the war ends. sos