The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-09-05

about 3OO0OOO 10, coastwise West Indian
and South American trade.
The navy transportation service
started operations last autumn Its first act was
10 take over 10 oil tankers 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 reguia-
tions. 1t is not strange that In the circumstances
the average new reserve officer was more or less
"in the air.
The service. starting In New York and Nor
folk. was extended to Philadelphia. 1t now is
expected that 30 additional Offices viii soon he
opened. including those the other side OF the
Atlantic. The navy overseas transportation serv-
Ice must not only operate its ships. but 1t must
see that they operated Mt their maximum
efficiency. They must be londcd In record time.
They must carry recorl cnrgoes They must go
across in record time. They must arrive on the
other side In safety. The sinking of one ship
would mean not only the loss of the cargo she
was carrying Mt he time. but of all other cargoes
that she might have been called upon to carry
other trips.
officers of the service figure that II by i'm
proved efficiency In the engine room they can run
ten ships across the knot better
speed than that mt which inferior engine-rOOm
would put them over, ship has been
created. In like manner. II they can put an ad-
ditiOnal 10 per cent of cargo on each Of the ten
ships additional ship has been created.
night and day ship costs about 500 an 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
maneuver. speed and guns. "Expectaton Of life"
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
The situation today in New York and the other
ports of embarkaton in regard 10 the operation
of ships is less complicated. Not the
navy alone is operating ships but the shipping
board. the quartermaster's 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 nrd the only real guarnn-
tee for manning most of the great new fleet Of
cargo ships under construction.
There has been disposition in certain quar-
ters to bettle the cargoship service. The
tion prevails that there Is no romance in some of
the old tramp ships being used in this service.
In answer 1t is shown by the men in the service
that 1t is not only the most useful but the
Interesting service in the war.
Outside of the destrOyers, the menO'-wnr carry.
ing freight probably will be the only warshlps
that will see active service in this combat As
cnching argument, this service Is about the only
one TINT constructive and not destructive. IL
is laying the foundation for grent American
merchant marine after the war.
That America did not have an immense mer-
chant marine at the outbreak of the war due
to several causes. Confederate raiders dealt II n
severe blow. Metal ships and the development
of railroads followed. Then came the blocking
in congress of all legislation for such merchant
marine. The La Toilette act the blow that
killed the project
entry into the war brought the realization of the
inadeQuacy Of the number of American officers
in the merchant marine AS the first step toward
supplying the deficiency. II grent school wns es-
tabshed at Pelham Bay for the trimming Of deck
Oificers. In addition the valuable nucleus of
young officers already given to the naval reserve
from this school, accommodations have been pro-
vided n greatly enlarged scale for thousands
more. Here the tuke two months intensive
practical md theoretical training, followed by
two months OF real experience mt seu. The cadeis