Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-30
Nothing to Do But Obey"


| that the entente has any intention
of returning these ships, even though
! they are technically requiSitioned for
the period of the armistice. You ask
me what we shall do about it. We
| have protested. If that is not needed
We shall sit and wait as one awaits
I death"
There are. he told me. $50 mer-
chant ships in the German ports.
| The gross tonnage is about 500 900
| but this includes everything coast
| wise and the Baltic. The tonnage
! available for the transatlantic trade
| has Il loading capacity of ESQ,
! 900. Most of these ships, he de-
! ciared. were ready to sail with coal
! American line has 2TU,oo" tons. the
| North German Lloyd. 100000. while
the other lines include the Hansa and
| Woermann
IF the ships now idle are put into
| commission" he resumed. "it will
give employment to 100000 men,
| counting the shore workers. but ! do
| not expect the allies to take small
| coasting steamers. The provision
| that German crews may he replaced
| turbing A series Of such acts would
result in delivering the country up
| 10 bolshevism. especially as there are
| strong leanings that way among sea-
| faring men"
Would Be Bad Business"
| / then asked him what would be the
/ result of a demand on the part OF the
allies that the output of the German
| sbtpvards for a period of years be
| turned over to replace the ships sunk
by U-boats.
| That" he said, would be bad
piece of business-for the indemnity
seekers. at any rate. To begin with.
iall the yards for building merchant
Eships are owned by private eompa-
MES. to which the government has
turned under the circumstances. Even
! if the owners were willing, | thln
! a large percentage of the men would
refuse to work Here again bolshe-
| vism would step in. Then there is
| the question of money to pay for the
| building. The government does not
| have il, and without commerce and
an opportunity to sell our produc-
| tons it could not get IL. Even If 1t
1 were given "A chance TO export goods
/ it would be tough propositlon. e
are not able to till our land for lack
| of agricultural implements. We can
| not make them because so much of
| the rolling stock has been taken away
and raw materials cannot be trans
| ported internally.
"AIl our best locomotives are gone
and there are now only twelve fast
tfdiIS IL uiS III Vel manly oui ACAtiiS
industry is at an absolute stand
still because we cannot import cot
| ton and wool. The only things we can
offer abroad now are potash, chem
I icals and dyes and a certain amount
! of toys and novelties. We cannot build
| ships and we cannot pay indemnities
| if our commerce, which is our life, is
cut off. You cannot tie a mans feet
| and then make him dance"
One of Founders of Line.
| He ended and stared gloomily out
| of the window at the ripping waters
| of the Alster basin. Herr Merck,
! who was one of the founders of the
, Hamburg American line, was great
| friend of Herr Balm. with whose
| views regarding the war he agreed.
He as well as Or. a. Hopff, fellow
director, who was present at the in
terview. appeared to be of the same
frame OF mind as other prominent
Germans with whom l have talked
They are discouraged almost to the
point of telling the allies to come in
and help themselves
Today they carefully inquired as
to the public feeling in America
toward the Germans. | told them it
was very bad, because of the under
hand methods employed by the dip
lomatS and others and the Illegally
and barbarism of the submarine war
fare. Whereupon they nodded their
heads thoughtfully and | left them.