The Fayette falcon. (Somerville, Tenn.) 190?-current, 1919-11-07
AMERICAN POWER
ON SEAS GROWING
PLANS PERFCcTlNe TO MAKE
MERCHANT FLEET EQUAL TO
ANY IN THE WORLD.
PLANS FOR FUTURE SHIPPING
Predicted United States viii sooa
Have Merchant Fleet Of 100000
Tons-Do Not Wish to Dom
mate, However.

Observation-Disclosures that ships
flying the American flag will almost
equal the tonnage Of Great Britain by
the end of 1920 were made In the sen
ate by Senator Jones of Washington,
chairman OF the senate commerce com.
mittee, in introducing his bills pro
posing alternative plans for a perman
ent federal shipping policy. Both bills
were referred to the commerce com
mittee for future consideration.
With prospective consideration Of
the governments warship building pro
gramme by Dec. 81, 1920, Senator
Jones said the United States, includ.
ing coastwise vessels, will have q
merchant fleet of about 100000
tons, nearly that Of Great Britain. and.
he added, the two nations will con-
troll about two-thirds of the worlds
tonnage.
I'VE do not desire and IL is not our
purpose to drive other nations off the
sea-" said Senator Jones, but we do
want to do and we ought to do ut
least our proportionate part OF our
own, and the worlds carrying trade,
so that our commerce shall have a
fair chance in the worlds markets and
that we may herafter be fully pre-
pared for the emergency"
Regarding the governments future
shipping policy, Senator Jones said
about eight million of the twelve mil
lion tons under the American flag in
foreign trade will be government.
owned. 1--WE may differ about gov
ownership" he said but
that can be no issue. The govern
ment owns these ships whether we
will or no. We must not allow pri-
vate parties to take the cream Of this
and let the government hold
the balance to dispose of at a great
sacrifice. Grant that government
ownership should end as soon as may
be, 1t must be brought about, as
nearly as may be, without unneces-
sary sacrifice. No one can reasonably
hope that private enterprise and cap
tal, in the face Of foreign competi-
ton and handicapped by our own In
experience, will be able to absorb and
take over all this shipping in a short
while"
Senator Jones also contended that
Unless private capital can take over
he plant constructed by the govern
nent at Camden, n j., and now oper-
tied through the New York Ship
building company, it should be re-
aimed and used for the construction
If the large ships for which there
ire no other facilities.
In explaining his bill to create q
merchant marine corporation, under
government control, to operate the
fleet for not more than
70 years, but without competing with
private established lines, Senator
ones said in conclusion:
1--WE now have the United States
hipping beard acting in dual ca
lacity. II was intended to be i great
egulatory, governmental agency, and
5 in fact during the work of Il great
1t cannot well serve
10Th ends. What ! propose is to d.
orce the shipping board entirely from
selling or operating ships
nd allow it to do the things it was
reated to do, and create corpora
ion separate and independent of it to
perate, maintain and dispose OF our
hips in such way as to give US an
deQuate merchant marine on q per
nanent basis"