The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1919-04-18


craunad foracos,,a from their new boats and are
putting in quarters featuring comlor's '"o' "eAe
unknown in the old sailing DAYS
Hereafter the business Of being sailor Will NOT
he the disagreeabe job 1t was before ans during
the The pay is going to be better-nfst ID
the American boats and later in the foreign trade
1t will be the proposition as business house
(America) introducing industrial reforms and CIV
ing higher pay and enlarged opportunity. thereby
virtually obligng rival concerns (Great Britain
and the other shipping powers) to maintain the
same wage schedules and reforms In order to keep
their employees satisfied.
That the "stoker class" Of sailors, the men who
tended the coal-burning boilers In superheated
dreroom, will disappear almost entirely now seems
to be foregone conclusion. In their places will
be men tending fuel-on furnaces by watching a set
OF valves and gauges and doing none Of the ter
rble physical exertion that was necessary for the
oldfashioned coal-burning ships. Fuel oil has
come to stay have Oil engines for merchant
Ships Use of either Of these modern power gen.
orators eliminates the oldtime stoker aboard ship
the worst class of labor needed
In place Of the old-fashioned sailor will come in
due time-probaby much sooner than we expect
the trained ship worker. whose position In the
world will be infinitely higher than his predeees-
sor.
Lots OF criticism Is heard regarding the ships
American yards turned out during the rush Of
war work Many Of them leaked the rivets were
not put in carefully-there was not enough time.
munltions-time was at premium.
American shipping men do not consider our war.
built ships as fair examples Of what yards
can turn out and are predicting. with much
surance that American built boats will be a.
stanch as Americas steel buildings
America Now Leads World.
Today America leads the world in ship build
Ing. The neutral nations ran out Of steel and
not competitors The French and Italians are
building only relatively small number of boats.
The British counting nearly 200 boats being built
In Canada and other British dominions. have about
600 boats under way. total Of little more than
100000 tons. America has almost twice as many
being built. totaling about three and half million
tons. and we are lust getting started"
Government ownership of shipping is a policy
private ship owners fighting in America and
England WELL Lord Inchcape, president of the
British chamber of shipping and chairman of the
great British ship concern, the Pennsular and
Oriental company has emphaticaly stated he will
sell out his large interests In British shipping
tvities If government ownership and control are to
be continued indefinitely.
1t is understood on American authority here in
Paris, that government control of American ship
ping is to last only a relatively short time-until
the defunct law of supply and demand has again
gone into operation. when the world trade routes
have been reconstructed from the havoc wrought
by war.
1t is expected. however that the American
government will always stand committed to a poll
cy Of ship control certain definite phases of the
business. For instance. the government should
not be expected to permit rival ship lines flying
the American flag to embark cut-throat compel.
tive programs for business 1t would be against
the governments policy-after the days Of rigid
control have passed-to permit rival ship lines
to operate more ships on a given trade line than
the tonnage Of that route demanded
More American ships mean more naval vessels
Our navy must be maintained SO as to compare
favorably In size with the merchant feet Not that
we are making ready for an era Of excessive arma-
ments.
This much s settled. however: America IL be-
ginning her career as a great maritime power, and
the American government Is going to try to make
the life Of our sailors comfortable as well paid
and as respectable the life Of any welpaid
employee In a modern American business concern.
Our young men of this generation and the com.
Ing decades then will gradually become greater
world travellers than they have been since the early
days Of our republic, and America probably will.
regain the feeling of isolation from world