Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-05-30
DELAWARE TO SURPASS
CLYDE, SAYS DANIELS
Sees Greatest Shipbuilding Center in World Here.
Emphasizes Vital Need OF Big
Merchant Marine
Merchant Marine

Secretary of the Navy Daniels de-
livered the following address at the Hog
! Island launchings today:
s'It was an inspiring sight upon q
!. recent visit to Great Britain for the
naval party recently in that country
TO see the giant shipbuilding plants on
the Clyde and Tyne and the naval yards
at Rosyth and Portsmouth and Fly
mouth. For generations that sea -farlng
nation has constructed in those plants
merchant and fighting ships which have
flown the British flag unto the utter
most parts of the earth, given wealth
and power to the nation, opened trade
with all peoples and carried education
and religion to nations which had never
been blessed by their light and healings'
"It is even a more inspiring sight in
America on this sacred holiday to wit
ness upon the Delaware new record e
breaker in restoring to our country IT'S
early birthright of a merchant marine
worthy of our greatness and expanding
mower in the launching of five new
ships.
''In 1855, following a wise national
policy, American ships carried more
than 70 per cent of the imports
into this country. BY failure to appre
ciate the need of large commerce meet
or merchant marine, this was reduced
so that in 1870 we only carried 80 per
cent. Still greater lack of vision 10
see that q large national prosperity Is
vrapped up with ability to carry our
nroducts on the sea brought us to the
nlace in 1890 where our ships carried
only II per cent. and in 1910, IL was
burrying to the irreducible MINIMUM
whom we carried only 10 per cent.
Exports in Worse Condition
"As to our exports, the narrow pollcE
We pursued nut us in even worse con :
dition. In 1910 American ships car
ried $50 worth of our exports OUT
of every hundred dollars worth IN
1855 when we understood 1t was our
duty and right TO use the sea, Amerl :
can ships carried $3.50 worth OF every
hundred dollars worth of our exports;
.Ip 1910 American ships carried
S31O, 900. 900 worth of our foreign
commerce. In 1875 American ships
carried S4O5 ZOO. 900 worth of our FOR :
e;un commerce. or nearly one fourth
more a half century ago than in l9lo.
The significance of the decadence in our
day is seen when it is recalled that
American commerce increased from
s54O. .OOO. 900 in 1856 to $4,000, ,OOO,ooO
In 1910.
ITO state it more impressively and
make the indictment stronger of our ma =
tional policy. we had six times as much
to carry and we carried three fourths
as much as we carried fifty years ago in
the days before ship construction con =
cerned itself with mighty Leviathans
instead of small and slow ships. We
had delivered our carrying trade into
the hands of other nations and naturally
they took the best markets and gave
us the markets less attractive to them
ALREADY we see that the Delaware
( upon whose shores we early built some
lof the best fighting ships and man!
merchant ships, has been reborn as {
shipbuilding center. and both In nava
and In merchant construction Is SOOT
10 witness such activity Of construc
tion as will make the Delaware see
ond to no shipbuilding section in all thu
world.
One of By Products Of War
Zone of the by products of the wal
and the compensation of the cost ant
burden of the struggle is the restora
ton of the American merchant marine
or rather / should say its rebirth, fo
we are building upon such scale o
magnitude as was not dreamed of il
the early days when the American tial
and American commerce was seen in al
parts of the world. They are beini
seen again and felt. but we are Onl.
upon the threshold of the construction
of merchant ships and the development
of world carrying trade which must pu
American trade in vital touch with tn
commerce of the world,
"We could not II We would as ma
ton longer live between the two ocean
dependent upon foreign bottoms for Ou
overseas commerce, and we would no
II we could. The great war rudel
awakened us to the fact that while W
we're rich and powerful, the one thin
that gave value in that struggle to a
we possessed was ships. and these W
lacked and lacked woefully.
fortunately, two years before Amer
Tea entered the war we had the visio
of the need of new and broader polio
which was put in concrete shape by tn
formation of the shipping board. unde
the whip and spur Of war and the cryin
need of ships, and ships, and more ships
the question was upon that board
kind of vessel that coul
foat and which could carry wheat I
feed our allies and our soldiers, an
munitions of war with which to wi
the victory.
Free Now to Select Types
"Now that the war has ended We al
free to select our types of ships, to bui
those which experience shows are be
fitted for the carrying trade, and !
not doubt that the dearest policy of IL
American people today is the realizf
ton more and more the dreams of a
who see that Americas duty is
serve mankind as well as itself
swapping its products for the produc
of other nations.
I'VE will not quit the shipbuildiI
industry. We will put 1t on sol
and firm and sound basis. We W
build big ships and bigger ships whi'
can be manned by small crews and ha
a large steaming radius.
"There are those who tell us the
are many serious obstacles in the WI
of building up large merchant marin
Americas habit has been TO Overcor