South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-01-23
LAY FOUNDATION
FOR PERMANENT
MARINE BODY
Foremost ShipbuiIderS of the
Country Unanimous in
Opposing Federal
Operation.

WASHINGTON. Jan. %. - The
foundation for a permanent organ
ization having for its purpose the
maintenance and expansion of the
American merchant marine was laid
here today at a conference Of repre-
sentatives of ship operators, builders
and employees. The meeting was
called by Sen. Ransde1l of Louisiana.
who presented subjects for discus
sion and who as temporary chair
man, named committees on perma-
nent organization and resolutions
which are TO report at the final ses-
sions tomorrow.
Commissioner Charles Page. of the
shipping board. said that body would
welcome the advice and assistance of
the conference, and other speakers,
including some of the foremost ship
builders of the country were unani-
nous N declaring opposition 70 gov
eminent control and operation Of
ships during peace and in behalf Of
a national policy Of subsidizing ship
operation, either by direct payment
or by application of differential
rates. They also demanded relin-
quishment of government wage con
troll in ship yards as a first step to-
ward meeting world and particularly
English competition.
J. w. Powell, vice president of the
Bethlehem Ship Building corpora
ton; Homer L. Ferguson, president
of the Newport News Ship Building
Evans, president Of the Baltimore
DrydOck and Ship Building Co., who
poke for the builders, emphasized
the cost Of building American ships
as an insuperable barrier against
any attempt to esta blish mer-
chant marine without. as Mr.. Fergu-
son said, the nation paying for it,"
Great Increase I'm Cost.
Mr.. Powell said that as nearly as
can be calculated the difference be
tween the cost of a ship built in
Great Britain and that Of vessel
built in this country has increased
from about SIS or S35 a ton before
the war to 500 today.
"A great part of the cost" the
speaker declared, sis due to the great
increase in the cost of labor in this
country Our wages. set for us by
the government, have gone up $50
percent since August. 1917. There
is no possible way efficiently Of OPP
Grating by American ship builders
can bring that cost down. Should
changes in labor conditions in Eng
land equalize that cost we shall still
have Italy and Japan as competitors
and the situation is an impossible
one on straight competitive basis
Any consideration of the question Of
an American merchant marine must
ne based upon consideration Of these
facts"
Mr.. Ferguson said his company
had struggled over the PROSTATE
form of the American ship building
industry for many years before the
war to get contracts"
Best Builders i'm England.
There are some practical things
this country must do if il intends to
get and keep a merchant marine, ."
Mr.. Ferguson said. You can't talk
about Yankee ingenuity and pass
8OOu feSOiQ lions ana 90 the 1OD- Inc
best ship builders in the world are
along the Clyde in England and the
best American mana gers. engineers,
architects and workmen learned the
trade here. We had 10000 ship
builders before the war and we've
got 400, 900 who call themselves ship
builders now, but they can't build
ships TO compete when the wages
have increased from % to Accents
per hour on the Clyde and TO 81 an
an hour here"
Mr.. Ferguson said he favored a
system of allowing American ship
rate diferentials in American trade.
rather than subsidies, since in that
way you pay a ship for carrying
goods and not for just sailing the
flag around" Laws and treaties
should be made confining trade be-
tween the United States and other
countries to ships from either that