New-York tribune., 1919-04-08
.All-American Vessels Are
Now Busy Carrying Food
to Europe and Bringing
Fighting Men Back Home
England Not Thus Tied
Her Exporters Are Strength.
ening Lines to So. Amer
ica While Coast Is Clear
By Theodore M. Knappen
New York Tribune
WGshin atom Bureau


Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON, April 7.-Congress-
men who have returned from Panama
with bitter complaints of the lack of
American shipping in the Central and
South American trades and with tales
of British traders oustlng American ex-
porters by reason of superior transit
and transport facilities, make the op
erations division of the Shipping Board
vince.
The men who are graphing with the
problem of handling the 1900 ships
now in control of the Shipping Board
know the situation, and they thorough
ly deplore it. 1t is not only the South
American trade that is neglected, but
every other field of trade. AS matter
Of fact, the east coast Of South America
is better cared for now than ever be-
fore in respect of cargo vessels, but
the service is not comparable to what
it should be, and there is practically
no direct passenger service. Now, rs
formerly, the best way to go to
Buenos Ayres or Rio de Janeiro is to
go to England first.
Now the Good Sama ritan
During the war, the needs of COM
merce were necessarily subordnated to
those of war. Now that peace has come
commerce has to take secondary place
to the home bringing Of the soldiers
and the carrying of food and other
relief supplies to Europe. In these after
war days she is playing the part of the
Good Samaritan to the neglect of her
foreign trade.
1t is regretfullv admitted that while
America is diverting tonnage from com =
mercial routes that have been counted
on as great contributors to national
prosperity in the days ahead, Great
Britain is improving her steamship SER
vice on these routes. For the moment
Americas foreign relations are gov
erned almost entirely by humanitarian
considerations. 1t is the adopted policy,
and it is not for the shipping men to
T quarrel with it, much as it hurts to
see golden opportunities slipping away.
They hope that when our ships are
no longer bringing soldiers back from
Europe and carrying foodstuffs to keep
millions from starving it will not be
too late for the United States to get
its full share of the shipping trade.
Their hope is that the world will have
more trade than ships for the next two
or three years and that they will yet
have chance to establish themselves
If they can't 60 after the trade now
they intend to prepare carefully to get
their full share when conditions be-
come competitive. The Shipping Board
is now adapting every ship building
to chosen routes as far as the degree
of completion will allow, and is
ESTABLISHING entirely new types for a
large number of vessels whose keels
were not yet laid when the armistice
was signed
special type of combined cargo and
passenger ship for the South American
and Pacific trades is being evolved
from the vessels that were building as
transports, and four exceptional classes
OF straight cargo steamers have been
worked out. These are: First. $4,000
ton vessels; second, 12,5O0-ton vessels;
third, 10,0O0-ton vessels, and fourth
motor ships of about 5000 tons.
All Are Oil Burners
Oil will be the fuel used on all four
types, thus effecting the maximum of
fuel economy, and the speed of ali but
the motor ships will be about thirteen
knots. The motor ships will be con
siderably slower, but this inferior
speed is more than offset by their small
consumption of fuel. The three classes
of steamships will have steaminr
radius ranging from $4,000 to 10000
miles. and the motor ships will be able
to circle the world without replenish
ing their fuel tanks. The internal ar
rangements Of these vessels will make
them the most economical Of space that
have yet been built
These exceptional cargo vessels rep