The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-06-07
sg2MAN SHIPS FOR
TRAVEn 'D TRADE
TOLATIN-AMERICA
Seized Liners Will Furnish
Fast Service to South
America
TRIP IN 10 DAYS
Expect to Establish Fast Passenger
and Mail Service About
November 1st
MAKE TRIP IN 10 DAYS

WASHINGTON, June CHAIR
man Edward N. Hurley of the United
States Shipping Board aroused en-
thusiasm at the Second Pan American
Commercial Conference by asserting
that it was the intention of this gov
ernment to furnish shipping for travel
and trade with Latin-American coun-
tries on scale that would bring
about the closest and most favorable
trade relations.
Mr. Hurley went at length into
the plans of the Shipping Board and
made the important announcement
that included in the fleet which
would ply between North and South
America would be three of the large
German ships which were seized in
American ports and will be retained
by the United States.
A fast passenger and mail service
would be established, he said, about
Nov. 1 and it was his intention to
send on, the first ship, the Mount
Vernon, formerly the, KronprinzessiIn.
Cecille, delegation of government
officials and American business, men.
with the object of promoting closer
relationship.
Combining imports and EXPORTS"
said Mr.. Hurley, zone finds that the
total value of the +'ade between the
United States and Latin America
grew from $SOO,000,000 in 1914 to
$1,75O, 100000 in 1918. This vast
growth of nearly $1,OOO,O00,000 in
only four years puts the United
States not merely at the head, but
made its Latin-American trade great
er than the Latin-American trade of
all the rest of the world put together.
"Before the war, the best ships in
direct service from the United States
to the eastern ports of South Ameri-
ca made only Is knots, offered only
fortnightly sailings, and took twenty
four days for the trip from New York
to Buenos Aires. Compare this with
the service to be expected in the i'm
mediate future. Three magnificent
ex-German liners, the Mount Vernon,
the Won Steuben and the Agamem-
non, are to be remodeled for South
American trade.
"These ships make 231k knots, so
that the trip from New York to Rio
de Janeiro can be made in ten days,
and that the Argentine capital can
be made in Ia days. There will
time on the round trip, as compared
time on the round trip, ae compared
with the present or pre-war service.
"a very important benefit that will
flow from the Improvement of ship
ping connections with South Ameri-
ca will be in the mail service. Poor
mail facilities have in the past proved
a serious handicap in the way of in
creased trade relations between the
United States and Latin-America. Tt
is hoped that our Congress will
change the laws governing carriage
of mails so that practically every
ship capable of making more than
12 knots an hour and clearing for
South American ports will carry
mails. By using both passenger and
cargo lines it will thus be possible to
have mail service three or four times
a week.
"The United States Shipping
Board is laying it's plans to respond
appropriately to this call. Already
226 ships of 863,334 deadweight tons
have been allocated to Latin-Amer-
ican trade. What is more important,
the board is now surveying the stu
alton in order to promote the estab-
lishment of regular American lines
between the United States and South
America. These will compare fav-
orably with the former services of
the European lines, and will even sur
pass them.