Evening star., 1920-02-14
WILL SELL FORMER
GERMAN VESSELS
DESPITE PROTEST
Shipping Board Chairman
Explains Bids Received Will
Be Reported to Senate.

to prevent the Shipping Board from
offering for sale Monday the thirty
former German liners. Chairman
Payne was proceeding today with the
original plans to receive bids for the
vessels. He explained, however. that
bids only would be received and thst
before acceptance the results would
be laid he ore the Senate.
The s.arp opposition that developed
in tie Senate yesterday over the
proposed sale subsided after Chair
van Payne had appeared before the
senate commerce committee End out
q, lined the policy of the ooarl for the
+! disposal of the vessels. No action
was taken in the Senate to restrain
the Shipping Board from carrying out
| its program.
The hearing followed close on tine
heels of a discussion in the Senate,
in which Senator Ashurst OF Arizona
| and others bitterly protested against
the alleged plan to sell these snIps.
At the White House there was made
public a letter concerning the pro
posed sale, sent by Mr.. Payne to the
President. which remarked on the
vicious but characteristic attack
jagainst the shipping board emanat-
ing from a certain quarter regarding
the sale of the ex-German passenger
ships"
| Chairman Payne assured the Senate
committee. and his assurances were
repeated to the full Senate, that the
board merely would receive bids
Monday for the vessels and would re-
| port the results to the Senate before
iiacting. He met charges that the sale
Of the vessels to single purchaser
for s2S,000.000 was intended with a
fiat denial. but repeated his own con-
clusion that the sale of the vessels
to American private owners at the
present time was to the advantage of
the government.
Text OF Mr. Payne's Communication.
| Discussing fully with the commit
| tee considerations prompting the
! boards decision to proceed with its
attempts at sale. Chairman Payne re-
! in the letter to the President, which.
as given out at the White House.
| follows:
! I'm view of the vicious but char
tacteristic attack against the shipping
board, emanating from certain
quarter. regarding the sale of the ex-
German passenger ships, may re-
state the simple facts:
"I) The ships are to be sold to
Americans only and will sail under
1 the American nag. NhA SSA
routes which in the opinion of the
shipping board will best serve Amer
lean commerce, and will always pc
available to the government IN case
of any national emergency.
"(2) None of the ships will be sold
to England or to any foreign person,
corporation or country, and VIII not
be sold to a single company or
single interest, but to as many COM
panies as possible.
/ Result Of Investigation.
"(3) Before deciding to offer the
ships for sale, the board ascertained:
"ia) That to make them over from
troop to passenger ships. as must pc
/ done, twenty Of these to be sold Will
cost $57,000.0O0. and the others In
| the same proportion. We, did not
deem il wise to make such an ex-
penditure of public money.
"(b) In view of prohibition and OF
| the actual conditions. the board
deemed it probable that passenger
ships could not be operated by the
| Shipping Board at proft-indeed, IL
/ feared that serious losses would re-
suit.
the present need for passenger ships
make this perhaps the best possible
time to sell the ships-indeed. we do
not believe we can ever get more for
them than now.
"(5) The greatest possible publicity
has attended every step we have
taken. Bids were invited, and after
these we're received the proposed sale
has been in the press for days with
the statement that on Monday next
at 10 o'clock we would have a public
auction sale at the Office of the board
and thus sell the ships, and every one.
including our critics. invited to at
tend"
| I'd hai made nlIblic nv
Representative Mead. democrat. New
| York.
Testihes mt Length.
Before the committee Mr.. Payne
faced prolonged examination. Sena-
| tors cited the price offered the board
for the Leviathan, the 54.000-ton lead
er of the ex-German fleet, which was
$4,000.00O. This was compared with
an original construction cost for the
cost of duplicating her in American
yards Of s25,ooO.0oo or $4,000, 900.
This latter figure was furnished the
committee by Homer S. Ferguson.
lpresident of the United States Cham
who was present Chairman Payne
likewise furnished the estimates Of
tShipping Board experts that it would
lcost $7.500,000 to recondition the ves-
sci from a troop transport to her for
mer capacity Oh passenger cdrFier.
lOnly one concern wanted to buy the
iLeviathan, Mr.. Payne said. but from
1.-TWO to five bids were received on 9TH
er vessels Of the fleet.
whats the cost Of reconditioning
1.-THE Leviathan?" Chairman Jones
asked.
about $500, ,ooo." Mr.. Payne re-
1sponded. The vessel would cost $10,-
100000 now"
Tells Of Bids Obtained.
[ falling of the bids received when