Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-08-17
Merchant Marine
Is Growing Fast
BY w. s. MANN

ton Star)
WASHINGTON, Aug. 17.-The
American merchant marine has ar
rived and already Is handling more
OF the export and import trade of
the United States with other nations
than shipping under any foreign
registration. The Department Of
Commerce, he Treasury Depart
ment and the Shipping Board have
been studying carefully the Stats
tics on the first six months in 1920
for vessels entering and clearing in
the foreign trade with cargoes at
the customs districts.
Vessels registered under the
United States nag constituted 61.4
per cent. of all the vessels in COM
MERGE through American ports and
they carried 5s.3 per cent. of the
total tonnage and CO.'S per cent. of
all the carsoes. Still further to the
credit of the American ships they
carried AL per cent. Of capacity
load while foreign bottoms carried
only AIS per cent. of capacity.
The Bureau of Foreign and Dom
este Commerce has figured out that
during the calendar year 1919 more
than AZ per cent. of the net tonnage
on all vessels clearing with cargo in
export trade was under the Stars
and Stripes, and that this record
was bettered in the import trade
where Sill per cent of all vessels
were American
During the last six months the
study of statistics as between ex-
ports and imports showed that most
of the American vessels T bring-
ing back return cargoes to Ameri-
can ports but that the foreign ships
to a large percentage come here in
ballast and clear with cargoes.
The records of the Department of
Commerce show that 61.6 per cent.
Of all vessels engaged in export trade
and carrying 57.9 per cent. of the
lightweight tonnage were under the
United States flag, and that 81 per
cent. of all the export eargoes were
in American bottoms.
American ships constituted 61.2
per cent. Of all vessels entering
American ports with cargces from
60.7 per cent. of the deadweight
tonnage and 1915 per cent. OF the
eargoes imported.
Shipping experts and students of
world trade conditions r much
gratiled at this first half-year Q
ord of The American merchant ma
rine and predict that with the new
shipping act in operation a much
better record will be established
before the close of the year 1920.
OF great aid to American bust
ness in building UP overseas traffic
for the American merchant marine
is the Webb-Pomerene law, or x
port trade act, which has now been
two years in operation. so hat its
trial has been solely under var con-
ditions or postwar conditions,
which have proved disrupting, dis
tressing and unstable In the extreme
as regards foreign trade. Yet in
spite of such conditions. with the
foreign trade of the United States
beset by economic difficulties of all
sorts during the entire life of the
export trade act, it has proved In
~expectedly helpful to the foreign
trade of this country. The associa-
lions formed under its license testi-
fy that 1t has been a decidedly use
full instrument in promoting the
progress of this country in foreign
commerce.
The federal trade commission
which is in charge of administering
the Webb-Pomerene act finds that
the experiences of those who tested
out its powers under the disturbed
conditions of the last two years
have heartened many American
manufacturers and exporters and
that scores of applications are now
awaiting an official OK. from the
federal trade commission for new
foreign trade combinations.
The greater units in American
business engaged in transactions of
large volume and with fully organ
lied export trade departments have
had no need for this law and have
not brought themselves under its
operation. Its particular virtue is
in the fact that smaller American
business concerns are now able to
associate themselves to bring a de-
gree of competition in the foreign
market and to the foreign custom
ers of the United States. Before
the passage of this law many re-
mote markets could be reached only
by the largest American concerns,
with little or no competition result
ing. 1t is nov possible for smaller
concerns, by combining their re-
sources to project against their
larger competitors abroad a degree
of competition which they are not
able to bring to bear within the
United States.
Through the agency of the feder-
al trade commission the export
trade act is invoking and extending
to all transactions in foreign trade
all the domestic projections and
safeguards against unfair methods
of competition and unfair trade prac-
tees generally. Thus the United
States is taking the lead among the
nations of the world in extension of