The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-16
GOVERNMENT AID ]. FOR SHIP BUYERS IS RECOMMENDED
Should Be Sold at Prices and Terms Which Will Firmly Establish Mer-
 chant Marine
By A.smi.,,. pr,.,

Washington. April 15.-Government financial aid for companies purchasing shipping board vessels to enable them to
 compete successfully with foreign lines
 was recommended today by business men and members of Congress who advised with the board on methods of transfer ring into private hands the government owned merchant marine.
 Agreeing upon the advissbility of the board disposing of it's fleet, the con- ferees, upon motion of Fred H. Wells of Minneapolis, adopted resolution that '-the ships should be sold upon such prices and terms that the American mer- chant marine may be firmly established"
 Lack of interest by the investing pub lie in shipping securities and the handi- caps under which American ship owners operate in competition with subsidized foreign lines were discussed, and a com mittee was appointed to study a plan suggested by Eugene Meyer, director of the war finance corporation, that the fleet be sold through an organization similar to the railway equipment finance corpora tion- He proposed that the assets of the mercant fleet be taken over by such or gxnization and that it issue bonds against payments due by purchasers, buyers be- ing permitted to make 20 per cent down and the rest of from fifteen to twenty required during the first few years to enable operators to establish their lines firmly.
 WOULD CREATE INTEREST
 Sales of the bonds, which, under the YS folxr na cent of the value of the ships, Meyer pointed out. would create popular interest in the merchant marine and the issues could be retired as the buyers made their full payments Interest on the deferred payments would be covered by the earn ings of the ships.
 Admiral Benson, chairman of the board, appointed Mir. Meyer as chairman of the committee. with Alex Legg of Chicago, Owen Young of Schenectady and c. 5. Warren of Detroit as the other members
 Chairman Warren of the Senate appro- priations committee said he agreed that some form of governmental aid would be necessary to make permanent the merchant marine, while Chairman Green of the House merchant marine commit tee declared he also was in favor of a ship subsidy and was not afraid of thai term for it. An American merchant ma- fine, he said, cannot compete with Ja- pan and possibly with England, under a system of not granting favor to ship operators.
 A basis of cost of reconstruction less depreciation, plus certain sum for Irn- mediate delivery, should govern sale torices of government ships, Mir Warren ksaid, while Mir. Legg argued that what Ahe board gets for the ships was only a small problem as compared with what became of the vessels.
 .sThe future is more important than inc price, he added, stating that private | ownership must have government sup port or the ships would come back to the board.
 Representative Rowe of New York con tended that the merchant marine must | be developed for import as well as export 1 trade if it was to become permanent He also favored government aid
 The conference was to have lasted two days, but it was decided that the ground had been thoroughly covered to- day and the session concluded.