The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-11-26
America Has Merchant Marine By Admiral William s. Benson, in Les lie'c

By Admiral William s: Benson, in Les
 lies.
 On June 30. 1920, there were s,4o4 seagoing merchant vessels of 800 gross tons and over flying the American flag, totaling approximately 16,91S,212 dead weight tons. Of this number the peo- pie of the United States owned, through the shipping board. 1,502 vessels of 6,2sS.946 gross tons, equivalent to s,35S.421 deadweight tons. This is to-. day the second largest merchant fleet in the world. There are flying the British flag. including all the domin- ions of Great Britain, 10,SS1 merchant vessels of 100 gross tons and over. to- taling 20.5S2,652 gross tons. Before the war there were 2.3SS German vessels in the ocean carrying trade of 100 gross tons and over. totaling approximately 5.459,296 gross or S,1SS,944 deadweight tons. In a word the people of the United States actually own and oper- ate today, through the shipping board, a greater seagoing tonnage than the entire German empire possessed before the war.
 But what this means to American business, and by reflection to American labor, is better seen from another set of figures. In the six months ending June 80. 1920, 15,55S vessels entered and cleared the ports of the United States, representing total tonnage of S6.9S1, 700 deadweight tons., and carrying 37,- 39S,1S4 tons of cargo. Of this volume of the nations foreign business. .9,550 vessels, or 61.4 per cent of the total. doing the carrying, were under Ameri- can registry. They aggregated 51.5s4.- 620 deadweight tons. or 59.S per cent of the total tonnage handled by American ports. and they carried 22.724.217 long tons of cargo, or eos per cent of all the export and import business done by the United States during the period in question. When the war broke out in 1914, on the other hand, an examina- ton of tonnage figures reveals that only S.s per cent of the total export values of the country were carried in Americans bottoms. while only IA per cent of the imports were earried under the American flag. Of the total export and import business of the United States six years ago. hut 9.7 per cent was carried by American ships.
 When 1t is figured that in the, first six months of this year. l1.591,446 long tons of cargo were carried from Amer ican ports in. American bottoms. or 51. per cent of all our export business for that period. and that 1L132741 long tons of cargo were brought to the United states by American ships, con- stituting 7S.9 per cent of all the com modities Imported into the country, it will be seen very readily what Amer ican merchant shipping means to Amer ican business If means that right now over half our imports and over three quarters of our exports had been gathered under the American flag, where this commerce is now subject to the regulations made for it by the American people. IL is the effective unshaciSling of American business from the control of any power or combina- ton of powers in the world. By utiliz- ing all possible carrying tonnage or the American merchant marine. the limited. states is today able to handle alone the whole of it's export and inn port business.