The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-02-16
AUCTION
SALE Of
VESSELS
Millions to- High
est a =
GERMAN SEIZED
All Bids Must ~ Presented to Sem
ate Committee for inspection
Before Acted
Upon.

limited Press Leased Wire Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.-Spoils OF
war, valued at between fifty and sixty
million dollars go on sale at public
auction here today.
They consist of twenty-nine Ger
man passenger vessels, and include
the Leviathan, George Washington
and America. The ships were seized
by the United States during the war.
The auction is to be held under the
auspices OF the United States ship
ping board with Chairman John Rar-
ton Payne as auctioneer Bids will
be received today, but all must be
committee before they are accepted.
! Although a hearing on an applica.
ton for an injunction to restrain the
sale is scheduled today Payne Is de-
termined to 60 ahead and receive
offers for the ships. More than thirty
million dollars is believed to lave
been offered already in sealed bids.
One company bid four million dullars
for the Leviathan.
Action on all bids will be deferred
until the injunction has been dis,
posed Of and the senate committee
has definitely decided whether it
wants the board to sell the ships at
the prices offered.
Under the rules of today's auction,
only American owned shipping COIN
.panies will be allowed to bid and
they must agree to sail the purchased
ships under the American flag, be
ready to give them up TO the army
should troops transports be wanted
for an emergency and operate the
vessel in trade routes already select
ed by the shipping board.
Only One Bid.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 16.--Only one
bid was offered today in the first
hour of public auction by the ship
ping board of Twenty-Five former
German liners.
Philip Deronde bid 100000 for the
Black Arrow to go into the Black sea
service.
The shipping board recently reject
ed bid or s925,000 for the same
ship. Deronde represented the Orien-
tai Navigation company.
Previous to the opening of the
actual auction ten bids were received
by mail and wire.
These included offers by the Inter-
national Mercantile Marine Munson
line, G. B. Richards, Oriental Naviga-
ton; James Elwell; Polish Legation !;
French line; Moore and Mccormick;
International Bureau of Supplies and
American Ship and Commerce CON-
pany.
All bids, those sealed and those
made in the auction must be sub
mitted to the senate commerce COM
mittee for approval before accept
ance. '.-.. PHI.
A reply to the resolution of Sena.
tor Brandegree requesting President
Wilson to state what agreement, If
any, exists between this government
and that Of Great Britain as to the
sale of former German liners will
come from the white house within
forty eight hours, it was authorita-
lively learned.
Wilson's answer, It Is declared, will
state very 'emphatically' that there IS
no basis for the report.
At ten o'clock Thomas A. Scott of
the shipping board began to offer the
ships in groups of four and five &C
cording to the service in which the
shipping board asked that the bidder
promise TO continue them. AT eleven
o'clock Scott had gone through the en-
tire list with no bids. He then asked
that bids be offered according to any
grouping the purchaser might wish. 1t
was then that the first bid was put in.
Nearly one hundred ship operators
and business men crowded the outer
office of Chairman Payne to attend
the sale.
All the prospective bidders had
equipped themselves with pads and
pencils; frequently they asked ques.
tions.
There were many long silences how