The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-03-27

The American merchant marine some time ago signalled it's intention of competing for the shipping business of the world.
 Radiating from Is ports in the Unit ed States, the Shipping Board has es- tablished a network of regular freight services that provide ample facilities for the movement of the nations for eign trade to the principal and remote markets of the seven seas. The ex- tent to which the American flag has been restored may be indicated by the fact that more than 50 per cent of the American exports was carried in ships | of American registry in December. There are 26 freight services from the port of New York alone, while the other cities follow closely. Baltimore has 25, New Orleans "A, Philadelphia Is, Boston 13 and San Francisco g.
 However, a step of significance has been taken by the Government. It has decided to compete with the British, Japanese and Scandinavians for the freight of all nations. The refrig-
 orator steamer Oskaiwa, an 11-knot freighter built in an American ship yard, is en route to the River Plate section of South America to inaugur-
 ate a special foreign line, direct from l Buenos Ayres and Montevideo to the European ports in the Rotterdam Hamburg range. Following the Os-
 kawa, the American Line, the man ager of the new venture, will dispatch
 the Guirndba, Yamhill and a fourth re- frigerator ship. The fleet will main tain a regular fortnightly servIce on this important route.
 The Pacific Mail Steamship Com
 pany announced last week that il
 would establish a line girding the globe. Sailing from Baltimore and lSan Francisco, the ships will circum- navigate the world. I'm cruising around the world, the vessels, flying the American flag, will sail across the At 1antic, Pacific and Indian oceans and
 will blow through the Mediterrane can Sea The purpose in inal1guratipg the
 service, according to an official of the
 company, is to develop a complete
 able to resist foreign competition and will give adequate facilities to ship pers using American vessels. | Within the next two months the Red Star Line is planning to start for the Shipping Board a service which will have one terminus at Hamburg
 and the other at Yokohama The
 ships will operate between the two
 fixed points, touching at various ports are on the route.
 The Shipping Board has already es-
 taiblished two large groups of feeder
 ships in the Far East. The srnaA stee
 ships with an average deadweigh1
 register of $500 tons are employed tt
 calI at the more remote points tt
 collect freights for transshfpment by
 the express freight services, wtfct
 have already been developed One , group collects freight for the Paci1t
 Mail vessels, while the other fleet car Eries cargoes to the Dollar Steamship
 line terminus at Yokohama The Pa cific Mail is planning to make Manils the great trans-shipment terminus il ; the Far East, which will be to tn
 American lines what Hong Kong is tt , the British. It has eight Great Lake , ships that ply between Shanghai
 Hong Kong and Calcutta They cal
 at the ports of the Strait Settlement
 and, by virtue of their small draft
 can go ino harbors that will not ad
 init the larger cargo carriers.
 The Dollar Line makes it's principa ports in the Far East at Shangha and Yokohama. The feeder ship 2 operate up and down the coasts o
 China and Japan and accept freigh for transshipment to the Pacific Coast
 The operations of the Dollar Lin ai l spring.
 , The Barber Steamship Go. has s foreign service from Manila to port . in Continental Europe, which it ha . operated for the Shipping Board fo = several months. Not infrequent1y, = vessel will clear from New York t
 Manila and come back to the hom port by the way of Europe.
 ' According to the report Nf the Ship I ping Boards chairman. there are 29 l steel cargo carriers, aggregatin a 2,221,oS9 deadweight tons, under con l struction in American yards. Whil Z, it seems undoubtedly true that S number of the larger and better ship = will be used to improve the service . from American ports the governmen e will employ a considerable number i y the development of the special foreig
 l services.
 The Ward Line has inaugurated l. service from West Indian ports a Hamburg, with government owne a tonnage. It is starting a regular lir l. of passenger and freight vessels fro1 ; Mexico to Spanish ports, calling : q the various ports in the West Indie l. and in Cuba.
 il The development of the foreig S services which do not touch Unite l. States ports will prove whetht d American shipping can compete wit " the carriers under other flags. In JE e employment of the merchant marin s- the Shipping Board has indicated u o importance that it attaches to u 1T various operations. First, in impor ,t a:nce. it considers the carriage of ol 70 absolutely essential imports; secon r development of regular ar d :. Ifcient direct and feeder SC er vi,es to markets for our manufa ss tured and raw products for which v r. must compete with other nation sr third, the carriage of a reasonab in proportion of our exports, particular a. of raw materials in trades where tl
 ocean carriage is the only competiti