The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-08-09
SHIPPING ACT
IS DEFENDED
Measure Held to Be In Line With
Similar Acts of Germany,
Japan, France and Spain.

Washington, Aug. S.-Provisions of
the Merchant Marine Act giving pref
erential rail rates on export and i'm
port commodities carried in American
bottoms are in line with practices
adopted in Germany, Japan, France,
Spain and other countries, Admiral
Benson. chairman of the United States
Shipping Board, declared in a letter
to Commissioner of the Port, w. IT.
Christensen, of Seattle, Wash, made
public here today
These provisions were inserted by
congress at the request of the Ship
ping Board, Admiral Benson said, and
are designed to offset 1.-The countless
against American shipping with which
the Shipping Board ships and private
ly owned vessels of the United States
have had to contend"
ALLOWING a differential export rate
lower than the domestic rate upon the
rail shipments within the country Is
purely a domestic prerogative," the
chairman declared. Each nation may
unquestionably determine for itself
that such rates may be made and that
they shall be limited in applications
to cargo carried in vessels of it's ma
tionals The Board of Trade report
to the British government made in
1918 regarding shipping policies con-
ceded that the control of such prac-
tice cannot properly be made the SUBJ
ject of such a treaty"
Chairman BeDson's letter was in
reply to one from Commissioner
Christensen, who declared that since
the major part of the Oriental COM
merce with Puget Sound was carried
icyn lC he nTaf f,f
the discriminatory features of the
Merchant Marine Act might result in
the division of that commerce to Ca
madam ports. Admiral Benson said
that threats of foreign carriers to
transfer their Pacific coast operations
to Vancouver. should preferential rates
be granted for American ships, were
not worthy of consideration.
Unless American ships be substi-
tuted for foreign ships in the carrying
of the greater part of your Oriental
commerce." the chairman said "the
shipyards of Puget Sound. which have
given employment to many thousands
of workmen, bringing abundant pros
perity to your community, must close
their gates, dismiss their employees
and as an industry cease to exist. Few,
if any, repairs to foreign shipping are
made in American yards, nor does the
use in our trade with foreign ships
encourage the building of American
ships in American yards, the bene-
fits of which should be apparent to the
merchants in other business interests
of Puget Sound"
Discussing the giving of preferen-
tial rates in other countries, the chair
man said that France had given a 90
percent discount upon export freight
moving in French vessels to New
York and other ports, including those
of Great Britain, and that Spain also
was using that method along with
many other preferentials in the wav
of subsidies and subventions with
Spanish ships.
Japanese ships in the past" he
said, were able to quote the same
rates to interior points in japan as
other nations were able to quote TO
the seaports of that country, a diff
ferential quite sufficient to have en-
abled them in the absence of like
preferential rates within the United
States for our own ships, to contral
the railroutings within the United
States, and the yhave done so in many
American ships and at times to GER
tain American ports"