New-York tribune., 1920-08-09
Benson Defends
Preferential Rail
Rates ON Exports
Merchant Marine Act, He De-
clares, Offsets Discrimi-
nations by Other Nations
Against U. S. Shipping

WASHINGTON, Aug 8.-Provisions
of the merchant marine act giving
preferential rail rates on export and
import commodities carried in Ameri-
can 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
letter to Commissioner of the Port
w. 1. Christensen, of Seattle, Wash,
made public here to-day.
These provisions were inserted bv
Congress at the request of the shipping
board, Admiral Benson said, and are
designed to offset "tho countless dis
ordinations by other nations against
American shipping with which the
shipping board ships and privately
owned vessels of the United States
have had to contend"
ALLOWING a difrercntal export rate
lower than the domestic rate upon the
rail shipments within the country is
purely domestic prerogative," the
chairman declared. each nation NAV
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 conceded
that the control of such practice can
not properly be made the subject of
such a treaty"
Foreign Threats Disregarded
Choi Ropcop,o 1o++o, u,o.
ply to one from Commissioner Christ
ensen, who declared that since the
major part of the Oriental commerce
with Puget Sound was carried by for
eign vessels the enforcement Of the
discriminatory features of the mer-
chant marine act might result in the
diversion of that commerce to Cana
dian ports. Admiral Benson said that
threats of foreign carriers to transfer
their Pacific Coast operations to Van
couver, should preferential rates be
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 Pugent Sound. which have
given employment to many thousands
of workmen, bringing abundant pros
perlty 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 en-
courage the building Of American ships
in American yards, the benefits of
which should be apparent to the mer-
chants in other business interests of
Puget Sound"
France Gives Discount
Discussing the giving of preferential
rates in other countries, the chairman
said that France had given a 20 per
cent discount upon export freight NOV
ing 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 way 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 ma
tions were able to quote to the sea-
ports of that country, diffcrential
quite sufficient to have enabled them,
in the absence of like preferential rates
within the United States for our own
ships, to control the rail routings with
in the United States. and they have
done so in many instances, to the dis
advantage of American ships and, at
times, to certain American ports"