The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-01-16
SHIPPING BOARD HAS DECLINED
 APPR0P RATION
Estimates Showed Board Did Not Need All
 Asked For

Washington Jan. 16.-The United
 States Shipping Board has created a
 precedent in the history of American
 governmental affairs by declining to
 accept an appropriation of $125, ,00O,-
 900. Representative James w. Good
 and Senator Francis E. Warren, the
 Republican chairnen of the Appro-
 priation Committees of the House
 and Senate respectively, have been
 notified to this effect by John Barton
 Payne, chairmen of the Shipping
 Board.
 The reason for this unprecedented
 action is that Chairman Payne has
 placed the Shipping Board on a
 peace basis in quick time and with
 out disturbing the efficiency of the , wonderful organization that sprung up overnight in April, 1917. This was i effected by a careful accounting from those who were operating the Gov ernment-buiIt vessels, a reduction in the personnel force and a consolida- ton of different departments when it could be done without destroying the organizations efficiency.
 Last autumn when the estimates for Congress were being prepared Chairman Payne requested an ad- : ditional appropriation of S16b,oOo,- 900 for the cancellation and compile llOn or COnIraCCS 1OT SIl1p Du1ioAA6' etc, and s280,000,O00 more if Con-
 gress decided upon the construction of a balanced fleet, that is, fleet containing the proper proportions of | the different types of merchant veS- sels; otherwise the latter sum would
 not be needed, MT. Payne wrote Sec l retary of the Treasury Glass MT. Payne, who took office in Sep tember, discovered after making his
 estimates that the department would | not need all he had requested. For ! instance, a thorough accounting brought to the Board more than $1oO,000,o0o the result of voyages made by the ships rented to opera tors.
 The cutting down of various di- visions then began, resulting in a total reduction of personnel payroll of about eight million dollars when ! completed.
 The construction division was re- duced by 2,000 persons at saving of S3,50O,000 and the recruiting service about the same This latter was a source of great expense during the war rush and for the fiscal year end ing June 30, 1919 cost $7,301 900. Up to December 24,. 1919 some six months, this had been reduced to $1,- 903,000, which with further reduc- tions is expected to result in a, saving of $3,50o,000 when the fiscal year ends on June 30, 1920. In addition | reductions In the Washington office l will total $300,000 annually when completed Since Dec. 1 there has been a reduction of 50 per cent. in the division of operations alone with out loss of efficiency.
 With all these actual results before him Chairman Payne thereupon noti- fled Chairman Good and Warren that he would not need s125, 100000 of the $166,o00,0OO additional asked in the estimates, and he intimated that the balance of $41, 100000 might also be waived.
 Realizing the vital importanc of keeping the appropriations as low
 as possible and making cancellations and reductions, we are driving the organization so that we may not be | compelled to make further calls upon Congress" wrote MT. Payne. The United States Shipping Board officials point out that in April, 1917,
 when the Board was organized, there
 were 61 shipyards in the United 1 States with 234 ways engaged in. l building. In November, 1919, when : the armistice was signed, there were ! Il3 yaruS With 1,12Z ways. In 1917 the United States Shipping Board and Emergency Fleet Cor poration launched 106 ships totalling E, 70S,9 97O deadweight tons; in 1918 the i number was SIP ships of 4,244,126 ! deadweight tonnage, and 1919 there i were launched 1,0S5 ships with ton
 mage of 5,ss2.277.
 There remains of the war construc-
 ton program 634 ships of 3,661,76
 deadweight tonnage, to be completed { and delivered prior to Aug. 1920.
 Eighteen ships were constructed in . Japan for a tonnage of 146, 1928. All
 these activities and the taking ove~
 of the German and Austrian ships
 gives the United States a merchant i fleet in deadweight tonnage of s. 700,912 steel ships, 1,799,123 wooden
 ships, 63,000 composite, 10000 con-
 crete or a total of 0,573, ,040, eX- cluding 3,661,767 to be completed in t1s2o.