New-York tribune., 1920-12-21

set had built up its organization wholly
out OF men Of this kind, of whom. un,
fortunately, it did have very few. the
country would have escaped current
revelations OF the havoc wrought By
amateurs and crooks is hard to de-
termlne which class has actually done
tne greater injury.
Among American ship owners and
builders there is firm confidence that
the change of Federal control viii
quickly bring a better informed and
more businesslike control of the neccs-
sariiy close relation between the mari
time interest and the government. We
already have the ships-a vast war
pulit fleet of 100000 tons-and the
real question of our merchant marine
IS how to enable it to run Drofitah1,-
IN competition with foreign shinpinc
that has the present double advantaee
OF lower wage operating costs and some
direct and indirect official encourape
ment.
Z. S. Shipping Handicapped
Take, for specific example. the cues
ton as it appears in the case Of Great
hritaln, which is our chief and most
1ormioable competitor. British cargo
steamers nave q present advantage in
tAe cost OF manning and provisioning.
OF from $500 to 200 month over
Amerlcan vessels Of like type and ton
nage-or one-third more than this.
making allowance for the present abb
normal rate of exchange. British pas
5ehger, mali and cargo liners, potential
! y the most valuable clement of the
British mercantile marine. possess the
same advantage in manning costs over
American steamers Of the liner class.
and enjoy, in addition, the ADVANTAGE
OF a system Of postal and Admiralty
subsidy and subventon initiated in the
infancy OF steam navigation almost a
century ago and never since abandoned.
Other natlons-like France, Norway,
italy, Sweden, Spain and Japan-all
have the advantage over our ships of
lower wage costs, and all, in addition,
grant suhventiors to their principal
regular passenger and mail lines. Some
OF these nations, notably France, Italy
ana Japan, grant direct bounties to
shlpbuilding as we'll as to navigation.
That is to say, the new American
merchant marine faces the double dis
advantage, Of a lower wage or labor
cost of operation and of a consider
able degree of governmental aid long
received by at least part Of the ship
ping CT its foreign Competitors. OBJ
viously, therefore, our merchant ma
rlne, in order to live and thrive, must
nave, first, sufficient aid to offset the
higher wage and living standards of
our ships and crews and, second. suf
iicient aid to Offset foreign subventions.
bounties and like help, wherever given.
Protection the Chief Need
Briefly, what our merchant shjnnino
now requires is 2roteetion-prctoc ction
equivalent to that long bestowed
through the tariff with such striking
success on American manufacturing
and agriculture. This is absolutely ali
there is to what too many Of our pco-
pie regard as the hopelcssly comnlex
problem of the American merchant ma
rine. 1t IS, in fact, 4 very clear and
SIMPLE proposition, which can best be
stated IL simple human terms.
Let Us take concrete, personal
case; Three brothers are born in a
farmhouse On the New England coast.
%neTe for generations descendants Of
the Puritans, Americans Of the Ameri-
cans, have been forced to plough both
sea and land TO earn livelihood. These
three brothers receive the same edu-
cation IN the village schoolhousc and
academy, and two of them leave their
home, one for Massachusetts factory
town, one for farm in the Dakotas.
while the third son stays behind to
folio" the snipowners and sailors
u ctt, c> nave his IOTDCalS Tor
generations.
What the three brothers quickly en-
counter is just this-that their govern
ment mas one law and policy for the
MANUFACTURER and farmer-the policy
oI liberal constant protcction-and
only policy Of neglect for the ship
owner and seaman, which until the
great war had continued for many
years. The brother in the Massa-
chusetts factory has competitor in
England, whose mill costs perhaps one
half Of what he has paid for his mill
and It's machinery. and whose workers
receive wages only about half as great
The second brother on the Dakota
farm has competitor in western Cam
ada. whose land was made available
TO him at Il lower price and who pays
subs tantiaily lower wages to the lanor
that plants his fields and gathers his
narves.s.
No Tariff to Aid Shipping
Nevertheless, the manufacturers
brother and the farmer-brotner live
and thrive, because their government
interposes, for their protection IN their
own market, tariff law that offsets
the wage and other Disadvantages Of
their competitors and gives Shcm an
equal chance and more. Before the
productS OF the EnRllsh foctOry or the
Canadian farm can actually meet the
products Of the Massachusetts factory
or the Dakota farm they have 10 pay
revenue tax to the United States
government that evcns up the terms of
competition.
But the other brother Of the trio
the sailor brother, becoming an Of
icer on an Anne rican ovcrscas shiD, or
In time part owner Of II, has no
tariff TO help him no governmental
aid whatsoever. The product Of his ship
IL service, and in rendering that scry-
ice his ship compc tes. not merely IN
foreign ports, blt right in our own
po rts, with the British ship, the FreGcn
ship, tho Italian ship, the Scandinavian
ship, aye, With the japanese ship, on
terms Of absoiute free trade: with no
com pcnsating o'fsct whatever for the
far lower wages NJ the foreign ship, or
Ii she is Ia liner for the subvention
from her government.
Il it suTDrizing that in the face Of All
these condltions while the nanufactur-
erbrother and his farmcr-brothcr are
both succcssfpl, steadily adding the
one to his plant thc other 10 his acres
the shipoWner brother ~ beaten in his
uneven coutest and finally driven from
the seaI
Tnle instance, which Is real and not
imaginary in fact, the New England
coast has afforded thousands Of just