Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-10-06
Thursday, October 6, 1921.
MERCHANT MARINE, TO HAVE
OR NOT To'HAyE

] Shipping Board gave the Associated
Advertising Clubs 4 ringing speech,
Wednesday. If speeches could make
the man in Oshkosh realize that his
business would be better had we a
I well established and successful rner-
chant marine disposing Of our sur
then would Mr.. Lasker accomplish
! much.
When SURPRISES accumulate" he
said, prices are demoralized and en-
! ploynent, ends until the excess has
I been consumed" There can be no
doubt of this, yet how many think Of
it?
Lack of ships fsn't the explanation
Of the present accumulation of our
surplus. Lack of established chan-
! uels of foreign trade through the
medium of American shipping may.
however, have something to do with
it. 1t must be admitted. though, that
the prospect of establishing those
channels in the near future is not all
together encourag cement. 1t is fortu-
nate that this Board has a chairman
not easily daunted. When he took
over the duties of his position six
teen weeks ago he found $500 en-
ployes with an annual salary roll of
nearly sixteen million dollars, and it
is fair to infer, though he doesn't say
so, that these salaries were not be-
ing earned. He does say that he i'm
mediately had to call in an entirely
new body of executives to handle the
work. that he found the accounting
system collapsed and no statements
showing the financial condition of af-
fairs. He claims that he has re-
duced salaries to approximately
twelve million dollars and employees
to 5000 and financial reports are be-
ginning to come in so that he and
the country are at last in a way to
learn where they are at.
This country, he tells US, is today
in possession of 1850 ocean-going
steel ships Of ten and a half million
lightweight tons. One third the
tonnage in dead weight he says is in
good condition. one third in fair and
the other third for all practical pur-
poses are total loss. Nevertheless
he takes the view that if the whole
three and a half billion dollars cost
were written off today the govern
ments war operations would not owe
the people a penny, one reason being
that even if the ships did not actually
participate in war activities the
knowledge on the part OF Germany
that we had them on the ways if not
ca the way helped to break her NOR
ale. Nor could the twenty billion of
foreign trade since theArmistice been
carried on except for these ships.
The future does not appear hope
less to Mr.. Lasker, but he does not
overlook several reasons why it
might be. such as the increase in
shipping all over the world and the
decrease in trade needing it. So that
America with ITS high standards of
wages is brought into drastic compe-
tition at an unfavorable time with
the shipping Of the rest OF the world.
But there vet is to be considered the
absolute NECESSITY to our woll-beinr
OF a merchant marine, for which we
already have all the necessary shins
How get them into private hands,
This can be accomplished by the
waving of no magic wand, as Presi-
dent Harding sees. Foreign shipping
interests are striving to take and
keep, as they have right to do. To
meet them Mr.. Lasker would bring
the affairs Of the Board to such a con-
dluon as to apply the provisions of
The Jones act under which our mail
would be carried by American ves-
sells and our railroads would give
preferential rates to goods Skinned
in American bottoms. Some see in
this trouble from reprisals but the
chairman of the Shipping Board evil
IDENTIFY is convinced that something
like this must be done if we are to
nave merchant marine also that
We must have a merchant marine He
will find strong endorsement of his
position and warm admiration for his
courage and energy and he will need
all Of it.