Evening star., 1921-10-16

" Y WANTED, q permanent pro-
NJ gram for an American
" " merchant marine.
Doubtless the very word
shipping brings a chill to Ameri-
can taxpayers. The story of the first
United States Shipping Board and the
Emergency Fleet Corporation. from
July, 1917. to July. 1921. as finally re-
vealed and understood, is precisely
" hat Mr.. Harding called it-a "hasco.
September "a 1920. at Marion, Ohio.
the candidate for President said: Il
want to say in passing that one OF
the greatest problems of the incom-
ing administration will be to take
12.000.O00 tons of shipping. winch was
wrought in the war emergency. and
turn it into an effective agency of
widened American commerce in peace.
do not know, my countrymen, or
single failure. Of the present admin
istration comparable to that of the
been one continual fiasco from the
beginning. When the war came to
an end, with the shipping at our COM
mand, we ought to have been in posi-
tion to establish Immediately ship
lines to all parts of the world. But
efficient and scarcely functioning. In
this connection l want to promise
you that one of the first acts of the
incoming administration will be to
unfurl the flag on all the paths of
the seas"
The rise. decline and fall of the
American merchant marine, its fever
ish revival under war pressure. Is a
10, fo n n
cited in volumes of printed pages and
oceans of spoken words. Yet a state
ment of the high spots as back
ground to the present problem is IN
teresting and Illuminating. The pic
ture Of the American merchant ma.
rine might be divided into Ave parts,
or periods-the clipper Yankee ships
from 1890 to 1872, sailing on every
sea: the struggle with Great Britain
for supremacy 'in the ocean carrying
trade, between 1872 and 1855: the de-
cline and almost disappearance of the
American flag on the oceans, between
1855 and 1917; the hectic flush from
1917 to 1920; finally, the awakening
and big problem of 1921.
II is generally. undisputed that in
the early days of wooden ships abun
dance of material, native genius and a
fondness for the sea gave the Yam
KEGS great advantage. But the
greatest of all was the wisdom. of
the fathers, who by law imposed an
additional 10 per cent import duty on
foreign goods and merchandise i'm
ported in foreign vessels. The rise of
the American merchant marine and
the growth of foreign trade for more
than quarter of a century, was the
, marvel of the world, without parallel
in the history of the comercial world"
More than half of the worlds COM
merce was carried in American ships.
At the close Of the revolutionary
war, English diplomacy began Its
cunning work. A commercial treaty
with the Emitted States was consum: ::
mated providing that goods and
States in British ships shall pay no
higher duties than If imported in
American ships" This first contro-
versy between the treaty-making
power and Congress over treaties. is
graphically told in Marshalrs Life
Of Washington; and Wharton in his
international Law" says: 'The ques-
tion, therefore. which was agitated
in 1895, whether Congress can refuse
to pass acts for the execution OF trea-
ties, remains still open."
Despite this treaty. discriminating
duties were imposed, until 81 per cent
Of the ocean commerce was carried IN
American built and owned ships.
The fight between the friends OF
discriminating duties and the friends
of commercial treaties was renewed
after the war Of 1872, and in 1915 the
promoters of treaties prevailed. Com
mercial treaties with other countries