New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-10
Ship Boards
Bud get Sliced
To 48 Million
House Committee Cuts Huge
Items FromSlOO, 600. 900
Asked and Recommends
Mum erOus Economics
Save Fleet, Lasker Pleads
May as Well End Army and
Navy, Chairman Contends.
a. the Merchant Marine

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9.-The Igonse
appropriations Committee to-day cut
squarely in two Chairman Lasker,s
request fer $l00,OOO,00o to run the
Shipping Board until January l. 1900
and reported out bill ca)ljne for
S4S,500,OOO. The House comm;t+oo
action followed plea made by Chair
man Lasker that "if you do not main
tain your merchant marine Won roicbt
as we'll end your army and most of
your navy and let the merchant marine
die"
The committee, in arriving At its
estimate of $48,500,0OO, however, recon-
mended numerous economies which il
peheVed would materially reduce the
Shipping Boards financial moods
Twenty-seyen and q half millions we've
Topped OFT on the ground that oDeration
costs would De less than during the
iast fiscal year. Reduction Of the nnn,-
Der CT Shipping Board employees in Eu-
rope from 800 to 400 to twenty or
mended ' 'UOo''l-
In addition to THIS tho conn,;+.oo
eliminated S2a,0O00OO which bad 49,,
asked for the settlement Of PRESSING
claims P'0'S'"g
Recitcs Huge Deficits
me committee report SAID the
',';sI, nGara 5 aeflclt July Is was S16, 100000,
e'a6n ~iln an an apparent loss Of approximately
9zOo,oUU,oOO OH operations for the fiscal
N late
aGaed, y. showed loss of more than
$40 100000 in operations.
he most substantial gains ia he
MADE IN reducing the cost OF oDora-
uohs, the committee report declared
Snould come from the abolition Of
thc present method OF chartering sbiDs
whereby the Emergency Fleet Cornora-
ton pays all the expenses Of opcration
and thc managing operator receives =
percentages OF the gross revenue from
the VOYAGE 0''
Mr.. Laskcr. in his testimony before
inc Appropriations Committee. frankly
admlttcd that Shipping Board aFairs
had descended to the new board in such
muddle that tho board had not yet
been able to learn how many oblipa-
tIons were outstanding and what liti-
CATION was likely TO be decided ad-
Yversely to the government. He urged.
however, in concluding his testimony,
that Congress back the merchant ma
rinc as vital to the country.
"lf you lot the merchant marine
die he said, "you have killed your
army for overseas purposes and you
cannot Justify it in tho end to the
country or yourselves, because if the
army is ever to 90 overseas again it
must be supplied with food and with
They must come through
the merchant marine trained for that
purpose in times of peace
When you come to a merchant ma
rine for peace time purposes and peace
trade, We have expanded into new
era in America We have got TO be
y dominant wo~if y. 'ioN In those
hard times Britain, Holland and the
Scandina.ians VIII furnish Us with
boats, but when times get good do you
think they are going to give us boats
for our trade when their trade needs
them ?"
Bids on Wooden Ships
The Shipping Board met to-day and
took up the question Of the disposi-
tion of the wooden ships. 1t had been
that Chairman Lasker
would recommend that the fleet be
towed out 10 sea and sunk, inasmuch as
bids had been found to be totally unsat-
isfactory. 1t developed, however. that
a bidder had agreed to pay S2.100 for