The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-20
Ry HOLLAND

NeW Orh, July 15.-tSpeCidl.J-- J-- The place upon the bridge of the ocean steamship, George Washing ton, where President Wilson stood upon one of his trips to Europe, :s steamship is in commission Presl- dent Wilson's association with it can be visib1y preserved Perhaps it is the only part of the steamer which paint. There is no dry dock on the Atlantic coast except possibly at Newport News, which is large enough to take in a steamship of the size of the George Washington, excepting one at Boston. This Boston dry dock. which was built with private capital, was sold to the government. It IS now under control of the navy de- partment
 As the George Washington is to sail for Europe in little over two weeks, it was thought advisable to put her into this great dry dock. She steamed, therefore, from New York to Boston a day or two ago, was taken into the dock scraped and painted. The contract called for the completion of this work in 24 hours. The steamer will be ready to sail for Europe the first week in August. But the managers will not be en- barrassed by demands for cabin space. This is true of all the steam CTS which have sailed from New York since early spring. There has been plenty of cabin space and none of during the rest of the year.
 The George Washington and three other steamers of the United States Mail line will be in the course of a few months oil burners. Late in the fall the equipment of the George Washington will be changed so that she can be made an oil burner. AL ready the managers of ocean steam ship lines are convinced that there are many advantages to be obtained from the use of oil instead of coal. Probably it will not be many months before almost all of the ocean steam- CTS will be oil burners
 Some of the managers of ocean steamship lines in which American capital is invested speak doubtfuliy about the ability even of such mas ter as is the chief of the shipping board to sell the great number or ships for which market or disposi- ton of some kind must be founc. They say that it should be borne i1 mind in the first place that Gres Britain is marketing the steamers which she received from Germany at about ore half the amount necessary for duplicating a steamer. There fore the American merchant marine will be brought in competition witn these low cost steamers and 1t Will be successful competition unless radical changes in our laws are made.
 Then again, all who are familiar with the merchant marine acnisve ments of Great Britain are or .ne opinion that as England IS ieao,ns shipbuilding nation. she will De apie to huild up great fleet and to op- erate if economically. Her ship own ers are not embarrassed by nen wages or by some of the features or the American, navigation laws. EVeh though the shipping board mas . market for the vessels which were build in war days for war purposts if remains to be seen wnetner there would follow an American mercnan' n,erine which would compare with the one WnlCn VI Soe
 possesses and which she Will Tn crease. , .
 very large demand for fuel oil | is sure to be made within the next three or four years. When the mana ger of one of the steamship hncs was asked if there was any danger of a shortage of oil he replied tna' recent developments in South AmeFi' | ca made it certain that fuei OH .i srnle amounts will hereafter be op. tained. Then. too, the production o' netroleum in the United States IS m sinr notwithstanding the pre-, i dict;on that within 10 years we shai havs sxhausted our oil fields. In th'
 ,,,ontb of May nearly &2,oo0.ooo par
 reIs of petroleum were taken irot' ths American fields and these figure'
 oske a new record. How rapioiy ou'
 nstro,eum fields are yieiding Y
 shown by the fact that in May tn' daily average production was l'soo. ooo barrels beginning with Januar! and including May, the Americ.' fields yielded 21.000.00o barrels oi pe troleum more than was secured Tn ike period of the previous year.
 Steamship managers say that what ever may be the truth about Mexi can oil production. whether or no
 the fields in Mexico are being ex
 hausted. Venezuela and Columbi'
 South America, can withha snor
 time be relied upon to furn!sn Wnat
 ever may be needed by oil Dornthl
 vessels, by locomotive eneines wn'cl