Evening star., 1921-07-29
Editorial Digest
The Ship Board Deficit.


When Chairman Lasker announced
that Uncle Sam must pay a $3so.000.7
900 deficit to salvage the Shipping
Board, it left the American news
papers little to do, but express their
indignation at the bad news and their
hope that the new head of the board,
whom most Of them praise for his
franLness. would make the best of
it, There are few suggestions, ex-
cept that offenders be punished and
that present expenditures be cut
down.
There is a tendency on the part of
a number of writer's to accept the
deficit which "astounded" the Presi-
dent as a matter of course. "All
that ever happens when the govern
ment sets it's hand to any business
is that the public gets poorer serv-
ice. pays a very high price for it in
the first instance. and, in the sec
ond instance. is submerged by tidal
waves of taxes to wash out the stag
gering deficit of ruinous government
operation" This opinion, expressed
by the New York Herald Gndepend-
ent). is reinforced" by Mr.. Lasker's
report.
The Philadelphia Bulletin Tepub-
lican) believes that this view is soon
to be accepted by the general public:
The vision of a great government
owned and operated merchant ma
rine. bearing the flag over the seven
seas and establishing primacy for
American carrying trade, solely
through the magic of government
ownership and management, has
largely passed. If the delusion still
fingers in any mind, the sooner 1t is
dispelled. the better"
The Springfield Union (republican)
likewise believes that lit is no longer
a shock to the public to discover that
the government cannot do such things
public treasury" This is due to the
fact, the Union believes. that the
human equation loses much OF its
value in government enterprises; but
the Birmingham AgeHerald Gnde-
pendent democratic) attributes it to
more sinister causes. A merchant ma
rine. it declares. will be a liability
instead CT an asset as long as 1t is
controlled by politicians, time-servers
and governmental misfits."
Thus the only door to merchant
marine" the New York Tribune Gre
Eublican) declares. is private owner
ship and operation with government
assistance, If necessary" The Boston
Transcript independent republican,.
asserting that the evils of govern
ment ownership when applied to great
systems of land transportation have
now become evident in the failure on
the high seas. concludes with the plea:
Let the government get out of the
shipping business as it retired from
the railroad business"
However, not all the writer's are
content to dismiss the matter simply !
ha hac cts @f INA
cheney. The New York Evening !
Post GndeEendent- lays down three |
fundamental reasons for the shipping
tangle. First, ii was built at war
cost. Second. lit is now thrown on a
broken back world market" and in
the third place. the former Shipping !
Board administration sinned against
intelligence and courage" by selling
ships ''at home and abroad on attrac- |
tive terms before the market began
to fall" and by not tying up ships
where operation involved a loss. !
been to our pride and our aspira ,
tionS.''
The st. Louis Post-Dispatch (inde- !
pendenO, aiming at the same point, !
touches on the political aspect of the
situation: "A republican Congress
years. There has been both change
of party and change of condition, with
recently "a change of administration. |
Why not quicker change of system?
Not a cent more of public money
should be voted to a public merchant
marine operation until the system
has been changed"
The New York World (democratic)
hopes the experience will serve Chair ;
man Lasker as an example. He will
be wise" it remarks, Ito rely no more
upon Congress for assistance in his
trouble than the law requires, lest he
find himself worse off than before"
The Philadelphia Public Ledger Gnde- |
pendenD declares there is no excuse in
busineSslike America, where we pride
ourselves on our fiscal science and our
financial astutenesS," for this "hit-or-
miss accounting. Punishment, it con-
cludes. ''of those guilty Of proved dere-
Lotion may be taken for granted" The
people of the United States, as the Bal
tlmoree Sun independent democratic)
remarks in a similar vein. ''are thor
Oughly sick, tired and disgusted with
such exhibition of Grass incompetency.
or worse. in Washington. They are in
no mood to hear any apologies for
them.''