The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-08-07
j. S. FLEET WORTH
ENTIRE WAR COST,
DECLARES LASKER
Boats Absolute Necessity, You
Must Have Confidence,
Chairman Tells Congress.

rosy side" OF the Shipping Board
situation. House leaders are preparing
to take the floor and urge Congress
to send more good money after the
bad money" already invested in the
emergency fleet.
Although repeating that the Ship
ping Board as 1t stands is the great
est commercial wreck In history"
Chairman Lasker declared In the
hearings just made public that the
fleet could be built into a merchant
marine asset worth more than the
entire cost of the war.
Whether or not the merchant ma
rine becomes a $26. 0OO, 000, 900 asset or
remains a commercial wreck per-
manently, Chairman Lasker told the
House committee on appropriations
depends upon the willingness OF Con-
gress to back up the executive branch
of the Administration in completely
overhauling the Shipping Board and
In rejuvenating the merchant fleet.
Get First Insight.
Chairman Lasker's testimony Is
viewed here by leaders as remark
able In that 1t has given them the
first real insight into existing condi-
tons In the Shipping Board, which
congressional spokesman have come
to regard as a white elephant.
wished on the Government as legacy
of the war.
The Shipping Board chairman, In
the course of his testimony. repeated
ly offered to take responsibility Tor
putting the fleet on It's feet, and prom
ised to make a demonstration OF effi
cheney within six months II Congress
would back him up. Members OF the
appropriations committee are inclined
to take the new Shipping Board chair
man at his word as the best way out
of the existing dilemma
The rosy side" OF the shipping
Board story, in Chairman Laskers
own words, follows:
81 lust want to wind up with the
ROSY side OF this thing. There is a
good and a necessary side, and i do
not want to come here and discourage
Won entirely on your merchant marine.
You have It and you have to keep II
up.
Must Show Confidence.
Until you decide upon definite
policy and create definite atmos-
phere in the country that you are
going to keep IT up, II Is going 10
cost the Government tens OF millions
Of dollars because of the lack OF con
fidence in 1t.
Someone, at least, has to show
confidence in the future OF the Amer
lean merchant marine. and that some
one can only be Congress. In time OF
war the Jones act says what the mer-
chant marine is to be-and l refer
to the Jones act so specifically because
that ia the charter under which we
work-an arm Of the army and navy.
III you do rot maintain your mer-
chant marine you might as we'll end
your army and most OF your navy
and let the merchant marine die. But
when you let the merchant marine
die you have killed your army for
overseas purposes, and you cannot
Justify il in the end TO the country
or yourselves, because IL the army is
ever to go overseas again II must be
supplied with food and munitions.
They must come through the mer.
chant marine. and they must come
through a merchant marine trained
for that purpose in times OF peace.
when you come to the second
score, OF a merchant marine for peace
time purposes. for peace pursuits and
peace trade. we have expanded into a
new era in America. We have become
dominant world nation. In these
hard times Britain, Holland and the
Scandinavians will furnish us with
boats, anything to make money, but
they are going to give us boats for
our trade when their trade needs
them?
You have before Congress a re.
quest for 500, 900. 900 from the farm.
ers Of this country for a revolving
fund, with the right to issue $1,000
600, 900 securities; in other words, their
request being that we issue obliga
tions of the government direct to the
extent Of 81 100. 900. 900, and for what
purpose? Export.
Farmers Need Ships.
I'VE were, up until few years ago
a self-sufficient nation, and we con
sumed within ourselves what we pro
duced, but now we have surpluses, and
unless those surpluses go into export
the domestic price Of things will be sc
depressed, through the SURPRISES hang
ing over the domestic market that the
farmer will find himself, as he now
states, in financial collapse.
Whether we grant or do not grant
the farmer the money, he still has to
have exports. What, in the end, Is
the profit in the export business? The
freights.
The freights, to use a poker term
ore the kitty of the international poker
game Of trade. Great Britain, which
has only one vast raw material-coal-
liz glad to bring raw materials from
overseas, fabricate them, and II they
can get just the cost of the labor and
coal, they are glad to take their profit
In their freights.
so for peace times, both that We
have our boats to carry our trade
when and where we need them and
are not at the mercy of the foreign
nations, who will shut us off from
boats when trade gets good and kill
off our commerce, and because the
profit in the international business
Is the freights, we have to Keep ur
this merchant marine.
THE war proved that we needed q
merchant marine for war PURPOSES