New-York tribune., 1921-08-04
The Way to Get Out

one of the most helpful, most en-
couraging things that the Congress
can do in the interest of Yankee ship
ping, and that it should do without
delay, is to put on passage the Ed
monds amendment to the merchant
marine act of 1920, providing for the
| disestablishment of the army and
navy transport services and limita-
ton of the competitive activities
of the government-owned Panama
Steamship Company.
Too long have the army and navy
been permitted to cut the throat of
our merchantmen. Too long have
they been permitted to compete with
our a-venturing business.
The Edmonds bill is still in COM
mlttee. Representatives of the army
and navy and the Panama company
have put their views of it upon rec
ord, and now spokesmen of the ship
ping world. whose losses, whose
deficits, cannot be made good by ap-
propriations Of public money, are
about to give their side of the story.
And theirs is tale. As it is un-
folded it will lead, we trust, to the
enlightenment in particular of one
Rufus Hardy, Representative of
Texas. and member of the COM
mittee. When the gentlemen who
represent such states as Texas and
Iowa and Missouri and our great
internal domain begin to think in
terms of ships we are going to get
somewhere at sea again; not until
then.
At the opening of the hearing on
the bill Mr.. Hardy, putting himself
in opposition to the views of Mr..
Edmonds, disclosed the fact that he
had been a passenger on a govern
ment transport.
For instance" said Mr. Hardy in
defense, con the trip we took, to be
perfectly frank about it, we paid
S1.75 per capita for our bed and
board, and we We're given to under
stand that that paid all the expenses
incurred by the government by rea-
son of our going"
The gentleman from Texas is due
to learn that that $1.75 a day that
he IN his innocence believed paid
"all the expenses" was about half
the daily wage OF the man who
served his morning coffee. He is due
to learn that ships cost even the
American government something to
build, and that they must be kept in
repair, and that they must be
manned and that they must burn
coal or oil to move from port to port
upon the seas. And in addition he
is to learn that besides taking into
account all of these items the private
ship owner must struggle with in
terest charges on the capital invested
in his vessels, with insurance, with
tonnage dues, with Wharfage and
port fees and a thousand and one
other things, not forgetting some re-
turn for his venture and effort.
The army is operating line to
Antwerp, line to Panama, line
to Manila and line to Alaska. The
navy has line in the Atlantic and
one in the Pacific. Let merchant
lines take their places. Let the un-
economic competition cease. There
will be merchant ships to replace
them, ships to further our commerce
and relations abroad, ships that we
shall need against such an hour as
/ found us in 1914 bereft of ships.
Britain got rid of her government
transports in she '70s. Japan let's
her merchantmen do her carrying.
Germany in the fullness of her
strength employed them.
The Edmonds bill is one way of
/ getting the government out of bust
ness. And the best way we know Of
getting out is to get out.