Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-27
Making Ships Into
Trade
tFrom the Philadelphia I.edger.)

There Is now ground for hope that
the national white elephant repre-
sented by the huge fleet of vessels
| built by the government during the
war may be turned into national
asset of tremendous importance.
The promise Of that happening is
held out in the announcement of A.
ID. Lasker. chairman of the Shipping
board, that the Emergency Fleet
corporation Is to be revived and
transformed from an agency for
: building ships into an agency for
I operating them. Most significant in
Mr.. Lasker's statement is that he has
| been able to induce J. Barston Smull
and William j. Love Of New York
and A. j. Frey of San Francisco to
accept appointment as vice presi-
dents of the Fleet corporation, to
have absolute control of the opera
ton of the hundreds Of ships now
constituting the governments fleet.
Mr.. Lasker says these men, who en-
ter the service at a personal sacri-
flee, represent "the best brains of
the shipping world" and the dispo-
sition of those who know the sub
ject intimately seems to be to echo
a hearty second to his opinion.
In the announcement Of the re-
viyal of the Emergency Fleet corpo-
ration as a ship agency we
find that the Harding administra-
ton effects a startling reversal of the
policy that htas prevailed. When
the war ended and the United States
found itself with huge fleet of
ships, enormous stocks of shipbuild-
ing materials on hand or contracted
for and large shipyards Of mush-
room growth dotting her two sea-
coasts. it was decidedly embar-
raised as to what to do with them.
The cry went up. "Liquidate"
Whether shortsightedly or not, that
was the policy embarked upon. Ac-
cordingly, the tremendous assets of
the Emergency Fleet corporation
were dumped on the market. Every
thing that could be sold was sold,
almost regardless of price. The psy-
chology Of the government and
good part of the public toward the
governments war investment in
shipping was almost that of panic.
There was some objection, but there
was always one answer that seemed
to silence criticism: what else can
you do?"
In its new announcement of pur-
pose the administration proposes an
answer to that question. The presi-
dent, desirous of not losing the war;
born opportunity for creating a for
midable American merchant marine,
has called a halt on the destructive
policy and substituted a constructive
policy. A vigorous and determined
attempt is evidently to be made to
use government-owned ships for the
upbuilding of an American carrying
trade on a scale we never knew be-
fore.
There Is no indication that the
government is to be committed per-
chant marine. Rather is the present
festation of super craftsmanship. The
ships now on hand, instead of being
disposed of apologetically as a drug
on the market, almost for their
scrapping value if they can be sold
at all, are to be used under govern
ment auspices to build up a trade
that will transform them into a go
ing concern. When they come to be
sold eventually, the purchasers will
not merely be buying fabrications
of steel designed to ride the seas.
They will, instead, be buying the
trade routes Of demonstrated value
with the means of traversing these
routes conveniently at hand.
John Wanamaker said the other
day that President Harding is the
greatest business man in the United
States. The really great business
man is the one who can transform
a great liability into a great asset
by building on practically with
large minded vision. That is what
the president has done in this case,
and it helps us to realize what Mr..
meant when he said
what he did.