Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-08-11
THE j. s. SHIPPING BOARD
Statement of the Present Financial Situation OF the
u. s. Shipping Board by Mr.. A. d. Lasker
Chairman

will prove fairly reliable.
| twill be a shock to Congress, sa
it was to the President, to hear that
the net expenditures of this enter
prise, paid out of the public funds
last year was $380,0O0,0OO. To il
lustrate the bad condition the books
are in l will say that last year the
gross operating disbursements were
$410,00O,000 That represents the
expense of the operation.
Of that amount, there is no exact
account for $310,OOO,OO0. This item
represents money disbursed for the
Board by the operators of Govern
ment owned boats who have as yet
failed to make a full accounting. 1t
is only fair to say that the operators
of a boat are always on the average
a few months behind in reporting the
accounts, because, if boat leaves
today on a four months voyage,
money is being paid out for her that
cannot be accounted for until she
shall have finished her trip; but OBJ
viously, for rs per cent of the years
operations to be unaccounted for de-
monstrates complete breakdown
and shows further that the new
Shipping Board has inherited a col
lapse that will take it's every effort
and tremendous patience to resusci-
tate.
AS I'look into the details l find
. them worse than my worst expecta-
tions. Approximately $200,00O,000,
represents absolute loss in opera.
, tions OF the fleet. There was ex-
/, pended $16O,OOO,000 on construction
of ships, divided as follows: $780, 0,000,-
900, on steel ships and the rest on
, miscellaneous ships, including an
, item of $3,O00,O00 for wood, compo-
, site, and concrete ships. What these
newly acquired assets are worth is
highly questionable.
; The plans for the steamer THE
/ AMERICAN LEGION which starts
. on her first trip in few days were
, redrawn seven times and it is easy
to see how that would run up the
y cost. First THE AMERICAN LIE
, GION was designed as an arm!
g transport, then as navy transport
n then as a hospital boat, then as ;
# hospital boat, then as cattle boat
: and after spending money on al
o these blue prints it was decided t.
transform her into a passenger shil
o and she is a very beautiful an,
v fine passenger ship. But she cos
" between six and seven million dol
q lars and that was before she sale,
: her first mile. AS a matter of fac
!. her real worth is probably half wha
# she cost. So you can see asset
" such as that are pretty sick asset
7 But after all there is fleet 1t
! the largest fleet many times owe
q that the world has ever known. S
ID our task is to make what was liza
n bility into an asset, for of course tn
10 fleet must be operated. And if W
# can solve the problem of how 1
successfully operate these ships
,- will be worth all the money the wa
J. cost to put the American MerchaT
,e Marine back on the map. If it ha
nt have this Merchant Marine, so "
in must turn our backs on the sad pa!
IN and look constructively and patien
n ly to the future.
al must appear before Congress
I'd shortly to tell them it is possible tt
j. Shipping Board will require up
an $300,000,000 for the present fiscs
q. year. 1 fear this will throw |,
et of sand in the gear box of tax rev
yb sion. The books of the Board a.
D. so absolutely incomplete and incoJ
RI petent that it is impossible to be su
IT. whe1her that $300,O0O,0O0 represen
o. all we may need; we may requi
nd more but it is the most intellige
X wild guess we can make.
[r. The President instructed me tn
no during his administration the pub
m is to have the facts-and all t
I'd facts-and that when we show loss
eh on operations of the Shipping Boal
he they shall be the actual losses. An
lev thing realized from the sale of &
Ten sets from now on must be cover
op- INTO the public treasury and not {
the pended as in the past. The Pre-
re- dent wants the country to get, 7
ia as in the past, picture that sho
be- what did not happen-but ey
is though it might show that we OF
my selves are incompetent, to publ
en-. jail we really lose. Now it is n
ide essary to ask the Congress for $50
be 100000 to carry US through the co
the ing year, though we will try the fl
we six months to get along on $4,000
we 900 to $125,OOO,00O. We will
SIS hide our. losses. When / say
1ey (Continued on page fVel