The New York herald., 1921-04-15
Merchant Marine Scuttle.

Mefcnant W8rlne SCukIAc.
President HARDGNGs message 10
Congress called for the transportation
of our overseas freight under the
American flag, and that is what
every American would like TO see. But
unless we put our shipping on keel
down business basis in all respects 1t
is easier said than done.
We now have the ships, thanks TO
the vast building programme forced
upon US at whatever cost by the war;
we have the export trade because OF
our Incompatible supplies required
by the world. we have the import
trade because we are the prize selling
market sought by foreign producers
we have the genius and the hardihood
for maritime activities, but unless we
can put cargoes into our bottoms, out
ward bound and homeward bound, our
merchant marine fleets can be nothing
but decaying hulks.
And our ships cannot get the freight
If they do not do the business as
cheaply and as well as the competing
vessels Of other countries.
Mr.. HARDING himself, discussing
elsewhere the home marketing Of our
farm products. put his finger on the
trouble which ails our shipping as
well as our commerce when he said:
"There is little sentiment In the trade
Of the world. Trade can and ought
TO be honorable. but 1t knows no SYM
pathy." This IS as true Of ocean
freights as Of steel billets, or wheat,
or hides, or pickles. The lowest bid
gets the business.
If, as Mr.. HARDING suggests. we
mark off the egregious costs Of build
ing our ships and charge the mark
off to war expense, we still have to
operate the ships on competitive
basis. Our ship owners and man
ayers. as required by the "a Toilette
act, which makes for the extermina
ton OF our merchant marine, cannot
carry bigger crews than foreign YES
sells carry, cannot work the bigger
crews shorter hours than foreign ves-
sells work their crews, and cannot pay
such crews much more wages than
foreign vessels pay their crews and
still stay in the game.
Even II, as Mr.. HARDING suggests
those suicidal shipping laws are re-
pealed or amended to put our vessels
on even terms with foreign vessels
so far as concerns labor costs OF
crews, American ships must be able
to do their repairs on something like
even terms with foreign ships, they
must be able to take on their food
and other supplies, carry their insur
ance, do their loading and slowing
on something like even terms, or COM
peting ships Of foreign nations, built
more cheaply, maintained more
cheaply and operated more cheaply.
will drive our merchant marine clean
Off the seas.
We cannot fool anybody else, and
it is Of no use to fool ourselves, about
our utter helplessness against merd-
less competition in a cold blooded
business contest so long as we are on
a false economic basis Unless, after we
squeeze the water out of inflated ship
valuations, we also hammer down all
production costs of new construction
and fatten out operating costs, we
shall be compelled by our victorious
rivals on the seven seas to haul down
the Stars and Stripes on Mr.. HAIR
DrNa's patriotically described but eco
nomically impossible "reguarly op-
Grated routes to every market in the
world" Until we can meet the eco
nomic enemy with ships, costs and
rates as good as his we cannot make
our merchant marine supreme; we
shall scuttle Il