New-York tribune., 1921-03-30
entralizing
Of Activity in
ShippingUrged
Move Towards Replacing
Board With New System
Of Control Is Reported
TO Be Gaining in Favor

Sentiment among shipping men in
favor of the abolition of the Shipping
Board snd the Capitalization of the
governments marine activities is re-
ported to be growing. In some quarters
legislative action along this line is
locked for at the coming session Of
Congress.
III is understood that the views of
Precedent Harding are in favor of
amending the merchants marine act to
center authority on the Shipping Board
n the hands of one man. or for the
establishment of department. of ma
rne, with q seat in the Cabinet" saws
statement issued by the National
Merchant Marine Association, of which
Senator Joseph E. Ransdell, of Louisi-
ane, is president. ut is expected that
the board of seven members will be
appointed to serve temporarily, and
that later plans will be developed for a
change in the status of the board"
Some sentiment has been expressed
in shipping circles in favor Of central
szag the activities of the government
n bureau of shipping under the De-
partment OF Commerce. headed by al,
Assistant Secretary of Commerce fitted
hs experience to deal with the general
shipping situation.
Opposition to this plan, however, is
expressed in statement made by A.
IF. Hanes, of Seattle, vice president
!. and general manager of the Pacific
Steamship Company, operating the Ad-
miral Line.
"Nothing would please our foreign
competitors more than to have the
Shipping Board submerged in the De-
partment Of Commerce. The more the
merchant marine can be tied up with
red tape the better it will be for the
other maritime nations which are now
competing with us in the overseas
routes. Instead of winding more red
tape about our merchant feet, it is nec-
essayy that we dispense with all the
red tape possible.
"The department of Commerce has
nothing to do with ths merchant ma
rine problem. 1t is interested in de-
veloping foreign trade. It's business is
to strive to have cargo carried at the
cheapest foreign rate.
The merchant marine act provides
that the government feet shall pass
ultimately into private ownership, and
under private ownership it must be
operated TO make money. And it would
be Inconsistent to submerge it in the
Department of Commerce and then eX-
pect it to become a real merchant ma
true that we need & lot of changes, but,
instead Of being in the direction of the
Department of Commerce, they are
.eeded III the opposite direction.
Why should the Department of
Commerce have charge of our light
house bureau? What has that bureau
TO do with the work of building up ex-
ports and imports? Why should the
Department OF Commerce have any
thing to do with the Coast and Geo
detic Survey? Why should the depart
ment have the duty of employing ship
ping commissioners to sign on our
crews Where has it any logical con-
Hection with the enforcement of the
vessels, the licensing of deck and
eagine-room officers, the inspection OF
hulls and boilers and loadlines? What
haye all these activities to do with the
wors Of fostering the development of
our exports and imports?
Instead of making confusion worse
eonfounded by piiag more outside
problems on the Department of Com
merce, the only logical course to follow
is to relieve the department of ali
these extraneous activities which have
snething to- do with developing new
Overseas markets and combine them
with the srHippIuS DodIu 6iu tttc ihSi
chant marine operations in a neW de-
spartment, the Department. of Ma
srine. headed by its own Cabinet minis
ter In effect, such department would
have the same place in our national
life as the British Board of Trade in
the national life of Great Britain.
Il would divest all the other depart
ments of their connection with ship
ping, concentrating everything in the
new Department Of Marine. Under
present conditions, if we want to clear
Or enter a ship. we must go to the Gus
tom House. which reports to the Secre
tary of the Treasury. But that is not
adj. After getting through with the
Custom House we must go to the immi-
grafton officers, who report to another
department the Department of Labor.
The average business man would thank
that this was enough to effect the
clearance or departure, but it isn't. We
have still another bureau to visit-the
Public Health Service-and it reports
to still another department.
Every one OF these functions should
be concentrated in Department of
Marine Then as maritime nation we
would have chance to get some