The New York herald., 1921-12-13
The Old Shipping Board Wreck

One fact of the Shipping Board re-
port for the past fiscal year to be
looked squarely in the face by Con-
gress and the country is that it Is an
appalling exhibit. Another is that
those disastrous results cover the
year which ended with June 30, 1921.
OF that period the Harding Admins
tration was in the saddle less than
four months. In that short span the
new President could scarcely have
had time to do more than look over
the Emergency Fleet Corporation
mess. The management of Chairman
LAsKER, with his reorganized board,
was in existence only about the last
fortnight of the fiscal year for which
the report is made.
The Shipping Board receipts OF
some $60S,000,000 for that year, as
against disbursements Of some $780,
100000, do not begin to tell the story
of staggering loss on operation alone.
With nearly S106, 100000 of those re-
ceipts coming from appropriations
and more than S57,00o,000 from sales
Of vessels, materials. &C., the oper-
ating receipts, in fact, were only
1856, 100000, showing an apparent
operating loss not far from a quarter
Of billion Of dollars.
The assets carried at more than
three billions of dollars include ST.
400,000,000 for purchases, construc-
tions and reconditioning of vessels
"owned, available and in process;
but nobody knows how much they
are worth as marketable PROPOSE
ton. Accounts receivable at more
than 1924, 900, notes receivable at
more than S7S.0O0,000; advances at
more than $31,000,000 and invest
ments In housing, &C., at more than
SS4,000,000, may be good for 70 cents
on the dollar or they may be good
for 10 cents on the dollar, for all any.
body can say; but certainly they are
not worth anything like what they
are carried at on the books. The new
Shipping Board gives fair warning
that they are not and that these
items must be marked down to meet
the shrinkage in their values.
| 1t was this condition which moved
I Chairman LAsKEE, soon after he be-
came head of the Shipping Board
early last summer, to describe the
Governments merchant marine ven
ture as the most colossal business
wreck in the world. 1t was this con-,
dition which set him to thorough re-
organization of the whole outfit. The
new board under Chairman LAsKER
is not operating on any Of the lines
Of the previous management. The
policies are different, the activities
are businesslike and the whole ham
ding of the perplexing problem is
more vigorous and forceful. Order
has been brought out of chaos and
business capacity is on the job.
But the fact remains that with the
preponderance of the Shipping
Boards vessels tied up in idleness.
with ocean freight rates falling lower
and lower under fierce foreign compe-
tition for what carrying trade there
is and with tied up ship scarcely
less costly to maintain than voyag
ing ship, this stupendously losing
business venture OF the Government
imperatively requires the early atten-
ton Of Congress and drastic action
by the whole Government.
Whether the hundreds OF idle ships
are TO be towed out to sea and sunk
as the quickest and surest way to
stop the ruinous charges of keeping
them afloat. or they are to be sold
for song, or given away, or are to
have cargoes forced into their bot
toms by legislative act, providing for
subsidy or other aid of the nature of
subsidy. the terrific Shipping Board
losses which are a hideous blot on
American business records cannot be
permitted to go on.