Evening star., 1922-09-03

sible to selfthese ships to America5
| owners"
o. 3. Operation Costly.
1t is unnecessary 10 reiterate tfmt
the governments wartime egrsrt-
nent with shipbuilding and opera
tion of ships cost about $4,000. 900.
ooo:, and that the Shipping Board ~
its entire operation was losing (up
to January. 1922 about $4,000, 600 I
month
In the testimony before the joiM
committees Senator Fletcher sum
marlzed the situation as follows:
We have turned over to the ship
ping interests ! 500 vessels, and these
shipping interests have been operat-
ing the vessels and we have spent
something like s2oo.00o,ooo in the
last three years covering their losses
Vice President Love OF the Emer-
gency Fleet Corporation testifeds
You never will have a merchant ma
rfne until you get II into the hands
OF private owners who pay the bills
Many Of our ships have been in pri-
vate hands. to be sure. but we have
been paying the bills" g
Mr.. Love explained that an M o."
contract is a managing-owner cor.
tract The managing owners COM
pensation is per cent on the Rross
outward earnings and 2h per cent
on the homeward earnings or freight,
There were. ii was stated, twentyt
nine managing operators May T.
1922. If there is profit, the man.
aging owner gets his percentage:
there is a loss. the government pays
the loss.
Under date of August. 1922. tn.
United States Shipping Board had 4is
steel vessels in active operation. l.o0I
steel vessels laid up and inactive
249 wood vessels inactive and 9 con.
OF 1878 vessels. 1.259 were tied up
and inactive, scattered all along the
coast. Some have never travelled un-
der their own power. The inactive
vessels include 80 tugs.
Fine ships in Fleet.
Shipping Board vessels in opera
ton are sailing on lines between
New York, Philadelphia. New Orleans
and Baltimore to Europe. Central
and eastern South America; also I'd
the west coast of South America.
Also Shipping Board vessels are op-
Grated to Cuba and the West Indies.
and between San Francisco. Seattle
and the orient. They are advertised
af1oat.
Obviously freight service is the
prime reason why American lines of
steamships TO the principal coun-
tries OF the world should be man-
tanned and protected against excess
sive competition. 1t is of Importance
that the United States should be
practically Independent of other
countries in the ocean carrying trade
that is. in the shipment of its ex-
@rN1
1855 more than so per cent OF our
imports by sea were brought in
American vessels This percentage
greatly declined until. in 1855. only
II per cent was carried in American
vessels. During the world war the
vessels increased to 40; but in the
fiscal year 1922 the percentage IN
American vessels declined to 32.37.
Our percentage of exports in
American vessels ran as high as IS
in 1880: declined to per cent in
1900: rose to 43 per cent in 1920: and
DECLINED to 36.27 per cent in 1922.
Competition in the ocean carrying
trade is intense: il will be greater
within the next few years. The
American producers and manufacturers
depend upon foreign countries and
foreign vessels to carry their exports
and imports? Is not a merchant
marine of vital Importance? Will
Congress sweep aside all prejudice
against the word "subsidy, and re-
spond to what seems to be the needs
of the times? All the leading mari
time nations. it is pointed out, eX-
tend adequate government aid OF
some scrt to their merchant marine.
Great Britain leading the list. VIII
Congress do likewise, it is asked.
and make it possible for American
ships and the American flag to sur
vive in the ocean-carrying trade?