The Washington herald., 1922-12-06

q celebrated English writer on mari
time affairs that It 10 impossible b,
subsidies to compel men to patronis<
American ships involves two erro
neous assumptions" namely. tina,
the American Government intendi
to obtain for its people the cheapes'
possible transportation. which would
mean that American vessels will b.
patroni,ed, while secondly, British
laws and British regulations at thit
very minute are forcing American
cargoes to 20 on British ships"
Commissioner Plummer explained
that the commercial purpose Of the
proposed legislation, recently passed
by the House and now pending be
fore che Senate, ''is to give the people
of the United States cheap and ade
quate transportation that will NEAR
enlarged markets"
He pointed out that recently wher
q prominent editorial writer. "ob
viously fair-minded. but opposed te
Government aid." said that the ship
ping bill would not give one penny
to any merchant ship which trade,
between foreign ports" knew nttl'
OF the fundamental facts. He said:
We propose aid to Government
vessels for the purpose Of giving
the producers and consumers IN
this country the advantage OF
cheaper transportation. between
their markets and the markets in
which they buy and sell, than their
competitors enjoy. To aid our
ships in giving our competitors
cheaper transportation would be
in a measure to nullify one OF the
prime purposes of this proposed
shipping act.
MEANS VAST SAVING.
II the question be asked-how
can cheaper freight rates be ex-
pected when shipping profits are
on the average SO low at present
the answer is to be found IN the
Department of Commerce figures
for last year. one hunoreu anu
,thirty-seven million tons of ship
ping engaged in the handing OF
our eighty-five million tons OF
freight: and when We except from
that freight the oil carried IN
bulk we have a still greater dts
crepancy between tonnage employ
ed and freight carried.
Had those general cargoes been
carried by vessels loaded to their
capacity the freight rate could
have been cut in half and the net
revenue would have been the
same, Therefore, legislation which
puts American vessels in a posi-
M a
secure full cargoes means vast
saving in the cost of ocean carry
ing business. and a consequent In
crease in American business.
There is an abundance OF his
tory to demonstrate this truth,
and our South American services
are proving it right along.
Another mistake made by that
same editorial writer is the state
ment that this bill provides for
no assistance to tramp ships.
Here he is entirely wrong. A
fundamental purpose OF the pend
ing legislation is to enable US to
give aid to tramp ships.
Another mis-statement - which
had its origin in British magazine
articles Cat least that's where
first discovered the statement
is that we are proposing to force
the British shipping people back
while we are forging ahead: the
assumption being that we cannot
increase our shipping without de-
creasing Britain's shipping. This
assumption is not only wrong. but
history demonstrates it to be
wrong; and every declaration
which every man who has advo-
Gated proper shipping legislation
has made shows that the purpose
of this bill is to produce not only
more economical ships to serve
the United States but by their
competition they necessarily will
force foreigners to provide more
economical ships, with the in
evitable result that there will be
a large increase in the world s
ocean borne business, in which in
crease foreigners will share as
well as the United States.
Several self-inspired critics have
been asking this. to them. crushing
question, How 10 It that England,
with her higher wages. Is able to
compete with other foreigners
more cheaply operated ships? The
answer is so obvious that to ask
the question II to confess ones
ignorance. England's business and
England's shipping are always in.
terlocked. Three hundred and TWEEN.
ty-four British coaling stations
scattered all over the world and
thirty-three million tons of coal,
which, prior to the war England
was furnishing for bunkering
steamships, IL one part of the an.
swer.
The statement recently made by
Sir Frederick Lewis, president of
the chamber Of shipping of the
United Kingdom, regarding the
dividends which his steamship
lines are now receiving from the
great business investments which
represent the previous earnings of
England's ships 10 another one OF
the answers.
The secret agreements Of Eng
land with Germany and France
by which the business of the
North Atlantic was divided among
the ships OF these nations-all
made by President Wilson's for
mer Secretary of Commerce, is
another part Of the answer.
CITES VARIOUS CASES.
Tariff determinations which rot
the trans-continental railroads
Of the United States to benefit
the Canadian railroads md