Evening star., 1922-11-21
TEXT OF PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
URGING THE SHIP BILL

lCcntinucd from First FaGe).
ton of responsibility by the present
administration.
\ constant warfare on this loss
Of public funds and the draft to
service of capable business man
agement and experienced operat-
ing directors nave resulted in ap-
piled efficiency and enforced eco
nomics. 1t is very gratifying TO
report the dimiuutiou Of the losses
to $4.oN".o 900 per month. or total
of $50 o0o,0o year; but it is IN
tolera Bile that the government
should continue a policy from
which so enormous a Treasury
loss is the inevitable outcome. This
loss. moreover. attends operation
of less than third of the govern
ment-owned fleet.
Program to Lower Burden.
1t is not. therefore, a question
of adding new Treasury burdens
to maintain our shipping; We are
paving these burdens now. 1t is
not a question of contracting an
outlay to support our merchant
shipping, because we are paying
already | am not asking your
authorization of a new and added
draft on the public Treasury;
am appealing for a program to
diminish the burden we are al
ready bearing.
When your executive govern
ment knows of public expenditures
aggregating fifty millions annual
ly, which it believes could be re-
duced by half through change of
policy, your government would be
unworthy Of public trust if such
change were not communicating
if it were not insistently urged.
And the pity of it is that our
present expenditure in losses is
not constructive. 1t looks to- no
future attainments. 1t is utterly
ineffective in the establishment OF
dependable merchant marine,
whereas the encouragement of pri-
vate ownership and the application
of individual initiative would
make for a permanent creation,
ready and answerable at all times
to the needs of the nation.
No Provision for Depreciation.
But 1 have not properly por-
trayed all the current losses to the
public Treasury. We are wearing
out our ships without any provi-
sion for replacement. We are hav-
ing these losses through deteriora-
ton now, and are charging moth
ing against our capital account.
But the losses are there. and re-
grettably larger under government
operation than under private con-
troll. Only few years of contin-
ued losses on capital account will
make these losses through depre-
citation alone to exceed the fifty
millions b year now drawn to
cover losses in operation.
The gloomy picture of losses
does not end even there. Not
withstanding the known war cost
of three billions of dollars for the
present tonnage, l will not ven-
ture to appraise it's cash value to-
day. 1t may as well be confessed
now as at some later time that in
the mad rush to build, in estab-
fishing shipyards wherever men
would organize to expend govern
ment money, when we made ship
builders overnight quite without
regard to previous occupations or
pursuits. we builded poorly, often
very poorly. Moreover, we con-
structed without any formulated
program for a merchant marine.
The war emergency impelled, and
the cry was for ships. any kind
of ships. The error is recalled IN
regret rather than criticism. The
point is that our feet, costing ap-
proximate1y three billions, IL
worth only fraction of that cost
today. Whatever thai Z frantiRlf