The Washington herald., 1922-11-28
Ship Board Commissioners Re-
veaIs Sensational Evidence
Uttered from English Lips
SPEAKS ON LONG STRIFE
PIummer Tells Detroit Business
Men Of Urgent Need for
American Ship Subsidy

est international prize the com
mercial world ever has known
have warred successfully agains
every attempt to restore al
American merchant marine b!
merely following the Napoleoni,
rule Of divide and conquer
This was charged against Britisl
shipping interests today by Unite
States Shipping Board Commits
sioner e. C. Piummer in an address
before. the Middle West Merchan
Marine and Foreign Trade Confer
ence. He continued:
SAME TACTICS TODAY.
They are pursuing these same
tactics today: and since 1t is only
necessary to give the present
Ship Subsidy bill ca fair reading
to become convinced of its fund
amental soundness. of the great
benefit 1t will be to all our peo-
pie. / propose at this time TO
deal largely with the foreign
clubs which certain people in this
country-as well as those whose
interests are admittedly beyond
the Ocean-have been throwing at
this particular piece Of shipping
legislation.
Take this declaration of Sir
Frederick Lewis. president OF the
Chamber OF Shipping of the
United Kingdom. and head of a
number Of large steamship lines
which have grown rich carrying
our cargoes. Says he:
n 70 ialx nd
emphatically that there is no
propaganda on the part of Brit
ish shipowners directed against
the growth and development of
the United States mercantile
marine
Yet, in the same number of
Byitain's 'Fairplay' in which this
declaration appears we find these
significant words:
CONTRADICTS SELF.
IN THIS CASE TIME Is THE
ESSENCE OF THE CONTRACT.
FOR THE SHIPPING SUBSIDY
BILL Is DUE FOR DEBATE IN
THE SENATE IN DECEMBER.
AND If THE NOVEMBER
ELECTIONS SHOULD CON
VINCE PRESIDENT HARDING
THAT THE PEOPLE ARE BE-
HIND HIM. 1T CAN HARDLY
Re SURPRISED THAT HE WILL
BE LESS URGENT IN TRY
ING TO GET THE MEASURE
THROUGH THAN HE HAS
SHOWN HIMSELF HERETO
FORE. WE SHOULD NOT BE
DOING OUR DUTY. IF WE
FAILED TO OVERHAUL OUR
MAGAZINES AND PROVIDE
OUR GODS WITH A SUFFI-
CIENCY OF THUNDERBOLTS.'
II this isn't propaganda. wha
is it? If foreign shipping men ar
not behind this proposition. VIII
are? If it doesn't mean their in
reference with our election an
what does it mean?
FOREIGN PROPAGANDA.
Take this statement in the Ed
inburgh Review for July. where
marine expert after a notably un
fair presentation of our shipping
bill and its purposes. closes hi
article with these words:
WE. ON OUR SIDE, SHALL
DO WELL IN THE MEANTIME
TO KEEP OUR HEADS AM
OUR TEMPERS But HELP tt
AVERT A DISASTER Bl
STRENGTHENING THE HAND.
OF THOSE WHO ARE FIGHT
ING FOR OUR OWN POL
ICY
Whose hands are they t
strengthen. and where?
Commissioner Plummer quoted
again from Sir Frederick's state
ment:
The only true basis Of interna
tiOnal shipping is that the vesse
that can carry the goods mos
cheaply. without any artificial
restrictions or incentives, shall d
the trade
Yet Sir Frederick's ships ar
and were members of the Liver
pool Conference which refused I
permit American vessels to carry
pound Of the Egyptian cotto
which Americans had purchase
there, though the rate offered b
the American vessels was fiftee
shiliings less than the price de
manded by those foreign ships: an
they only permitted Americans I
share in that carrying of Amer
can-owned goods when the ShiI
ping Board produced the big site
which Congress SO wisely had pu
into our hands
Now. what kind of "sympatheti
interest" and friendly cooperate
is it that you have to awaken wit
a club?
BRITISH METHODS.
Showing how American shippin
is clubbed by British interests, Con
missioner Plummer said:
When giant American corpora
tions, like the Bethlehem Com.
pany, each of them financially
stronger than any European steam.
ship concern. and both of them
shipbuilders as well as shipowners,
find it necessary to close their own
shipyards and have their own car
goes carried by foreign vessels,
what is the answer?
When such as they find, as they
do. that they can charter foreign
vessels for less money than 1t
takes merely to operate their own
steamers under the American flag.
what is the sense Of setting up the
claim-as opponents of American
shipping do-that American ships,
without Government aid, can com.
pete with foreign ships in carry.
ing the ocean commerce of the
United States?
1t cannot be done! Every prac.
tical shipping man knows that 1t