The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-06-22
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

Supremacy of the Seas
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.
Especial Despatch to The Reformer |
Copyright 1922.
WASHINGTON. June 22-President |
Harding's letter to Republican Leader
Mondell was intended in part at least |
us warning to foreign countries that /
a lobby against an American merchant |
marine bill would not be tolerated.
The Presidents outspoken charge that |
foreign interests would like to see
America thwarted in her efforts to es-
tablish a merchant marine is the first |
public reference to propaganda which
has been constantly observed on the |
quiet by officials here and which in pre-
war days has been no small factor in /
squelching governmental activity on the i
shipping question.
Mr.. Harding speaks of a well |
screened source of opposition to an out |
standing and confident American course
in this matter" and boldly charges that
no well developed maritime power of
/ the Old World is craving the develop
ment of our shipping. While the Pres
| ident admits the national spirit which
always thinks of the interests of the
/ homeland first" he adds a warning that
il goes too far for he says:
Other nations know the value of sea
/ carving as an adjunct of trade, and the
! individual encouragement abroad TO our
/ worthy aims-a encouragement often in
| SidiouSly disseminated here-ought 10
Eargue an Amecican interest no longer to
be ignored"
The President didn't mention the
names Of any foreign countries nor dis
oil In matt IF e,a ..
to the subsidy bill hut his use of the
words ''insidiously disseminated here
are taken 70 refer to some of those ship
ping companies, mostly of foreign own
erships which have in their employ
Americans who know how to marshal
political influence.
Not First Time
This isn't the first time foreign oppo-
SitiOn TO an American merchant marine
has been publicly referred to as ''insid-
ious.' About II years ago congress dis
covered that German shipping companies
maintained a lobby in Washington for
the express purpose of preventing the
passage of ship aid legislation.
Mr. Harding's pronouncement to
leader Mondell is coincident also with
the speech made in London by William
j.. Love. vice president of the Emergency
Fleet corporation. in which esisSucd a
] plain warning that America was going
| u
marine by subsidy. and would not be
sweryed from her course.
The British. as the largest maritime
power and the people who have been
most successful in sea-carrying trade in
the past are much more aDprehenSivc
about the passage of the ship subsidy
bill than any other nation. Before the
war, ships of Great Britain ruled the
seas but divided tie carrying trade IN
large part with Germany. American
shipping officials believe the United
States should not allow Great Britain
to monopoliZe the sea trade especially
since Germany is without ships to carry
the trade she had before the war. even
if she could restore it tomorrow.
Plenty of Room for Two
The opinion held in American quar-
terS is that there is plenty of room in
the world for two maritime powers OF
major size and that America, which
war and gave freely of her blood. should
not begrudge the use of her immense
war fleet for peace-time purposes. The
British have taken over most of the
German ships as payment for war dam
ages ana would Ike the United States
10 become discouraged on the merchant
marine question and sell the ships at
auction. Inasmuch as American private
operators insist they cannot compete
with foreign ships without a subsidy, the
SHE OF America \ merchant NteL NOubl
mean the increase in tonnage and sea
trade ia foreign countries and since
Great Britain is financially able to buy
more ships the chances are sale OF
| American vessels would mean the ulti-
nate massage OF the American war fleet
into British hands.
This more than anything else. is re
sponsible for the earneStnesS and deter
mmation of President Harding to get
a ship subsidy bill through congress.
There is also the secondary, though by
no means important, question of having
a merchant feet that could be used rs
: an auxiliary in case of naval war Al
4 though America has cut her navy down
and agrees to do no more building of war
\ vessels for the next 10 years. she would
Y be at a serious disadvantage if n mari
time war did break out. for the other
X nations would convert their merchant
marine into commerce raiders and
4 troopships almost Immediately. The
i United States had to depend upon Brit
/ ing troops to France and that memory
Of dependence on a foreign power in n
great emergency is tending to align the
\ influence of the navy department behind
4 the ship subsidy bill as a measure of
naval preparedness. One thing is GER
tain. foreign Encouragement, however it
may manifest itself, will not go long un-
noticed as in the past, but viii be ex-
posed by the administration every time
| II shows its head Mr. Hardings refer
enee to it in his letter to Mr.. Mondell
goes farther than it was believed tho
President would go and this is consid-
cred significant of his determination to
fieht foreign influence in American leg