Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1922-11-29

I hut IL is intoleTable that the govern
meuf should continue policy rom
which 81 enormous treasury loss II
\ the inevitable outcome. This loss
moreover. attends operation Of less
! than third of the gOvernment-owneO
I fleet.
Would Diminish Burden.
1T Is not, therefore, question OF
/ adding new treasury burdens 10 mann
/ tain CuI shipping; we are paying these
/ tardeus now. II is not question OF
contracting an outlay to support oui
merchant shipping. because we are
| paying already. ] am not asking your
/ authorization OF a new and added dran
on the public treasury; ] am appeal
/ ing for a program 20 diminish the bur
/ den we are already bearing.
let us omit particulars about the
frenzied wartime building. Possibly
we did full as well as could have been
| done I'm anxious circumstances. Lei Us
pass from the moment the vital reia'
| tiOnship between a merchant marine
and commercially aspiring nation.
/ Ave, let US suppose for a moment the
nbSurdlty that with one S3.OOOOO.OOO
/ experience and with the incalcuiahle
costs I'm lives and treasure which may
be chargeable 10 our inability prompt
/ ly To apply our pOtency-which Goo
\ rorefend happening again-lei us mo
! mentarily ignore all Of these and turn
to note the mere business problem. the
practical question Of dollars and cents
with which we are confronted
Urges Change at Once.
"Nhen your executive government
knows Of public expenditures aggre-
| eating S5O.OOO.OOO annually, which II
| believes could he reduced by half
through a change Of policy, your gov
| eminent would be unworthy Of public
| trust II such a change were not com
mended. nay. II II were not insistently
urged.
"And the pity Of II Is that our pres
/ eni expenditures IN losses II not con
/ sTructive II looks TO no future attain
men;s. II Is utterly ineffective in the
! establishment Of a dependable mer-
/ chant marine, whereas the encourage
ment 81 private ownership and the APP
pllcation Of lndi dual initiative would
make for q permanent creation, ready
and answerable at all times TO the
needs Of the nation.
"But ] have not properly portrayed
all the current losses TO the public
/ this year.
ave are wearing out our ships with
out any provision for replacement.
We are having these losses through
/ deterioration now. and are charging
/ nothing against our capital account.
But the losses are there and regret
tably larger under government opera
ton than under private control.
"Only a few years OF continued
/ losses on CAPITAL account will make
these losses through depreciation alone
10 exceed the $JO.OOO.OOO a year now
drawn 10 cover losses In operation.
The gloomy picture Of losses does
not end even there notwithstanding
/ the known war cost Is $S,OOOhOO.WO.
/ For the present tonnage ! will not
venture &c appraise Its cash value
/ today. II may as well be confessed
now as AT rome later time that In the
mad rush to build in establishing ship
yards wherever men .sould organize
to expend government money when we
made shipbullders .vernight quite
without regard to previous Occupa-
/ ton or pursuits we builded poorly
/ often very poorly. Moreover, we con-
/ structed without any formulated pro
/ gram for q merchant marine.
The war emergency impelled and
the cry was for shipS-any kind Of
shIps. The error is recalled I'm regret
rather than criticism. The point is
that our feet costing approximately
5000 100000 is worth only a fraction
/ Of that cost today. Whatever that frac-
ton may be, the truth remains that
we have no market in which TO sell the
ships under our present policy, and
program OF surrender and sacrifice and
IiquIdation which Is Inevitable unless
the pending legislation Is sanctioned,
with post scores of millions more.
Sees Future Loss.
ssWhen the question is asked. why
the insistence for the merchant ma
rine act now? The answer is apparent
"waiying every inspiration which
lies in a constructive plan for main
tanning our flag on the commercial
highways of the seas, waving the
prudence in safeguarding against
another S3.OOO.OOOOO 900 madness II war
ever again impels. we have the I'M
avoidable task OF wiping out a $780,
100000 annual loss in operation and
losses aggregating many hundreds OF
millions in WORKOUT sacrifices, or
scrapped shipping. Then the supreme
humiliation. the admission that the
United States-our America, once emf
nent among the wartime nations OF
| the worlds Incapable OF asserting Il.