Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-02-28

December 1 reported to you the failure
Of the executive to carry out the Intent
of certain features Of the merchant
marine act of 1920, notably the pro.
vision for the notice Of cancellation OF
all commercial treaties which hlndered
our grant of discriminating duties on
imports brought to our shores IN
American ships. There was no DOUBT
about the high purpose Of Congress TO
apply this provision practice to the up
Abuilding of our merchant marine. IL
~ ad proven most effective in the earlier
days of American shipping; 1t had at
various times, demonstrated its effective
ness in the upbuilding of commercial
shipping for other nations.
1.-The success of the earlier practlce
for this republic came at time when
we had few treaties, when our COM
merce was little developed It's super
seizure by reciprocity in shipping reguia-
lions and the adoption of other methods
of upbuilding merchant marines,
through various forms of Government ald
and the century of negotiation OF COM
mercial treaties all combined to develop
a situation which should lead to endless
embarrassment if we denounced our
treaties We should not only be quite
alone in supporting policy long since
timacy of international relationship but
we should invite the disturbance of those
cordial commercial relations which are
the first requisite to the expansion OF our
HOW HE PROPOSES
TO CREATE FUND.
Contemplating the readiness Of Con-
gress to grant a decreased duty on i'm
ports brought to our shores in Ameri-
can bottoms and facing the embarrass-
ments incident to readjustment OF all
treaty arrangements, it seemed desir-
able to find a way of applying suitable
aid to our shipping which the Congress
clearly intended, and at the same time
avoid the embarrassment. of our trade
relationships abroad.
The Recommendation of today is based
wholly on this commendable intent OF
Congress The proposed aid of the Coy
eminent to its Merchant Marine is to
have Its chief source in the duties COL
lected on imports. Instead of applying
the discriminating duty to the specific
cargo and thus encouraging only the
shall collect all import duties without
discriminating as between American and
foreign bottoms and apply the hereto
fore proposed reduction to create fund
for the Governments aid to our Mer-
chant Marine. By such a program we
shall encourage not alone the carrying
of inbound cargOes subject to our tariffs,
but we shall strengthen American ships
in the carrying of that greater inbound
tonnage on which no duties are levied
and more important than these, we shall
equip our Merchant Marine to serve our
outbound commerce, which is the meas
are of our imminence in foreign trade
at is interesting to note in connection
with the heretofore proposed plan of dis
I eliminating tariffs on imports carried to
our shores in American bottoms that the
total value of all dutiable imports for
1920 in all vessels, was 81, 1886, S65, 900 while
the cargoes admitted free of duty on
which no discrimination was possible
were valued at So, ,95S,0O0.
1.-THE actual tonnage comparison is even
more significant from the viewpoint OF
cargo carrying, because the dutiable car
goes measured, in round numbers, lOOOO,-
600 tons and the non dutiable cargoes
were 25,000,000 tons. The larger employ
ment, by two and q half times, was In
non dutiabIe shipments.
Continued trade must be reciprocal.
We cannot long maintain sales where we
do not buy. In the promotion of these
exchanges we should have as much con-
Germ for the promotion of sales as for
is not a record in all history Of long
maintained eI1inence in export trade ex-
cept as the exporting nations developed
their own carrying capacity.
mo story of national development Is
more fascinating or so full of romance
as that of developing capacity of the eX-
changes of commerce. Expanding civil.
cation may be traced over the avenues OF
exchanging cargoes No matter how ma
n terialistic 1T may sound, nations have
AlevelOped for themselves and have in
$1uenced the world almost as precisely as
they have promoted their commerce. We
need not refer to the armed conflicts
which have been incident thereto. When
commerce has been destroyed, fading
glories have attended.
at will avail nothing to attempt even
the briefest resume of our own efforts to
re-establish that American importance in
commerce carrying on the high seas
which has recorded in the earlier days Of
the republic. The aspiration Is Nation
wide. The conflict between two schools Of
political thought heretofore has defeated
all efforts to employ the governmental
oil Uyhi
tageOus while we held aloof and the term
subsidy and subvention' were made
more or less hateful to the American pub
lie. But the Nation wide desire to re-
store our Merchant Marine has outlived
all defeats and every failure.
FOUND EXPRESSION
EIGHT YEARS AGO.
Eight years ago the aspiration found
expression In a movement to have the
Government sponsor an enterprise in
which individual genius seemingly had
failed. 1t would be difficult to appraise
the policy, because the World War put
an end to all normal activities. Before
N Te were involved our ship yards were
81 suddenly turned to feverish and costly
for shipping without which they could
not hope to survive. American energies
were applied to construction for. others
as we had never dreamed of doing for
ourselves. When we were later engaged
we trebled and quadrupled the output
on our own account. Allied resources
were called upon to build to meet the de-
struction by submarine warfare and
ships were so essential that material for
them was given priority over arms and
munitions
There was the call for ships and ships
and yet more ships and we enlarged old
=. yards and established new ones without
4cOunting the cost. We builded madly,
1extravagantly, impractically and yet mi
raculously, but we met a pressing need
and performed a great service.
"A people Indifferent to the vital ne
cessity of a merchant marine to the ma
tional defense ungrudgingly expended at
five times the cost of normal construc-
tion and appropriation billions where
millions had been denied before. We
acquired vast tonnage.
"Some of it. much Of it Is applied to
the peace service. Much of it may be
charged to the errors and extravagances
Of war time anxiety and haste. The
war program and that completion of con-
tracts which followed because such a
course seemed best to those then charged
with responsibility, gave us something
more than 100000 gross tonnage not
counting the folly Of the wood con-
structed at a total outlay of approx
mately three and one half billions of
dollars.
I'VE thus became possessed of the We
hicle of great merchant marine. Not
all OF 1t was practical for use in the
trans oceanic trades; little of it was built
for the speed which gives the coveted
class to outstanding service But here
was vast tonnage for cargo service and
the Government, in the exceptional call
of commerce which Immediately followed
the war, sought the establishment of
shipping lines in every direction calcu-
lated to enhance our foreign trade and
further cement our friendly relations
1.-THE movement lacked in most cases
n a ESSENTIAL fO +; a.h