The New York herald., 1922-11-12
SUNDAY. NOVEMBER -. 1929.
The American Merchant Marine
Melting Away.

Two great transatlantic steam
ships, Resolute and Reliance of the
United American Lines, will no
longer sail under the American flag.
They leave the American because
they cannot do business successfully
under the American flag. AS steam
ships are not in business for their
. health, this is good enough reason
( for changing to some other flag.
And what is good enough reason
with these two steamships will be a
good enough reason with other Amer
ican ships. Chairman LAsKER of the
I Shipping Board made the statement
Z months ago that American ships
could not be operated with profit in
foreign trade if brought under the
restrictions of the dry law.
The United American Lines, owner
of Resolute and Reliance, maintains
: that passengers generally will not
travel on dry ships so long as they
can find ships to travel on that are
not so restricted. The management
goes on to say that before the Daugh-
erty dry ruling the two ships in ques-
tion had been booking passengers for
West India cruises, but when the an
nouncement of that ruling was made
fifty bookings were Cancelled on
.Resolute alone.
If this picture of the dry ship is
true, what chance is there. for an
American merchant marine handi
capped as it is by the La Toilette
law, which puts the American ship
on a non-competitive basis with for
teign ships? With this La Toilette
law on the statute books the Ameri-
can ship hasn't a chance in the world
to compete with foreign ships unless
UNCLE SAM digs deep into his pocket
to pay the losses.
And to what extent is UNCLE SAM
justified in dipping into his strong
box for this purpose?
But it now appears from the action
OF the United American Lines that
the La Toilette law, bad as it is,
impossible as it is, damning as it is
to American shipping, is not the only
thing the owners OF American ships
engaged in foreign trade have to
contend with.
Obviously subsidy that would be
large enough to make up the deficits
in the operation of American ships
in foreign trade under the La Fol-
lette law would not be large enough
to cover the deficits resulting from
both the La Toilette law and the
dry law.
When the ship subsidy legislation
comes up, as it is understood it will
at the special session of Congress
called for November 20, this new
stumbling block in the path of the
ship subsidy advocates will loom
large. 1t would have loomed large
II there had been no election, in view
OF the action of the United American
Lines in withdrawing its ships from
American registry because of the en-
forcement of the dry law on American
ships. But it will loom enormously
larger now with the expression of
American voters on the wet issue.
1t is reasonably safe to assume
that neither the brief special session
Of Congress nor the regular short
session TO follow it will get through
subsidy measure. The country
never has been keen for the subsidy
end it is far from keen for the sub
sIdy now. Indeed, with the star
tling accession OF wet members OF
Congress chosen In last Tuesdays
election taking a hand in the ship
subsidy matter on the opening of the
Sixty-eighth Congress, the opposition
TO the ship subsidy measure will be
greatly strengthened by the wet and
dry phases Of the American mer-