The Washington times., 1922-12-10
BRITISH Delay COST
|. ONE SHIP s500,000
Former Shipping Board Off,
ciaI Tells Of Practices to
Hurt U. S. Trade.
PLOT TO CRIPPLE MARINE
Delays Entailing Loss Of $3,!
600 to $8,0 900 a Day Manu-
factured In Eastern Ports.
PLOT TO CRIPPLE MARINE

factured In Eastern Ports.
BUFFALO, Dec. g. Robert
Barr Deans, formerly Shipping
Board Representative on vessels
chartered to American concerns
and now representing a New York
house in Buffalo. today presents
in Q sworn statement to the
Hearst newspapers specific in
stances of British discrimination
against American ships in foreign
ports. -
STRESSES SUBSIDY NEEDS.
These are cited by him to stress
the need OF a ship subsidy and are
recalled from reports made by him
to the Shipping Board during his
service Of nearly two years.
Mr.. Deans, who until recently
Rochester, said that in q trip, last
Ing nearly nine months British
agents in foreign ports were respon-
sible largely for q loss of $500, 900
sustained by the Westchatala. an
American vessel chartered to c. d.
Mallory q Co.. of New York.
His revelations unfold q series Of
occurrences which. when taken in
the aggregate, point to the existence
OF q well-directed plot to cripple
American shipping. -.
A delay Of nineteen days In Port
Said, when the vessel was carrying
only ballast cargo, entailed q loss
Of -trom $1,000 to $1,000 q day be-
cause British agents of the Shell Oil
Company. a British monopoly, re-
fused to release the necessary fuel
oil to the American ship. This loss
contributed to the $500.o0o total.
ONLY ONE INSTANCE.
During this time. Mr.. Deans de.
clared, British merchant ships were
entering and leaving Port Said. re-
ceiving the necessary fuel without
delay. This was only one instance
Of British discrimination charged by
Mr.. Deans In a series of complaints
to the shipping board. His story
follows:
"The ,westchatala. on which I was
supercasgo with specific instructions
to protect the interests OF the
shipping board at all times. sailed
from Baltimore in October. 1919.
with a cargo Of coal for Naples.
First intimation that our ship
had come under the domination Of
British influence came In that port
In message from the shipping
board that In the future the vessel
would be directed from London. My
status Of direct representative Of the
government agency, however, was
not changed In the order. ~
While the westchatala was at
Naples the newly appointed agents,
whose names ! do not, recall, but
which appear In my reports to the
shipping board, ordered the vessel
to proceed in ballast TO a port In
Spain and there take on q ballast
cargo Of salt and continue to Cal
cutta. This meant that the ship
ping board vessel was to make q
voyage Of several thousand miles
on a British order with practically
valueless cargo.
Before leaving Spain the British
agents In London authorized the de-
livery Of approximately 800 tons of
fuel to the Westchatala on our ar.
rival at Port Said. The vessel, an
oil burner. would need fuel at that
port.
COAL FOR OIL BURNER.
TN order to avoid delay q wire.
less was sent from the ship as we
neared Port Said to Hull. Blythe q
Co., another concern. named to rep
resent the Westchatala and received
In effect this confirmation: Three
hundred tons Of coal'for fuel await.
Ing your arrival
1T win be recalled our vessel
was an oil burner. The London
agents had varified our request for
900 tons Of fuel oil before we left
Spain. and here we were nearing
Port Said In need Of fuel when wa
were told coal was to be delivered
Further communication with the
British agents gave us to under,
stand that we could obtain oil at
Alexandria. The change necessi
tated us putting off course, causing
q days delay In the voyage with
Its subsequent costs. We arrived
at Alexandria only to be told by
the British that there was no oil
for the American merchantman.
| Putting back to Port Said ws
were notified by the British agents
Hull, Blythe q Co.. that the agents
Of the Shell OIL Company, also Q
British concern. would not release
any OIL TO the Shipping Board ves
sci without an order from the com
pany In London. %
The demand was on London that
our original order for the 600 tons
of fuel oil be filled, After q delay
OF several days this reply was re
ceived: OF course. let westchatals
have 800 tons OF OIL :.
| 1T does not seem that the short
age OF some 600 tons In our order
could have been accidental. The
300 tons would have taken US about
midway in the Indian Ocean.
| Captain Thomas p. Dorrfs, OF
San Francisco. who was IN charge
Of the vessel. and myself, represent
ing the United States government
agency. demonstrated with the Brit
ish at Port Said and demanded that
they recognise the rights Of Amer
lean chipping.
Meantime we discovered that
several thousand tons Of oil pro
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