The Washington herald., 1922-03-04
LASKER SAYS FEDERAL AID
ONLY CAN SAVE SHIPPING
Fleet Unbalanced and Needs Vast Building,
Chairman Tells Marine Delegates.

ing has done and said has proved
and earnest conviction.
The higher cost Of living in the
United States. resulting In higher
cost OF building and operation, re-
quires. IL we are to- have a mer-
chant marine. that the government
step into the breach. with Indirect.
and when necessary. direct assist
ance"
Foreign Influence Charged.
Charges that American shipping
interests are pervaded with foreign
Influences working to the detriment
of an American merchant marine
were made by Admiral w. S. Ben
son.
Higher pay for crews that man
merchant ships was advocated by
the ADMIRAL, who declared that in
adequate pay discouraged high tyne
Americans from shipping in the
marine service.
Frank D. Scott. member OF Con-
gress from Michigan. speaking In
fsvor OF government subsidy for
shipping interest. said: II consider
the distress Of our transoceanic
trade comparable to that of the
Great Lakes. We have not failed
in legislation to recognize the needs
Of agriculture. Certainly the coun-
try must recognize that the trans
portation OF the product is as i'm
portant as stimulation OF produce
tibn."
Mr.. Scott declared in favor Of free
use of government-owned ter
O1innlS rri
vate owned American vessels.
Necessity OF Aid.
Emil p. Albreeht. hresIdent of the
Philad elphia -Bourse Company. said:
Aid Is needed-be II much or III
tie. the principle Is thexsame. As
il Is a national proposition. a ma
ttOnal benefit, a national necessity,
such aid must come from the people
| as whole. that is from the ma
tional treasury. Is IL not better to
face the problem squarely. rather
than to try and fool ourselves and
the people by all sorts OF indirect
methods which are uncertain and
unbusinessiike? Some people are
afraid to call things by the right
name. You hear some say I am
not in favor of a subsidy. but IL a
VI Dt
arranged for / would be satisfied
I'VE are paying the bill now out
OF direct appropriations to the
Shipping Board"
Stevenson Taylor, president of
the American Bureau of Shipping,
| declared:
Foreign shipping to us. after a
lapse of over a century OF inani-
| tion. Is a new industry. It is now
the one industry in the United
States which needs protection by
governmental means more than any
other. Every other Of our great
| industries has had governmental
| protection "a protection that has
increased the cost of ships-and has
a natural protection due to the geo:
graphical location of the United
States; that is to say. the protec-
\ tion of at least 5000 miles of water
on either side of this continent.
Only three miles from our shores
the ships of the world meet on an
equality OF opportunity"
Prof. S. S. Huebner, of the Uni
versity OF Pennsylvania, said:
Fully St00.o00,000 are paid an
pually by American interests TO for
eign underwriters for marine insu--
dHCo protcction. IL VIII always be
necessary to place a goodly share
| Of our marine insurance abroad.
| and II is probably unwise to at
tempt to monopolize all of the busi-
ness. But 1t Is neither necessary
nor reasonable-indeed, not Ameri
can in spirit-to sit idly by and
permit the needless flow Of millions
upon millions In premiums abroad,
as we have been doing for so many
years.
| On the eve OF his retirement from
ONCE last night, Joseph w. Powell
president of the Emergency Fleet
Corporation. announced that for the
first month in the history of the
corporation the operating expenses
will be less than the receipts
A banquet for members of the
association was given in the Rose
| Room of the hotel