Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-07-21

Through the agency of the Emer.
gency Fleet Corporation (whose stock
is owned by the Shipping Board, rep
iresenting the National Government) !,
the ships originally intended for war
purposes were, at the conclusion Of
the war, under mandate of Congress,
Immediately put into operation by the
Government, to meet Americas peace
time needs.
Wood Ships Colossal Error.
At the height of its operations, Oc-
tober 1920, the Shipping Board had
1877 steel ships plying between our
shores and those of foreign markets
With the decline which has come in
world trade, we are now (JuIy -, op-
Grating 437 steel ships, of a total of g.
509,485 lightweight tons, and have 993
steel ships, of total of 6,644,445 tons
tied up.
For the purposes of the future, in
surveying the Governments fleet, we
may eliminate the wooden ships, the
creation of which, to my mind, was
colossal error that even war cannot
forgive. Certainly the then Admin
istration had ample warning through
General GoethaIs of the tragedy of
waste the wooden-ship program en-.
tailed
Thus, the Governments problem of
temporary operation and ultimate dis
position is involved in the 1,430 steel
ships which it possesses.
When Shipping Board operations
were at their height, American vessels
carried 45 per cent. of the value. OF
our in-and-out foreign commerce To-
day, with business depressed, we are
carrying but 35 per cent, this due
largely to the fact that in time of sore
depression, the nations with either
or both old established lines and low
er standards of living make it hard
for US to compete.
However, the 447 steel ships the
Government is today operating are
covering practically every trade route
in the world, insuring constant access
to the markets available for the prod
uct of America.
Fleet Kept Freight Rates Down.
Immediately after the close of the
war, had we not possessed the Gov
ernment-owned feet, there is no doubt
that freights would have scared even
higher than they did; and today were
Americas aforementioned tonnage
withdrawn from the seas, our traders
would pay increased tolls to foreign
owners. So we must remember that
while the operation of the feet is cost
ing US millions, 1t is saving us mil
lions in freights and insuring us con-
tinuous relations with our customers.
The Shipping Board, including ad-
ministratiVe expense, cost Of tie-up
and maintenance of it's unused feet,
and the operation of over 400 ships
is being run at cash outlay OF the
Treasury approximating S5O,OOO,OOO
annually. This does not take into &C.
count the cost of the ships and conse-
Quent capital charges.
1t is true that overhead would not
be greatly increased if the operation
of more ships were needed to take
care of Americas trade. But my ex-
perience as Chairman of the Shipping
Board has caused me to realize, as l
never realized before, that Govern
ment operation is as poison ivy in the
garden of industry.
| do not want to be understood as
insinuating that the Shipping Board
is not today making a very good op-
Grafton of the ships it is running. In
its early history, however, because Of
the vast fleet it had to run without a
properly trained organization, the re-
suits obtained were by no means those
produced by private ownership; and
no one will so argue.
Present Losses Amount To Subsidy.
But | aver that under the Harding
Administration the Shipping Board S
operation has become comparable to
the best operations of privately owned
ships. The point I wish to emphasize
though is that Government ownership
is not building up for the future, and
is overly costly in it's operations at
all times.
While we are losing $5O,O0O,OOO an
nually in cash in operation, We are