The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-03-24
By WESLEY S. JONES, United States Senator from
 Washington.
 Written Expressly for the Interna- tiOnaI News Service.

| '" fLXDreSSIy Tor the lnIofnSl- | tional News Service.
 1 (Copyright, 1922.)
 1 Washington, March 24-For fifty | years before the World War foreign ships carried most of our import and l export commerce.
 Efforts made from time to time to aid in the building up Of an Ameri- can Merchant Marine came to naught. The plea that those who could do the carrying the cheapest should be allowed to do it was given great weight. That was good for the time but proved most expensive in the end was almost wholly dependent on for eign shipping Only about per cent. of our large foreign trade was carried in ships flying our flag, and there were only fifteen of them. When the war began ships were withdrawn from commerce for war use and our trade and our people were the first to suffer. The farmer is said to be against means to promote our shipping. Not if he members the lesson of the war, and I don't believe he has for gotten it. Our experience there showed most clearly that the agricul- tural sections of the country are more dependent upon shipping than any other. What occurred? Ocean freights mounted skyward on the products of the farm. The charges on grain rose ''sky high'' to 800 to 300 perTent; on flour 500 per cent, and on cotton as n1Sn as 1,lOU per cent. the first year of the war our people paid in increased ocean freights, be- cause of a lack of ships, over $500,-' 000,000. The loss to business was far greater. Surely this is not for "Ne Built Ships. but Hastily and
 WaStefully''
 This was not all. Under the stress tiIy and wastefully. Nearly sa,5Oo,- 0OO,00O were taken from the people through the Treasury and put into ships. ships That was more than the the in the world in 1914. We have those ships on hand now, many of them tied up at added expense and none can be sold. They are not consider ed worth more than $1.000,0OO,OOO and could not be sold for that now to Americans. We might sell them to foreigners, who could afford to buy them and tie them up or sink them so as to keep us from competing with them. They would soon take the money back out of our pockets in in courage an American Merchant Mar inc before the war has cost us during the last seven years four or five bill lions of dollars at least, a large part and all from the taxpayers. We sav- ed a few dollars by not aiding the building of a Merchant Marine by private capital and wasted hundreds
 
 By the shipping bill lately intro duced We seek to so supplement the Marine Act of 1920 as to make the loss of our fleet less get our ships in private hands and save the tax payers, build up and maintain a we'll balanced fleet and save ourselves from another 1914 situation.
 "Our Ships Cannot Be Sold Now to
 Advantage."
 Our ships cannot be sold now to any advantage, if at all. If we pass this act we can sell them for far more than we will have to pap out under it for many years New and up-to- | date ships will be built without ex- pense to the Government and our 1 shippers will be assured just freights | in peace or war.
 The bill in brief provides as fol- lows: The ships we have are to be | sold at current world market prices | consistent with good business meth | ods. An ample loan fund is provid- | ed to be used in building up-to-date | ships, the borrower to put up at least | one-third the cost of the ships to be | built with the loan and ample se- | eurity to be given for the amount | borrowed with interest
 The owner of an American vessel l during the next ten years may de duct from his income the net earn Ings of such vessel if he will invest | an equivalent amount in the building | of up-to-date ships approved by the | Shipping Board.
 A proper allowance for depreciation Is to be made so as to put our ship | competitors in this respect.