New-York tribune., 1922-11-15
Ships as Insurance

Point Judith-most of them at faaev
prices. 1t isn't on record that thsir
former owners hastened to buy them
back when that short war within
about 100 miles of our coast vas ever.
Trusting to luck, the momensary emer.
gency over, we once mora turned cur
attention to other things. unshsa.sned,
stupid, unintelligent.
During Mr.. RooseveIt's Aaministra.
ton we sent a large feet round tts
world to impress Japan and the Orisfi
with our sea power. Had Great Es
ain denied US coal transport or seaa
to her coaling stations we would hsFE !,
| had only one course open TO us--ssr-
render the feet. At that time q vas
generally believed that Great Britain
and Japan had a treaty which uonld
have prevented Great Britain from
helping as in any way Il vnf had
broken out between US and Japan.
Providence has been good % Us at
many times in our history. sg
How many Americans realize thst
If it had not been for Hamburr-Amsr;-
can and North German Lloyd passengss
liners our 2,o7s,sso soldiers might have
got to the front just g little BIT tea
late to stop the German 1918 drirei
The Vaterland, George washingtsn,
President Grant, Amerika, Kaiser VIII.
helm II and Kronprinzesssn Cesiliss
those well known German passsngef
liners, carried nearly one-sixth Of oar
whole army. The yaterland slers
carried 96,so4 men in ten trips
When the British general, viii bis :.
back against the wall. and the Gesmsr
wedge slowly but surely foaiEs is o
way between the English sr& tie
FRENCH cried out: "Whers is Dluehsa 7
he might have cried In vain Il tas
Germans had made s good tcb OF DE- /
stroying the machinery Of their IN
termed liners. One-third Of our army
was carried by Gernxan ships and
little over one-half By English ships
Can we always expect, TO hays Great /
Britain on our side? Have we fighs &
to leave our security in the hanas o.
foreign passenger liners that may
happen to be in cur ports? s,s
Encourage Ship O,gners
To have both freight and passenger 8
sh ps we must see 20 il that We hsse 1.
ship owners as we'll as ship builders, xae
merchant marine act, 1929, apprerissss I
this in that it makes it fnanessls
worth while 70 ship goods by amer
can flag ships. The American gosssa* Z
raent is running ships to-day, csssa
with small cargoes, sometimes IN ~.
last. Inducements held cut 70 ~
shippers to patronize the Anersssa I
ship are quite as essential as Q "
mileage subsidy. Look in the ~
York City papers of 1850 sad you s.s W
find such items as this: import pps's.
Coffee, Is per cent ad yalerem,
imported in American vessel guy
sree.s The result was that we sss. 4
ried nearly 80 per cent of our enus
overseas commerce in Amerissn ss'ss
that year, and we we're second g =
nation in the whole worad 70 ~
efficiency and economy of our ocssA
transport.
One historic incident and !
through. Several years ago IN SaA
land, at a public meeting held du1.as
one of the international e-sses sess
crop up over there every 50 oisea,
young Englishman uttered these volsss I
I"ws don't want to fight. but by 'p,ss
If we do we've got the ships W..
got the men, we've get the hoass ..
too" trust that our rspresenss'.sss.
at Washington ON November ~ 81 81.
Ing to heart the lesson of the na's.
OF the past FIVE years, will assais
tho ships; we have the rest.
JOHN i. B0GERa, 4
Member Society of Naval Archstss1
and Marine Engineers.
New York, Nov. 1s. 1929.