The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1922-03-03
MONEY! TRADE
Merchant Marine.
Important to Business.
Essential to Nation.
Foreign Markets.
BY GERGE w. HINMAN.

by GERGE w. HINMAN.
CHICAGO. March .s.-President
Harding proposes an annual ship
subsidy Of about 100000, The
purpose In to save the new mer.
chant marine for future American
business and commerce. -EE
There viii be many protests from
business men and farmers against
the Presidents proposal. Most OF
these protests are expected to come
from the Middle West. Why7 Be-
cause the Middle West In supposed
to be against subsidies on principle.
That Ia the usual answer. Bot even
a man who ID against subsidies
should see that II Ia no answer at
all, for off and ON, regardless OF
principles, the United States has
subsidized nearly everything except
shipping. $50 &
Railroads. highways. waterways.
Industries, farm banks and foreign
trade have all been subsidized. A
hundred million In set aside to en-
courage the export of farm products;
$76, 600, 900 to build good roads: $780,
900, 900 of taxes on foreign goods are
levied by tariffs as indirect sub
sides to domestic factories; hun.
dreds of millions have been used to
start railroad transportation and
keep It going.
But why help the merchant ma
rine now2 Why spend even $780,
600. 900 q year on 1t while the whole
country In groaning under the cost
of Government and the high taxes?
Because 1t 10 a case Of now or
never. That the war left the United
States with an ocean fleet of nearly
100000 tons everybody knows.
That this vast fleet, second only
to Great Britain's, must be used or
let rot, common sense, win teach
anybody. But that the United
States cannot be fully occupied and
100 per, cent prosperous without
some such fleet to carry its products
to the markets Of the world. only
few million Americans yet realize.
In one way. the United States
can be the country It was before
the war. It developed its industries
during the war until It became the
greatest workshop In the world. II
this workshop and its workers are
to be kept busy, its products have
got to be marketed throughout the
world.
And to do this business the
United States has got to have the
ships. It Is idle to say we can
depend on other nations to open
markets for our new products-open
markets, take out the goods In their
ships, and put them out In COM
petition with their own goods. They
won't do it; they don't do 1t; they
do not intend to do It
Nations are dishonest, says
Keynes. Exactly, and most dis
honest in trade. Let one read what
happens to American shipments in
Japanese vessels, wherever Japan
ese competition is at stake: let one
read what happens to American
shipments in English vessels at
ports where English goods compete
with ours, and the situation Ia plain.
Either America has got to carry her
own goods to market abroad, or be
content always to sell merely what
other nations allow her to sell. That
means always second or third place
in Asia. Africa, and South America.
That means always insufficient
scales TO keep the capital and labor
of the United States busy and pros
persous.
To say that the United States
can't afford to keep in commission
the ships we have, Is like saying
we could not afford to help build
the railroads nearly sixty years ago.
II we are going to do business in
the things We produce-whether
that business is carrying and selling
New England's goods to the wide
world-we have got to transport
them. and II Is as important to
transport them in our own ships as
II was to transport them long ago
on our own railroads.
The advantages that the new mer-
chant marine can bring to American
business are fully understood abroad.
II not here. The English. with whom
we chiefly would compete, are espe.
cially alive to them.
For instance, the Statfst. London's
foremost financial publication, now
advises the United States not to
press for foreign trade and all that
goes with It. but to produce the
goods Europe wants, take In ex-
change what the United States
wants. let Europe collect the freight
of several hundred millions a year,
and in general retire into our hole
and leave the business OF the wide
world to other nations, chiefly Great
Britain.
II there is any other means Of
meeting the emergency than by sub
sidy, II is time to mention II, for
with all its anti-subsidy prejudices
even the Middle West must come
eventually to the conclusion that
somehow and quickly we must get
out goods-the products OF our work.
ers and employers-into the hands
of enough foreign peoples to keep
the wheels turning, the wages going