Omaha daily bee., 1922-06-04
Gasker Pleads
I for Merchant
J Marine in i. S.
Time Has Come When Amer.
ica Must Occupy First
Place in Stage Of World
Commerce.

Place in Stage Of World
Commerce.
Ths n~s herewith psssasts the sisst It
..s. sssi,n..a Of tie usi,.s s4.ses ssis.
,iag hsasA. eSptstataG the sttsattea u ~.
ard 70 American sSipelns.
By A. d. LASKER.
ARTICLE
Nations, like individuals. are sell
/lom the masters OF their own desti.
>Ies. Whether America wills il or
10. the time has come when we mus,
,erforce occupy the first place on
he stage OF world commerce "a place
ieyer occupied in history by any na-
ion not strong in its own right in
B sea power. Sea power means = strong
merchant marine; for there Is no need
oi = navy save to protect the nation
ais, the shores, and the water trans
portation OF nation.
The first act ever passed by an
American congress was one designed
20 encourage American shipping.
During the period from the estab-
lishment Of our republic until the
civil war. America developed into
one Of the leading maritime nations
oil ihe world. ~ % i
-" Halted by Civil War.
~ With the finding OF gold in Cali
fornia, the lure OF adventure and
profit attracted young men from the
scaboardl and the Ailcghenies to the
great and at the time undeveloped
empire lying to the. westward. The
movement then inaugurated "a move
ment OF vast importance 10 our
selves and indeed the whole world
marked the beginning Of the decline
OF the American merchant marine.
4 The hurt given our merchant ma.
Nne through the civil war. historical
ly known TO all, followed by the
great demand for men and capital in
the development of our country, re-
suited in a steady drop of interest in
shipping.
At Outset of Wold War.
At the start of the world war in
1914, Americas passenger feet in
the North Atlantic had dwindled to
the shameful total OF six, towit:
The Finland. kroonland, St. Paul,
St. Louis, Philadclphia and New
York. The aid given them in the
way of postal subsidy by our gov.
crnmcnt was undoubtedly the chief
reason four of them were able to
continue in service at that date. ;,
In other words. 1914 found us no
longer merchant marine power, but
one uterly dependent on foreign
flags for the carriage Of our sur.
pluscs; and, Of course, we had had
TO pay, and pay heavily, for the serv-
q ice rendered by them. q ~ .s'a
Fortunately for US, Great Britain
and its allies, in the prosecution OF
the world war, needed all the ma
tcrials We could give them, and there
fore sent their ships to our shores
in their own interest. u. @
~ ~ Lesson in Boer War.
Perhaps not as fresh in public
memory is the marine experience. OF
the Boer war. This, conducted on =
lesser scale but at greater distance,
required more of Britain's tonnage
for her own use and less Of Americas
materials. 1t resulted in. the serious
curtailment Of our industrial, line;
for when Britain, OH whom we were
dependent for the greater portion OF
our sea carriage, Withdrew 100000
tons of ships from the North Atlantic,
our farmers and our manufacturers
saw their surpluses on which their
foreign market depended waiting
vainly for ships, until even their do
uestic market was destroyed. I
Immediately upon our entrance
~iuto the war in 1917 there arose a
Very from all the allies, voiced by
Lloyd George, the prime minister Of
the greatest maritime nation Of the
world. for ships" as the foremost
contribution from America.
Building to Fill Gap.
We all remember the feverish en-
t,lusiasm with which, through treas
ury drains. shipyards were created at
all available points, resulting in gov
ernment building OF more than 100
ships, with more than 100000
dcadwcight tons capacity.
We started to build these ships
that we might quickly and in great
quantity carry our men and supplies
to the battle front. No one factor
brought the war to quicker conclu-
sion than the kaiser's recognition
that America was verify arranging to
Y span the Atlantic with bridge Of
ships.
!, So that if every ship built or then
<rs built by the government, in
ng a total cost of more than
., 100000, had been dismantlcd
link at the wars end. they would
5erly have paid for themselves in
short cut that resulted in the
iding of the war and in the saving
# men and treasure.
Happily, while everything else
created for war purposes has had to
be salvaged as scrap. Americas war
built merchant marine has been
turned into peacetime asset, thus
establishing the possibility of turning
the sword into the plowshare. 1t is
apparent that after the war termin-
ated the great prosperity America
enjoyed would nave been ippossi-
bic without the existence Of our gov
ernment owned feet.
America came out of the war a