The Cordova daily times., 1922-12-01
FRIDAY, DECEMBER l, 1922
UNSETTLED PROBLEMS NOW PRESSING


 With the election far enough m the past to permit us to forget it, the American people now have need to direct their attention 10 problems of constructive nature awaiting solution First among these is that of estab- fishing an American merchant marine on 6 permanent basis There may be- some people who believe that the United States should not have merchant marine, but we believe they are exceedingly few Three times in the past we have, had a demonstration of the weakness of the nation in that respect. During the war with Spain we were compelled to employ the ships of other nations to transport our troops and supplies When we sent cur fleet around inc world. in the Roosevelt administration, we were compelled to hire ships under foreign f]ags to serve as colEers. Upon the outbreak of the war in Europe we found ourselves slm- ilarly handicapped and we depended upon TOT. eipn shipping to transport large portion or our troops and supplies
 Fortunately in each instance we were on friendly terms with nations that had the shlp- ping to turn to our use. The seriousness or onr nredicament in case we were not on friend lv terms with maritime nations in such crlsls may readily be imagined
 Rnt aside from the need of an adequate merchant fleet as an auxiliary m tune o1 war; there is abundant reason for the malnte- nance of such fleet in time of peace AS recently pointed out, we have pald foreign shipping a total of $28,00O,000,00O in the last hundred years for carrying our ocean com merce. In the past seven years we have pald $8, ,OOO, 100000 for the same service Of course those figures are abnormal because they cover the high-rate period of the war. But aside from that from business standpoint It IS hiehlv essential that we have in continuous operation on regular routes ocean transporta- ton lines that will afford American produc- CTS the best opportunities to find markets tor the surplus of their products. We must not leave to our rivals the carrying of our goods.
 ssThe need of merchant marine IS unques- tionable4the means by which it shall be se- cured is the problem that confronts us.
 s'Interruption of interstate commerce or of traffic in fuel by reason of strikes or lockouts is another problem the gravity of which has recently been emphasized. A strike in the coal mines next April is already threatened. A1tboueh there seems no likelihood of an other rail strike in the near future, the ser1- losses, the destruction of property which were de plorable incidents of the recent strike leave no doubt that it is the duty of state and national governments to devise means by which the righs of life, liberty and property shall be made reasonably safe.
 "The immigration question is still III an un- settled state since we have now only tenn perory expedient of limiting immigration to certain percentage of former immigrants from the various nations No one upholds this as a permanent immigration policy. As a temporary protective measure, 1t was prob. ably the best that could be done. The United States can have all the immigrants it wants and can adopt any selective policy it desires and still receive more than we shall need Exclusion of the vicious, dependent and ignor- ant classes are already settled policies. How these and other limitations shall be enforced remains to be determined.
 Among other problems for solution are