Evening star., 1922-11-21
PRESIDENT PUTS SHIP BILL
UP TO CONGRESS, OPENING
BIGGEST FIGHT OF CAREER
Text Of Speech
By President on
Ship Relief Bill

President Harding in his ad
dress to the joint session of Con
gress on the administration mer'
chant marine bill spoke as follo7os
Members of the Congress-:
Late last February reported to
you relative to the American mer-
chant marine, and recommended
legislation which the executive
branch Of the government deemed
essential to promote our merchant
marine and with 1t our national
welfare. Other problems were
pressing and other questions pend
ing. and for one reason or another.
which need not be recited, the sug-
gested legislation has not pro-
gressed beyond a favorable rec
ommendation by the House COM
mittee. The committee has given
the question a full and painstak-
ing inquiry and study, and l hope
that it's favorable report speedily
will be given the force Of law.
Frank Recognition of Opinions.
1t will be helpful in clearing the
atmosphere if we start with the
frank recognition of divided opin-
ion and determined opposition. 1t
is no new experience. Like pro-
posals have divided the Congress
on various previous occasions. Per-
haps a more resolute hostility
never was manifest before. and l
am very sure the need for decisive
action-decisive, favorable action
never was so urgent before.
We are not now dealing with a
policy founded on theory, we have
a problem which is one of grim ac-
tuality We are facing insistent
conditions, out OF which will come
either additional and staggering
government losses and national
impotence on the seas, or else the
unfurling of the flag on great
American merchant marine COM
mensurate with our commercial
importance, to serve as carrier OF
our cargoes in peace and meet the
necessities of our defense in war.
There is no thought here and now
to magnify the relation of a mer-
chant marine to our national de-
fense. 1t is enough to recall that
we entered the world war almost
wholly dependent on our allies for
TRANSPORTATION by sea. We expended
approximately three billions, fever
ishly, extravagantly. wastefully, and
impractically. Out of our eager
ness to make up for the omissions
of peace and to meet the war emer-
gency we builded and otherwise ac-
ouired the vast merchant fleet which
the government owns today.
To Deal With What We Have.
In the simplest way 1 can say it.
our immediate problem is not to
build and support merchant ship
ping, which 1 hold to be one of the
highest and most worthy aspirations
of any great people; our problem is
to deal with what we now possess.
Our problem is to relieve the public
treasury of the drain it is already
meeting. Let us omit particulars
about the frenzied wartime building.
Possibly we did full as we'll as could
have been done in the anxious cir
cumstances. Let us pass for the
moment the vital relationship be-
tween a merchant marine and COM
mercially aspiring nation. Aye, let
us suppose for a moment the alb
surdity that with one $4,000, 100000
experience, and with the incalculable
costs in lives and treasure, which
may be chargeable to our inability
promptly to apply our potency
which God forefend happening again
let US momentarily ignore all of
these and turn to note the mere busi-
ness problem, the practical question
Of dollars and cents with which we
are confronted.
Losses Greatly Reduced.
The war construction and the later
completion of war contracts, where
completion was believed to be the
greater economy to the public treas
ury, left us approximately 13,200.-
900 gross tonnage in ships. The
figures are nearer 12,50O,00O tons
now, owing to the scrapping Of the
wooden fleet. More than half this
tonnage is government owned, and
approximately 2,250,000 tons are
under government operation in one
form or another. The net loss to
the United States Treasury-sums
actually taken therefrom in this gov
ernment operation averaged ap-
proximately s16,000,o00 per month
during the year prior to the assump-
Continued on Page 2. Column 81