The New York herald., 1922-06-16
FRIDAY. JUNE 1s. 1922.
The Real Shipping Question.

~ AN(nA ~AAAk'kAAS SSSs
The violent storm which has arisen
over the "wet" ships of the Ameri-
can merchant marine overshadows
for the moment the issue of the ship
subsidy bill now strongly urged upon
the attention of Congress by Presi-
dent HARDING. But, wet ships or dry
ships, the fundamental question will
continue to look the American people
and the United States Congress
squarely in the face.
This fundamental question is.
When great merchant marine un-
der existing national laws and eco
nomic conditions cannot be consid-
cred as business proposition pure
and simple, how much is it worth to
the nation, nevertheless, to have that
merchant marine anyhow?
1t cannot be straight business
proposition so long as the navigation
laws of the country make the labor
and other costs OF operating Ameri-
can ships enormously higher than
the costs cooperating British ships
and other ships competing for the
worlds overseas carrying trade. 1t
cannot be sound investment prop
Qsition with American costs Of con-
struction, repairs. renewals and other
maintenance very much higher than
costs for such work are anywhere
else in the world. 1t cannot be a
plain economic proposition when our
national laws and our national sem
timent are uncompromisingly op-
posed to getting our ships repaired.
equipped or built wherever the work
can be done best at the cheapest
price. whether that be in Europe,
Asia or Africa.
AS long as these circumstances are
continued the American people must
dig down into their pockets to pay
for maintaining and operating a
merchant marine of their own, If
they want such a merchant marine.
They must foot the bill whether the
money to make up the colossal def
cits is paid out Of the national Treas
ury's tax revenues as the Govern
ments losses on its ship business or
whether il is paid out in various
forms OF subsidy to cover the losses
of private owners on their ship
business.
The only question, whichever sys-
TEN we have, is how much are the
American people willing to lose on
their merchant marine? How much
is IL worth to them as an auxiliary
fleet, supporting arm, to their navy?
How much is il worth to them as a
constant commercial contact with the
rest of the world-a floating inter-
national bridge under their own con-
troll rather than under the control
Of anybody else, friend or foe? How
much is it worth to them in prestige
to- have sailing into the ports Of all
the nations fine, fast, beautiful ships
under the Stars and Stripes?
Chairman LAsKER says of the ships
with wet cafes and of the ships as
dry as a powder magazine that the
very life of the American merchant
marine, so far as concerns passenger
vessels, depends on their being able
to serve drinks that are not soft. But,
81 hat fAtr11s Tho
freight carriers. which are the back
bone of any great merchant marine.
10 simply means, II there are to he
no wet cafes on American passenger
ships, that our vessels will have to
offer to wet travellers fares enough
lower than the fares of wet foreign
lines to draw passenger trade be-
cause OF the strong financial induce
ment, in spite of the dryness on
board the American ships. And this
in turn means there will have to be
more losses yet.
In any event it will be a case OF
operating merchant marine on high
financial stills. Increasing the losses
few millions year by making the
passenger ships bone dry will merely
mean operating a merchant marine
on still higher stilts.
This is the situation. as Chairman
LAsKER himself has frankly put IL on
various occasions, which is up to the
American people--how much do they
want a heavily losing merchant ma