The Washington times., 1923-07-25
j. s. MUST HAVE
BIC MERCHANT
SHIP FLEET
Shipping Board Commissioner
Says Nation Will Be Re-
paid for Losses.
BY MEYER LISSNER,
United States Shipping Board
Commissioner.

United States Shipping Board
Commissioner.
Copyright, 1923, by Cosmopolitan
News Service.)
America must keep the Stars and
Stripes flying over the merchant
marine. In order to do SO, she will
have to make up her mind to take
a financial loss for a while.
The maiden trip Of the queen Of
the seas. the Laviathan' proves
what America can do. The problem
Of how to maintain the merchant
marine and build it up, is a vexing
one.
The Shipping Board at present
is losing about 100000 a year
on the merchant fleet. With the
best remedy to cover this deficit
the proposed subsidy-killed through
the dilatory tactics Of the last Con.
gress. what remains to be done"
I think the shipping board should
be willing to sell its ships to private
firms at a nominal price.
It should equip cargo ships lying
idle today with Diesel engines, the
huils being good, and sell them at
less than the cost Of reconditioning,
II necessary.
The Government. either through
subsidy or some indirect means
of encouragement, should help these
private firms, build up profits from
the American merchant marine
which at first will probably show
loss.
400 Vessels Big job.
The running of thirty trans
Atlantic ships calls for a large,
efficient organization. To operate
100 vessels requires the greatest.
skill, experiences and compact man
agement to be found in the ship
as the Shipping Board is doing,
with 1000 ships or so lying idle
and presenting a pressing problem
makes the enterprise unwieldly,
elephantine in scope. The board
has about ten times as many ships
as the largest private line.
The Government, I believe. is not
as well equipped to go after freight
and even passenger business as
private firms, nor can it pay the
wages for experts which private
lines can offer.
The American ships will have to
operate at a loss until they can
carry capacity or nearly capacity
loads. The American standards,
which we all want to preserve, clip
make it impossible at present for
the American merchant marine to
compete with the foreign ships.
Cost of American Ships.
To fly an American flag ship
must have been built in an Ameri-
can shipyard. American wages are
higher than foreign wages. and so
| the initial cost and the operating
costs is greater than that OF foreign
| ships. Yet it wouldn't be worth
having the American merchant ma.
rine if we couldn't build one up and
still maintain American standards.
| The differential is perhaps % per
cent.
The Government is carrying an
added burden because, while Ameri-
| can seamen's wages are higher than
| those of foreigners, 1t pays Its sea-
| men even more than the regular
| American wage.
BY creating smaller operating
| units, by gaining the direction of ex-
| perts which they could supply, and
the undoubted drives for business
| they would make, / think private
| lines could build up the merchant
marine. A nominal price for the
| ships should be made to these lines
for exchange or a guarantee that
certain routes and minimum num-
| Der Of ships would be maintained.
We need the merchant marine. We
need more Leviathans, more George
Washingtons We need speedier
| freight vessels. Whatever the cost,
the merchant marine must go on.
Will Get Losses Back.
Through subsidy, through losses
of the Shipping Board, through losses
to private lines, perhaps the Ameri'
can merchant marine will cost US
money for a time. Yet, remember,
time may come when in one year
it will save the cost OF a generation.
Our prosperity Is dependent on
| marketing our surplus products in
all parts of the world We must
| have open markets. The Boer war
wasn't our war. Yet we had to
pay through the nose our freight
carried in foreign bottoms, because
| England withdrew most of her ships
from the Atlantic to supply troops
} in Africa. In similar situation
we will again suffer unless we have
| sea carriers of our own.
The question Of a merchant ma
rine as naval auxiliary is import
ant. Our war ships are no faster
| than the supply ships. We need
| faster vessels than the ten knot
liners we now have. They must
be able to make fourteen to fifteen
knots; If they are to coal and pro-
vision the fleet. We may not ex-
pect trouble. But we must not
be lulled into a false security. Let