Evening star., 1923-12-09
Continued from First Page.)

tHe government, are. being handl ed
py some thirty-nine companies under
~hat- Is known as the NJ o. 4 COM
eract-manager-op agreement
ihe proposed subsidiary corporation
plan would result In the consolidas
ZION OF many of the established
routes. but without dimunition Of
service. 1t seems inconceivable that
the government, as owner Of the mer-
chant fleet, should be willing to have
separate lines of the government.
owned fleet, operated In cometition
with each other to the identical for
elsn ports. But that is what is hap
penlng IN some instances. Many
consultations already have been ef-
Iected IN the past, but for greater
economy, many more are needed.
IL may be expected that the OPP
orators doing business with the gov
ernment under the Nj. Q. contract
subsidiary corporations. In fact
they have formed an association Of
their own. a kind of defensive alli-
ance One thing must be borne in
mind, however. Under the NJ. O. 4
contract the government meets all
the losses and the operators are paid
percentage on all the business
done. Congress has been unwilling
10 grant ship subsidy to private
american ship owners. Yet what is
the government doing under the NJ
.. contract? 1t is granting a sub
sidy, not to ship owners, but to pri
vate operators of the government
ships. who make money out of the
operation of the vessels and who are
relieved of all burden of the losses
due in part to the difference in cost
of operating under the American flag
and operating under foreign flag.
stocks Would he Sold.
To get back to the Farley plan. The
subsidiary corporations are to be In
corporated for permanent and continu-
Gus operation Of the ships. Recognising
the fact that conditions may change
either because of wars or because some
future Congress may feel disposed to
grant government to American shipping.
Mr.. Farley proposes that stock In the
corporation may be sod at any time to
private American interests are willing
per cent, and that the entire stock of
the corporations may be sold when
private American intrests are willing
10 buy and to give guarantee that the
ship routes are to be maintained und.r
the American flag. Until the entire
corporation is Sold however. the gov
ernment will retain ownership OF
majority of the stock and control.
The proposal for the organization
of subsidiary corporations originated
with Mr.. Farley, while he was a
vice president Of the Emergency
Fleet Corporation. 1t is misnomer
therefore. to connect with the. plan
the name Of Albert ID. Lasker, former
chairman of the shipping board. In
fact. Mr.. Lasker. in an interview at
the White House in Septen1ber last
after the Attorney General had ruled
the formation of sub-idiary corpora
tions illegal under existing law, de-
clared that the corporation idea had
been Mr.. Farley's.
Legislation Made. Necessary.
This ruling of the Attorney Gen.
eral, it appears. makes necessary
legislation TO authorize the estab-
corporations, and also to lodge in the
hands of the president of tine Emer-
gency Fleet Corpora ton, the holding
body. the entire control of the feet.
In order to maintain this control.
a majority of each board of directors
of each subsidiary corporation will
be representatives OF the holding cor
poration.
Mr.. Farley proposes. too. that the
name Emergency Fleet Corporation
be changed to The Fleet CORPORATION.
The Emergency" in the present title
is direct challenge to any idea of
rermanency of the American over
President Coolidge approved the
subsidiary corporation plan for the
operation Of the merchant feet. 1t
IL to be expected that he will con-
tinue 10 favor IT, Other suggestions
for LEGISLATION to solve the overseas
merchant fleet problem are being ad.
vanced, however.
Other Plans Suggested.
Representative Edmonds of Pennsyl-
Vania has a plan for the organization
of corporations to handle the ships.
which is like that of Chairman Farley
in some respects Senator David l.
MaSSaphnSattS fnr
ward an entirely new proposal-that the
merchant fleet be turned over to an
assistant secretary Of the Navy to run.
He would make of it an auxiliary to
Navy, with its personnel members of
the naval reserve. Under the Walsh
plan the merchant fleet could be called
into service in event Of war or other
national emergency; it would provide
American commerce with safeguards
against discrimination by foreign ship
ping; it would make possible the train
Ing of great number of seamen. abso-
lutely necessary in case Of war.
Like the Farley plan. that of Sem
ator Walsh would centraliZe the con-
troll of the feet under one man. and
also would provide for the sale OF
the fleet to private American inter-.
ests in the event Of more favorable
conditions for private operation.
Value In Time of War.
A merchant feet is Of tremendous inn
portance in time of war. No clearer
illustration Of. this fact could be found
than the assistance rendered by the
British merchantmen during the world
war When we entered the war In 1917
we had no overseas feet. Even today
we are vastly inferior to Great Brit
ain in this important arm, for Great
Britain possesses approximately 1875
steel merchant steamers of seagoing
characteristics, capable Of making fif-,
teen knots or more, while the United
States possesses only about fifty. When
around the world a number of years
ago this country had to get foreign
flag merchant vessels to carry supplies.
In 1914. when the war began. American
producers were at the mercy Of foreign
shipping interests.
Yet those are the conditions to which
we would have to return should the
overseas fleet be abandoned.
Sees No Place on Seas for Us.
4 remarkable document, presented by
Sir Alan Anderson, K. 3. E, chairman
of the sea transport committee of the
International chamber of commerce, to
his committee recently, entitled Flag
Discrimination" for 7committee ap-
= proval, clearly argues that there Is
no place on the seas for an American
merchant marine. This document was
prepared by p. Maurice Hill. assistant
manager of the chamber of shipping
of the United Kingdom. 1t seems
that nc thing which the United States
operating is fair. The assertion is
made that any legislation granting
privileges to American ships not
granted to those of other flags IS
unfair--redu ction of duties on goods
imported in American bottoms. reg
ulations requiring so per cent of the
Immigrants to be carried in Ameri
lean ships and the like.
Then the document, having In mind
the Farley plan for subsidiary cor
porations to run the government
owned 1aet. says:
"r~stead of the subsidy bill the