The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1923-12-26
Continued from Last week.)

Meyer Lissner, of the Shipping Board,
injected the following into the record: F.,
Mr.. Lissner-"Mr. Chairman, in that
regard, / donot think it is just to the I
Shipping Board to allow the state
ment that was made and the question
that Judge Davis asked the witness in
regard to the lines managed by Mr..
R~ossbottom to stand without evplana-
ton. Mr.. Rossbottom, it is true, did
testify that there was a net of some
thing like $780, 900 out of the fleet
under his management but he also
distinctly stated that he did not in
clude any allowance for insurance, in
terest, and depreciation"
Whereupon Representative Davis
promptly proceeded to prove that with
insurance, interest and depreciation
charges included there would still be
a net profit.
Here, then, was a peculiar situa-
ton. While Lasker, Lissner, Schle-
singer, Freund, Farley were trying
to tell the world what a success they
were making of the Shipping Board,
Lissner resented bitterly the fact that
the only line actually being operated
wholly by the Shipping Board for the
government was making money-and
a better showing than any of the num-
erous private and government-agnecy
lines.
Now, what could be the reason for
this peculiar inconsistency?
We shall soon see.
Rossbottom had testified that the
vessels he had to operate might be
called ga horse, and a mule and a
jackass team" two of the boats "be-
ing originally cargo steamers, and
then the passenger accommodations
were installed as a sort of an after
/, thought" were unsuited to the trade,
with the result that the operating ex-
pense was as much as for a first
class passenger vessel, while the OPP
Grating revenue was greatly reduced
, because of lack of accommodations.
Four other vessels were described by
Rossbottom as "full-fledged jackasses
old German tubs about twenty-one
years old" Describing them, Ross
bottom said:
: "Their operating expenses r enor-
I, nous, and / cannot get any operating
4 revenue out of them, because the peo-
pie will not travel in them. The
third-class accommodations are moi
fit for pigs to be slowed in, the ships
are old, the steel is crystallizing, anC
| 1 have all kinds of expenses for re.
I pairs on them. There are three steam.
ers I have in mind that if I had then
in the United States Lines with the
America and the George Washington
1 would not take off my hat to any.
! body"
Here was a case of where not only
did Meyer Lissner, Shipping BoarC
f commissioner, resent the fact thai
Y RossbottOm was making money out
of the only ship lines actually oper.
h ated by the Shipping Board for the
government, but Lasker would moi
give this line any Of the fine ships
which he complained were tied ny al
a the docks rusting and decaying be.
S cause they could make no money
8 there was no business for them-they
4 couldn't even be given away!
While all this was happening, il
must be kept in mind that Lasker hac
{ proposed a subsidy measure with di-
rect and indirect aids under which,
in actual subsidies, to say nothing OF
{ tax exemptions, would have paid the
Leviathan ~$1,OoO,OOO annually, and
this under the terms of the bill could
have been doubled by the board, max
ing $4,000, 900 annually, while the in
> direct aids admitted by Mr.. LaskeI
, 10 lar eXcceu the ulASCk aus, WONAN
have paid the Leviathan at least as
a much more-or a total of about 81,
OO0, 900 a year-not to mention pay
|. for carrying the mails, returns from
immigration revenue Of the higher
class, and so forth.
This was the bill Lasker persuaded
: the president to make a paramount
q party measure, and for the first tins
in history to call two extra sessions
l. of the same Congress to force j
$ through. Lasker used the whole Ship
; ping Board organization and its fund
, in the propaganda work, trying &
& cram the Measure down the country
= throat
We're 70 Bay Leviathan
q It became known through the Nes
York Tribune Of November e. 1875