The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-04-22
VICTORY FOR MERCHANT MARINE


 properly takes the view that it has no au- thority to question the reliability of the United States Shipping Boards certification of sufficient shipping to warrant the putting into effect of Section 2S of the merchant marine act Therefore. the commission fixes June 20 as the date when the provisions of that section shall go into effect The section provides for preferential treatment of Ameri- can ships in routing our exports abroad. This preferential treatment is partly attained bs authorization of special rates from interior shipping points via American railroads and American ships to foreign markets. The pur- pose will be still more effectively carried out by the policy of establishing through low rates on bills of lading, that a shipper may bill his goods direct from the interior originating point to the foreign consignee, just as now he bills his goods from interior point to port of export
 In passing on it's coordinate authority with the shipping board the majority of the commission, with one member dissenting, de clared: Our power under Section 2S ex nR, pension of that section, such & reasonable effective date as should enable the carriers subject to the prohibition of that section to comply with both statutes in an orderly way, and to avoid violations of the law by bringing their tariffs into conformity with Section 2S, in so far as that may be done, while observing the mandates of the inter state commerce act
 And as to the commissions right to go behind the shipping boards certification to the sufficiency of ships the majority of the commission held If. as the majority has determined, it is our duty to lift the sus- pension upon being advised of the shipping boards opinion, we have no authority to postpone the effective date beyond the period reasonably required to put the machinery into effect. We have in that event no power to consider commercial conditions. To con slider them is to overrule the shipping board and disregard the law as we interpreted it. The carriers have stated that they can take by our order. Our power, therefore, has been exhausted, and we are not authorized to extend the date" This opinion and this order are in line with efficiency and common sense as we'll as with the statutes. The commission and the shipping board have con current Jurisdiction. neither being secondary to the other but both subordinate to the pro visions of the statutes.
 The decision of the commission is a victory for American shipping. All other merchant marines of importance enjoy government sub sidies in one form or another. Congress refused to place the merchant marine upon that more stable basis represented in the proposed indirect subsidy strongly sponsored by President Harding. but the nation does nevertheless, pay a subsidy in the form of an annual appropriation to supply the operat- ing deficit of the merchant marine. The ap- plication of Section 2S marks step towards reducing that annual deficit and to wards assuring for American ships definite and substantial percentage of American export tonnage This is even better than a cash subsidy of any kind, for it places the mer- chant Anarine on a preferred footing that offsets the preferentials extended to other merchant marines by their respective gov ernments.
 It is interesting to note that the railroads themselves have set June 20 as the date by which they can so rearrange their policies as to conform with the provisions of the merchant marine act. It is hoped that the appeal to congress will not be effectual, and that there will be no legal hindrances placed in the way of the new program. Under this arrangement the business for American ships should expand, and there should begin that era of profitable operation of merchant fleets flying the American flag which will attract private capital and private enterprise and enable the government to turn over to pri- vate operation this fleet which has become indispensable to our growing export trade and such an essential complement of our naval strength.
 A RAINMAKER COMES THROUGH