Evening star., 1924-11-25
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

| tNc tTIcf pCLH ~ SFC CftflHt III Etc- i fLC
third article tCill be published tonlor-
| TotC.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
The American way has been to rely
upon private capital and private citizens
to conduct the business and industries
OF the country. 1t was so the great
| transportation lines Of the country were
developed. It was so the merchant ma
rine before the Civil War was developed,
until this country had ships on every
sea and did a great part Of the carrying
trade.
America has been signally successful
in it's development of great industrial
and business units in quantity produc-
ton and excellence Of workmanship
This kind of genius is giving great hope
to some of the Governn,sts officials in
terested in the merchaps .arine prob
| lem. 1t may prove "one way OUT in the
shipping business, 1t is said, even with
strong foreign competition and the diff
ferentials in cost Of construction and
| operation against Americans. If IL
| does. then the Government may even
| tually be able to remove itself entirely
| from the shipping business. with every
assurance that an American merchant
marine will continue on the seas, just
as America is able to compete success
| fully in world markets with her steel
products, her typewriters and automo-
biles.
Express Service Urged.
Big operating units, with fast, reg
ular cargo liners, giving practically
express service, 1t is said, would be
comparable in the shipping business
to the industrial method of quantity
production. Such service could only
be maintained through the develop
ment of the carrying trade. Ships,
after all, are only the means of con-
Quoting commerce. and without the
freight would constitute q merchant
marine that would soon fall into de-
) cay.
The Shipping Board an6 the Emer
gency Fleet Corporation have been
, hard at 1t. attempting to develop just
such carrying trade, with regular
liner service. They have met with
much success on some of the routes
success that gives promise OF still
greater things.
Great Britain has long been a domi-
nant power in the merchant marine.
Her success may be attributed in
large part to the cooperation given
the shipping business by her indus
tries. They are closely interlocked.
British industrial concerns have large
investments in shipping, and vice
versa. They work together, and they
produce the business for the ships,
while the ships produce the business
for the industries in foreign countries.
Britain Guards Interests.
Furthermore, in Great Britain the
big shipping concerns are actually
represented in the legislative branch
Iof
OF Lords and in the House of Com
mons
In the House Of Lords there are u
members connected with shipbuilding
and ownership. In the House of Com
mons they have a special shipowners'
parliamentary committee, with II mem
bers. There are IL other shipowners in
) the House. Sixty-nine other members OF
Commons are indirectly interested in
lships. This makes a total in both houses
Of l09 men engaged in shipbuilding or
operation or otherwise interested.
| In the British Board of Trade, which.
in a way. parallels the Department OF
!Commerce of the United States Gov
ernment, are important shipping men.
The interests of shipping in England,
therefore, are closely guarded.
A vastly different picture presents
itself in the United States today
How many members of the Senate or
even have important investments in
shipping? Practically none. or
course, men from the Coast States
represent constituents who
Estrongly interested in shipping
Though, for the most part. it is coast
wise. and not overseas shipping.
Probably if a lot of shipping men
were elected to Congress and person
ally should undertake to frame leg
lislation which would benefit shipping
there would be a howl. But they
look at this differently in Great
Britain.
Foreign Investments Help.
Another aid to British shipping, az
il is to that of other foreign mari
time nations. are large investments
by the citizens of those countries
in countries foreign to them. Such
investments play their part in obtain
ing return cargoes for their ships II
would appear then that permanent
investments of American capital in
foreign nations should be helpful to
American shipping. Undoubtedly
they will, If Americans become really
imbued with the desire to favor Amer
lean shipping. American investments
in South America, In the countries OF
the Orient, where there is great OPP
portunity for the development OF
trade would be to the interests of
American shipping, under such con-
ditions.
special committee of the House.
| headed by Representative Wallace
| White, jr.. of Maine and brought into
being through the adoption of a reso-
| luton calling for an investigation
of the Shipping Board, the Fleet Cor
poration and the merchant marine
question in general, conducted hear
ings for many weeks in Washington
during the last session of Congress.
During the congressional recess this
committee went to Europe and studied
! the European organization of the
Shipping Board and the Fleet Cor
poration
When Congress reassembies next
| week. the committee will be called
together. again, and determination
reached as to further hearings. An
effort will be made to make a COM
plete report to the House as soon as
the committee has completed its
work. The committee has made not
only an investigation. but a real
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