Evening star., 1924-05-14
u. S, RAILROADS AID
ALIEN SHIPS, CHARGE
0'Connor Condemns "Unholy Al
liances" Which Hamper
! American Marine.
S69 VESSELS LYING IDLE
Shipping Board Head Declares
Japan Is Benefiting.
369 VESSELS LYING IDLE
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.


Unholy alliances" between American
railroad companies and foreign ship
ping lines are hampering the develop
ment of the American merchant
marine, according to T. v. O'Connor,
Chairman of the United States Shipping
Board. For the purpose :. of insuring
themselves profitable freight business,
Mr.. O'Connor declares, certain Ameri-
can railroads have entered into con-
tracts with foreign navigation COM
panies whereby American shipments
Systematically are diverted to their
vessels AS the Shipping Board chair
man views it, American railroads are
thus placing barriers in the path of the
American merchant marine.
TO such tactics Mr.. O'Connor as
crlpes the fact that many of the 366
goVernment-owned vessels are operated
~ loss and deprived of cargoes to
It Is because of conditions like these,
5nr. O'Connor contends, that Uncle Sam
mas a tied-up and idle fleet of $50
steel ships, many of which might
olnerWlse be profit-makerS.
O'Connor to Voice Views
Chairman O'Connor this week is ad-
dressing at Detroit CONVENTION of
Shippers, merchants and exporters,
VINO Will confer on transportation
problems and foreign trade. He ex-
PSSlS lHere Will De railroad eXecu-
tlves in his audience. He hopes so,
because he intends calling spade a
spade when discussing the readiness
OF some American carriers to discrim-
mate against United States ocean
shipping.
Mr.. O'Connor cites as an example of
wnat we are up against" the con-
tracts entered into by the Great
Northern railway and the Chicago,
Milwaukee and st. Paul railway with
ho Ta -lo,,
lines According to the Shipping
Board chieftain, these roads have
agreements with the Nippon Yusen
.Kaisha line, which makes it's Ameri-
can headquarters in the port of Sc
attle, and the Togo kisen Kaisha line,
which sends its vessels out of San
Francisco.
Freight Solicited for japanese.
Under these agreements, Mr.. O'Con-
nor explains, every agent working
for the American railroads in ques-
tion is a solicitor of freight business
Tor the Japanese companies These
companies are in direct and daily
competition with both American gov
ernment-owned and privately owned
vessels.
IT There is not an inn important n =, port n . in il,
points that American flag ships do
not touch in the course of regular
services. Our boats afford. broadly
h speaking, every facility which the
Japanese lines offer, both as to rates,
great northwestern trunk lines, al
lied by contract with the Japanese
com panies, are required, in effect to
work against the competing Ameri-
can merchant marine.
AS an example of how the combi-
nation is working to the detriment of
United States shipping, the Ship
ping Board is in possession of data
showing that of 10000 tons of
freight recently carried over the
Great Northern and c.. NJ. & St. P;
lines to the Pacific coast, 1900 tons
were loaded aboard Japanese bot
toms, and only 1000 aboard American
bottoms
Complains of Loan.
Chairman O'Connor asserts there is
also a legitimate grievance in con-
nection with the $100,000,000 loan
which Wall street recently made to
the Japanese government. 1t was un-
derstood, he says, that at least Sso,-
100000 of the loan would be spent in
the United States for purchase OF
American supplies, mostly earth
quake reconstruction materials.
Mr.. O'Connor does not doubt that
this part of the bargain is being, or
win be, faithfully kept. But he de-
clares that there is no evidence that
any of the profitable freight business
resultant from such purchases has
been consigned to Japan in American
ships, 1t is going there in 5apanese Pansa
thinks this is IAN injustice"
"Pacts for mutual profit between
American railroads and foreign ship
ping lines are nothing new, sald
Chairman O'Connor. to this writer.
Since the Shipping Board was es-
sabIished we have ordered several big
trunk systems to cancel their ar
rangements where we found them di-
net
ships. Our merchant marine will
never reach the point it is entitled to
reach, and easily can reach, until
there Is vastly greater teamwork
among American merchants, manu-
facturers, shippers and railway COM
panies.
Would Emulate Foreigners.
.Instead of abusing foreign shipping
companies for stealing our business,
we should emulate the businesslike
methods they pursue. If they can, as
they do, persuade their own people to
INSIST that goods purchased in the
limited States shall be shipped across
the Atlantic or Pacific in non -Ameri-
can ships, that is their privilege, IT
is our duty to see that nothing like
need our produce just as badly as we
need to sell it. They do not buy it
because they love us. They buy it be-
cause they find it necessary or proht-
able to do so.
aThe United States Shipping Board
has deferred the effective date of sec
ton % of the shipping act, for. the
purpose of giving exporters and i'm
porters full opportunity to adjust
themselves to the situation which
that piece of American legislation
,creates. 1t is doing exactly what the
Rritish exporters and importers rec
ommended in their recent meeting,
where this emphatic declaration was
made:
Cites British Example.
If Great Britain is to maintain
and improve her predominating
n1ace in worldwide COM
merce, there must be systematic
and cordial corporation in the
relation of the shipowner, the
shipbuilder and the cargo owner
in his respective capacities of
manufacturer, merchant importer
and exporter. No longer can they
carry on their affairs in water
tight compartments, treating each
section as having interests alien