Evening star., 1925-09-06
NEW PROGRAM PROPOSED
TO BUILD UP y. S. FLEET
Shipping Interests Will Ask Congress for
an Entire Revision of Merchant
Marine Control.

merchant ships which the Govern.
ment now owns will age and de-
teriorate and the Government Will
add to the hundreds of millions OF
dollars already spent"
Soft Pedal on Subsidies.
Mistakes of the past, the. shipown-
ers declare, can only be remedied by
private ownership of shipping under
wise and generous Government CO.
operation. No subsidies, as such. are
advocated, except for carriage of the
United States mails. These so-called
direct aids are to be paid to ship
ping companies by the Postmaster
General. subject to appropriations by
Congress. United States mails will
be carried, under the proposed scheme,
by ships engaged in "the maintenance
of essential services" Governmental
agencies would be especially charged
with the duty of determining which
are essential services" what
lines combination passenger and
cargo ships are to be operated, and
on what lines cargo vessels only should
be maintained. Direct aids" should
be given only so long as necessary to
insure the continuance of the re-
spective services in. the face of for
ign competition. But if the Govern
the ships operated therein, the mail
contracts should be included in the
assets of the route.
Indirect aids" at the Governments
hands should include, it is argued,
important changes in the seamen's
act and in the navigation and I'M
migration laws; repeal of duties on
foreign ship repairs; reduction In
Panama Canal tolls; extension OF
%l,z1 l.tlt atWNoe
other island possessions of the United
States: elimination of Government
competition by coordination of Gov
ernment departments, and by ap-
propriate legislation on other matters.
Great stress is laid on repeating that
provision of the seamen's act which
requires that a sailor must be paid
on demand at each port one-half of
the balance of his wages then earned
and remaining unpaid. Since pro-
hibition was enacted in America, 1t
has become the general practice OF
seamen to demand their wages i'm
mediately an American vessel reaches
a foreign port where liquor can be
purchased. Disastrous conditions
aboard ship are said to ensue.
Proposals of Shipowners.
Pending the enactment of such
legislation as will provide assurance
that American ships can be operated
in foreign trade with commercial sue
cess, the shipowners propose the fol
lowing:
/. That the Shipping Board cease
operating any service which does not
promise to become self-sustaining, un-
less the Navy considers its mainte-
nance necessary to national defense.
2. That the operation of all other
services, deemed necessary to defense
and trade, be placed in the hands of
American citizens-'preferably those
who have had the courage to invest
their money in the shipping business"
3. That the Governments laid-up
ships, which have no present or pros
pective value as successful vessels,
be sold for scrapping either at home
or abroad; that ships with d promise
of value be laid up for sale as soon
as possible to American citizens.
T. That the construction loan
fund be transferred to the control
of the Secretary of Commerce. and be
continued available, at rate of in
terest not exceeding per cent. for
future construction by American citi-
zens of approved types of ships in
American shipyards, this new con-
struction being necessary to replace
existing ships as they become de-
modernized.
5. That American shipowners con-
tinue their Investigations into the
factors which operate against Ameri-
can ships in foreign trade.
The interests that conferred in New
York and drafted the "recommenda-
tions" herein summarized will shortly
form a special committee to draft
legislation for submission to Con-
gress.
The theory on which the shipowners
have proceeded is that they--Amer-
ica's experienced authorities in the
navigation field-are legitimately
qualified to evolve such a plan. 1t
will mean, they assert, 1.-The attain
ment of the high aspirations so well
expressed in the preamble of the
Merchant Marine Act of 1920" Con-
versely. If the suggested aids are not
granted, the shippers ARE firmly of
the belief that in due course the
United States will not have. a mer-
chant marine of any marked i'm
portance in foreign trade"
Copyright. 1925)