Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-14
GOOD BID FOR !. s.
ISH|PS DOUBTFUL
Likelihood Of Satisfactory
Offer Remote Request to
Relieve Pressure.
BY j. q. ROYLE.

Special Dispatch TO The Star.
NEW YORK, July 14.--Although the
ships of the United States Lines and
the american Merchant Lines viii be
advertised for sale within a fortnight,
and bids will be opened by September
!, shipping men here are not optimlS-
tic That the vessels operated by the
shipping Board will be satisfactorily
and advantageously sold.
They point out that altoona fide bid
Tor the vessels would have been re-
ceived and given consideration by the
board at any time since the lines have
been operated by the Emergency Fleet
Corporation. had any one desired to
make one.
i Operation Not Profitable.
Operation of these lines in the trans
atlantic trade has not been profitable.
!. Those In q position to know the figures
Ssay that the George Washington IS
the only ship which has shown q
profit. In all. ~ ships are involved in
the request for bids, aggregating some.
thing like 25o.0O0 tons, The sum of
$50. 0O0, 0o0 has been named as q tenta-
tive valuation. This is only $l2
ton ,sor far below cost OF replacement.
In fact. it represents about only what
was spent for the Leyiathan alone. II
is extremely doubtful IL the Shipping
Board would consider low bids. To 90
so would be to bring immediate walls
from every concern engaged IN trans.
atlantic shipping except the success
full bidder. since they would have to
compete with full=cost ships against
vessels acquired from the board.
It is also doubtful Is bankers and
shipping men can be found who will
be willing to pay a good price for
losing venture merely to give the
United States merchant marine,
operated under private management.
Such bidder may be found. but ship
ping men at the moment are not OPP
timistic.
Industry Not Prosperous.
The si1tpping industry has not been
prosperous for some years. The In
ternational Mercantile Marine Coz.
since 1921. has failed to show fixed
charges earned. The company now
Is concluding the sale of its White
Star liners for approximately $S5,OOO,-
900. The vessels sold might be COM
pared in a way to. those offered by
the board, but shipping men do not
see the advantage Of an exchange, es-s
pecially since the funded debt of the
International Mercantile Marine totals
$4S, 73s, $50.
Then, too, the company is inter.
ested in foreign shipping and 1t Is
q question whether this would not de-
bar the concern as q bidder for the
United States liners. The American
Ship and Commerce Corporation has
Just arranged TO sell three vessels to
the Hamburg American Lines al
though q subsfd Harry of the seller oper-
ates one 81 the, greatest American
shipyards and is IN a position to re-
place or repair ships as advantage
ously as any one In the United States.
Wants Government Out.
There has been tremendous pres-
sure from America as well as foreign
shipping men to get the Government
out OF the shipping business. Ship
men here say that whether the ships.
are sofa 81 not. the move win at
least remove some Of that pressure.
II 1t can be shown that an adequate
and advantageous bid cannot be se-
cured. the shipping Board would be
able to operate the vessels and sup
plement the fleets with additional
tonnage far more freely and effec-
lively than It. has been able to do In
the past. N
In support of this view local ocean
TRANSPORT interests point to the word Z
ing Of the resolution under which
the ships are offered. This says, In
mart: .sReseIved, That In order to
determine II said lines as now con-
stituted or as consolidated can be
placed in the hands of responsible
private American ownership or il II
will become necessary for the Cow
ernmeflt to enter upon permanent
program for its maintenance and
devslopment,s the Fleet Corporation IL
directed to advertise for bids for the