Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-08-20
Keeping the Flag Afoat.

Americans generally VIII applaud
the desire of President Coolidge for
= privately owned American overseas
merchant marine. But desire Is one
thing Accomplishment is another.
With surplus of American capital
ceking investment, it has been slow
% turn to merchant shipping. the
:nason being that the shipping laws
{ the United States make it difficult
- not impossible to compete With the
lower costs of ship operation under
other flags. Ships now privately oper-
l,een purchased from the Government
with comparatively small outlay of
capital. 1t is easier to make a return
On 100000, for example. than on
>1,oo0,0o0. The real problem which
The private owners face is replace
nlent as the ships obtained from the
Government at low prices become OBJ
solete.
The President is represented in
press dispatches from Rapid City as
tavoring the sale of the Government
owned feet to private interests with
sufficient guarantee that they will be
kept in operation. He is represented.
TOO, as opposing the construction by
Government of any replacement ships.
American overseas shipping has
continued since the war largely be.
cause the Government has been back
or 1t, has owned and operated it,
either directly, as in the case of the
United States Lines, or through man.
aging operators. The Government.
represented by Congress, has declined
to adopt, measures designed to aid
private American shipping. 1t has
adopted no constructive program for
shipping, and it is high time that it
does so. If President Coolidge can
prevail upon Congress to adopt such
a program, he will have accomplished
much. Throwing the Government.
owned ships into private hands, at
low prices, is not likely to prove a So
luton of the problem. Such a pro:
cedure may play into the hands of
foreign shipping interests which have
waited hopefully since the war to
see the backing of the American Gov.
eminent withdrawn from the -Ameri
can merchant marine, believing that
they will be able to sweep the Ameri-
can competition from the seas in that
event
Either America should have a mer..
chant marine or it should not. The
needs Of American commerce and
American national defense speak
loudly in favor Of the merchant
marine. While a privately owned
merchant fleet is desirable, as between
an American merchant marine and no
merchant marine, Government.
owned fleet is distinctly preferable.
The aforementioned fleet can only
be continued through requirements.
MIR. Coolidge points out that the
merchant marine has cost the people
between 100000 and $4,000 ,OOO,-
600. He does not take into considera.
ton the benefits which grew out of the
construction and operation Of the feet,
first during the war and secondly dur.
ing the postwar period as an aid to
American commerce. But he who runs
may read that the huge cost men.
toned by the President was due to
the fact that no American merchant
marine worthy of the name existed
when war came. If the merchant ma
rine again disappears from the seas,
what reason is there to assert that the
American people may not in the future
be called upon to furnish billions of
dollars for ships? Far better to ex-
pend some hundreds of millions and
to maintain a merchant fleet, which
in itself will bring a return to America
through its aid to the foreign com.
merce of this country.