Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-28
American Shipping.

The vital need of an adequate mer-
chant marine to carry proper share
of American commerce has been
drummed into the ears of the public
ever since the World War. Gradually
the people have become more ship
minded" and have awakened to the
need. More and more American cap
ital has been invested in shipping.
Shipbuilding has been on the up
grade. A lesSening of American in
terest in shipping or an undercurrent
of opposition to the further develop
ment of the American merchant
marine, should it grow out of the in
vestigation now being conducted by the
Senate into certain activities OF a
hired lobbyist and some of the ship
building companies, would be a real
misfortune. The merchant marine has
fought an uphill battle. 1t has had
opposition even in American quarters,
because of the large sums of American
capital invested in foreign shipping,
and because there has been a cult in
this country which holds that it should
permit other nations to have its carry
ing trade.
Congress finally has put through
legislation, the Jones-White merchant
marine act, which is proving an as
sistance to American shipping, as it
was intended to do. Before such legiS-
lation was possible, real campaign of
education was required regarding the
need of American shipping, under the
American flag, both for the purpose OF
carrying American commerce and as
an auxiliary to the national defense in
the event of war. Certain officials OF
the shipbuilding companies now under
investigation have testified that large
sums of money were expended by them
in such campaign of education
Economists, important members of uni
versity faculties, engineers were among
those employed to aid in the campaign
of education and to develop plans for
American shipping. There has been no
evidence that money was expended in
an improper way to influence votes in
Congress on legislation.
This country could we'll afford to
build merchant marine through Gov
eminent agency and maintain it, II
there were no other way of providing
an American merchant marine. But
the American idea has always been to
give as free rein AS possible to private
initiative and to keep the Government
out of business. The effort has been,
therefore, to bring about the develop
ment of privately owned and privately
operated merchant marine. This has
been the avowed purpose of Congress
in its legislative acts. 1t has been the
purpose of the Coolidge administration
and of the present administration. 1t
is to that end that the United States
Shipping Board has labored.
Any effort growing out of the present
Senate investigation, to place STUN
bling block in the way of merchant
shipping advance in this country would
be serious mistake. 1t has been
charged that three American ship
building companies employed William
B. Shearer to lobby at the Geneva naval
limitation conference in 1927 and to
seek in various ways to create an i'll
feeling between this country and Britain
to the end that there should be no
agreement at the conference. If they
did so, they should be censured in the
strongest terms. The law, perhaps,
cannot reach them. Public opinion
doubtless will do so. The American
people will back an agreement for
limitation of naval armament, provid-
ed the agreement includes parity in
naval strength with Great Britain. They
will not agree to less. But the charge
against Shearer and the shipbuilders
is to the effect that they sought to pre-
vent any agreement at all, with or with
out such parity.
Whatever comes of the present Senate
inquiry, it will be devoutly hoped by
Americans who have American interests
at heart that it will not retard the de-
velopment of the merchant marine.