Evening star., 1929-10-06
The Sale of the Ships.

The Fleet Corporation and the Ship
ping Board, which controls it, have been
charged by Controller General McCarl
with selling ships to irresponsible buy
ers, with selling ships and other material
at prices which were only a small per-
centage of the cost and with bad busi-
ness judgment. 1t is due to the Fleet
Corporation and the Shipping Board
that they have opportunity to state their
side Of the case before attempt is made
to judge the matter. That opportunity
they will have. fortunately, through an
inquiry which President Hoover has set
In motion. He has directed the Attorney
General to make a study of the report
Of the controller general in all its
aspects. An inquiry by the Senate has
been requested also by Senator Fletcher
OF Florida, ranking Democratic member
of the Senate commerce committee.
The charges that ships have been
sold to private interests at exceedingly
low prices by the Fleet Corporation ana
the Shipping Board, which really con-
trolls the former, are not new. They
have been made again and again. The
prices for which the ships have been
sold are known. There has never been
any secret about the matter of prices,
nor any attempt to conceal these prices.
The Shipping Board, it must be as
sumed until it is proved otherwise, has
done its level best under very dificult
circumstances to dispose Of the fleet
which the Government acquired during
the war at the highest prices obtainable.
The task with which the board was con-
tronted following the war and the great
slump in shipping thereafter was one Of
the most difficult of the postwar prob
lens.
The policy adopted by Congress was
10 foster the development Of a privately
owned American merchant marine.
adeqrcte to carry much of Americas
overseas commerce. 1t was obvious that
If such merchant marine was to be
developed, the Government must dis
pose of its great merchant fleet. It
could not develop privately owned
merchant marine and at the same time
run shipping lines in opposition to the
private lines. But that was not ALL
The shipping business was suffering
from the fact that there was too lit
tie business and too many ships.
Further, Americans had deserted the
seas. They had been willing before the
war to have their commerce carried in
ships of other nations. The war de-
veloped conclusively the unwisdom of
neglecting a merchant marine. But II
was necessary to interest Americans In
shipping. and above. all, to divert Amer
ican capital into the shipping business.
With such handicaps to face, the
Shipping Board was necessarily forced
to dispose of ships, if it disposed Of
them at all, at low figures. The con-
troller general in his audit and report
may have vaGy largely the bare fig
ures in mind, and not the reasons
which forced the board to sell as it
has done. In large measure, the whole
matter revolves around a question Of
business judgment Either the Ship
ping Board had to keep the ships and
operate them, possibly at loss to the
Government, or it had to sell them
at a loss to the Government. The
direction of Congress was to build up
a privately owned merchant marine, If
possible. That was also the attitude
of the Coolidge administration.
The McCarl report, however, charges
that the Shipping Board and Fleet
Corporation sold to irresponsible con-
Germs, and that the Government has
sustained losses because the accounts
have been bad. 1t also makes the
charge that favoritiSm was shown In
at least one instance as between bid
ders. Doubtless these matters will be
given consideration in the Inquiry
which has been started by the Presi-
dent, and also by the Senate, If 1t
makes an investigation.
The Shipping Board, acting in ac-
cord with the legislation enacted by
Congress- has at all times done its
best to aid in the development Of an
American merchant marine. For that
it is to be congratulated. Further, 1t
has been successful to an extent which
was not believed possible in some quar-
ters. The shipping game" is a hard
game at best, with the keenest COM
petition It would be distinct mis-
fortune If anything prevents American
shipping from going forward.