Evening star., 1935-08-28
GIANT SH|PSFACE
FIGHT FOR TRADE
Race to Build Largest and
Fastest Vessel Invites
Competitive Chaos.

course OF q recent UP 10 EufOpc
and recording his impressions and
observations. Other articles in this
series wiu appear from time to
time In The Star.
BY JAMES WALDO FAWCETT.
Are ocean monsters like the Nor
mandie and the Queen Mary white
elephants?
In that question Is summarized
controversy which just now is trou-
bling merchant marine people might
lily. The current race for the blue
riband" Of transatlantic transporta-
ton, some say, is absolutely suicidal"
Only q small minority appears to be
supporting the contrary point Of view.
The initiation Of the Normandie
into service brought the subject to the
fore and the induction Of the Queen
Mary next year is expected to bring
it to a climax. Such rivalry, all par
ties seem to agree, reflects nation
alistic motives rather than rational
economic objectives. The whole prob
lem is one aspect of the competitive
chaos which prevails over the entire
world and which. many observers be-
lieve, is consistently becoming more
complex, more bitter and more acute.
But, like the universal issue Of which
1t is part. the riddle lacks an answer.
Meanwhile, those most directly in
volved are bewildered.
France. 1t Is reported. soon will be-
erS H,,f1 fef2 I.Sv R.v-f fI,n
mandie. Great Britain, In that event,
will duplicate the Queen Mary. Ger
many, Italy and almost certainly the
United States will enter the contest.
The ocean will be a battle-ground.
But there can be no worthwhile VIC
tory for any nation. The cost of con-
struction and Of maintenance and
operation Is too great.
Business to Prove Obstacle.
A vessel Of the type Of the Nor
nnandie must pay Its way every hour
Of its existence. if it Is to be an asset
and not liability. That means it
must be kept at sea, sent back and
forth over the ocean as many times q
year as may be mechanically possible.
And on each trip 1t must carry q
maximum Of cargo and passengers.
But where is so much business to
come from? Even in the most pros
porous times there has been room for
only a few big ships.
Granted that the struggle may re-
suit in a devastating slash in prices,
the fact Is that rates now are ap-
proximately as low as they possibly
can be. Further reduction is econom-
ically infeasible. The Queen Mary,
1t has been suggested, may be able to
carry a tourist-class passenger from
southampton to New York for SIS, but
anything less than that figure Is in
conceivable-the boat might as well
be tied up In dock as sell accommo-
dations at loss.
Also, concentration ca leyiathans
signifies the elimination Of numbers
I OF smaller ships. The shipping COM
panies simply cannot operate little
competitors Of their own giants. Cap
ttal invested in existing equipment
viii suffer the handicap of being
frozen" and labor will be disadvan-
tagged by the necessary cuts In person.
! mel. Yet even If the ocean were swept
clear OF little boats, it Is doubtful that
the monsters could justify themselves.
Geographical consideraticus, it
should be remembered, must be taken
into account. A traveller naturally
desires to sail from convenient point,
but Southampton Is not convenient
to Berlin or Rome and Cherboure is
not convenient to Londcu or Dublin.
The traffic normally Is divided"
among half dozen major ports, and
to correlate it at any single one of
them would be exceedingly diflcult
Moreover, the British passenger ordi-
narily will prefer British boat, Just
as the French passenger will prefer a
French ship. Nationalistic feeling
has something to do with the case.
Vibration on Big Ships.
A supplementary complication Is the
discomfort Of travel in crafts pri-
marily dedicated to speed. The Nor
mandie is fast, but it likewise is
wracked with vibration, and the same
observations may be made in prophecy
with respect to the Queen Mary. Oc-
casioual voyagers may not object to
the tncessant throbbing, but the aver
age vacation tourist Is apt to be crit
ical. It follows that prejudice will
develop against both the big boats
and the policy which they represent.
One ray Of hope enters the picture
because Of the international pool or
trade association to which all the
companies belong. It Is a league Of
nations Of q sort and may have q
pacifying influence on its members.
Some arrangement, for example, may
be worked out whereby only one large
vessel will sail each week end. But
such an agreement would result In
that ships rivals being temporarily
"out Of business" and as one would
be satisfied in the role Of a passive
martyr. Each company wants to be
independent, and philosophy Of SELF
sacrificing cooperation has scant
appeal to any group.
Worldwide prosperity, certainly,
would solve the problem. but the men
Of the merchant marine are not ex-
travagantly optimistic Of such good
fortune in the near future. Hence,
their attitude Of alarm over the blue
riband" race and It's inevitable con.
sequences.