Evening star., 1937-05-15
By Lucy Salamanca.


4 a 50 far as its merchant marine
Is concerned, and clean house in a
concentrated effort to establish this
Nation in its proper place among the
nations Of the world riding the high
seas. For that date marks the death,
elimination or re-establiShment un-
der a new and definitely prescribed
policy Of millions of dollars worth
Of mail contracts and the termina-
tion of practices and abuses which
should and must be ended" to quote
President Roosevelt's message to Con-
gress on March 4, 1885.
A little less than a month ago, with
the appointment of Joseph P. Ken
nedy as chairman of the new Mari
time Commission that grew out of
the scandalous disclosures of condi-
tions under the old Shipping Board,
and was charged with the man-size
Job of cleaning up a complicated,
distressing and highly Improbable
situation with respect to our merchant
marine, the first step was taken to
wipe the slate clean. Five members
are serving on the newly appointed
Maritime Commission-Mr. Kennedy,
Thomas C. Woodward, E. C. Moran,
Admiral Land and Admiral Wiley.
The task that confronts them is
to borrow Hollywood adjective, CO.
lossal. 1t is colossal because these
gentlemen have been charged with
making Of the United States sea-
going nation, with regaining our lost
naval prestige and position in the
commerce. Specifically, their tasks,
minutely observed, are of consider
able magnitude. They must terminate
existing mail contracts in the few
weeks that remain before the first day
Of July. They must hquidate old
contracts and form new subsidy
schedules. In time they must effect
. replacement program that will as
sure the adequate maintenance of
deet once established
They must determine as we'll what
Is to be done with that vast fleet of
idle ships that have been laid up for
80 long they have become indeed the
ghost ships" of our dead maritime
commerce. There are 1873 of this obso-
lete feet of World War vintage, and
% of the number have already been
put up for sale as scrap. Fifty-four
of them, tied up on the James River,
are now being examined as a pre-
liminary to early disposal. Others will
be sold on condition that they be
scrapped. Any shown to be of COM
mercial value and seaWorthy will be
offered for sale or charter. So will
the path be cleared for the modern
lzing of sorely out-of-date channel
Of trade.
&INCE the days when We went wild
in expenditure OF the staggering
sum of SO 1000, 100000 in frantic ef-
fort to build ships to carry American
soldiers to France and thereby made
tardy and erratic attempts to con-
struct bottoms to carry on our mari
time trade at time when the for
eign vessels on which We had de-
pended and come to lean almost en-
tirely had withdrawn from our serv-
ice, the American Merchant Marine
has been on long, drawn-out slide
down hill. Shipbuilding has virtually
come to a standstill; the Government
has been paying annually-up until
June 30-about S30000,000 for carry
Ing mails which would cost under
normal ocean rates no more than
$3,00O,0OO; We have lost completely
our old position of power and pride
on the high seas and find ourselves
inadequately equipped to carry on
ocean commerce, confronted, para
doxically enough, as We are, with an
unprecedented increase in the import
and export trades
The correction of these conditions
and esta blishment of our merchant
marine on a sound, wholesome and
permanent basis Is the problem the
present Maritime Commission has in
herited from the now defunct Ship
ping Board and old Merchant Fleet
Corp, which have been scrapped as
irrevocably as the ghost ships of
James River.
Joseph P. Kennedy, chairman of the
new commission, is the kind of a
chairman who looks as if he were going
to enjoy the job-and the tougher the
better. He is big and brawny and red
haired and flushed of countenance.
He is 40 years old, and his experience
has swept him through such jobs as
bank examiner, general manager for
the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp,
manager Of firm of investment bank
ers, officer OF various film corporations,
chairman OF the board Of directors and
president of Pathe Exchange, Inc;
chairman Of the Securities Exchange
Commission, to his present chairman
ship in one breath-taking march of
energy and action. Besides all this,
Mr. Kennedy is raising family of
nine children-flve daughters and four
sons.
IN THIS, the first individual inter-
view he has granted since taking
Office. the new chairman admits that
we cannot be proud Of our present
status among seagoing nations, but has
no doubts that once the tangles of
poor management, improper use of
DIOIlLS anu SCdCUSIeu cllOTLS-dS TT0Sl.
dent Roosevelt listed the problems con-
fronting the comnission-are un-
raveled, we may look forward to re-
gaining a merchant marine that will
rank as high or higher than that Of
any nation that sails the seas.
Mr.. Kennedy sees his first and i'm
mediate job that of "perfecting the
organization within the commission" I"
then "perfecting that outside" He
believes big step forward was taken
when the commission was granted the
right to certify its employees. That is
to say, that the commission is now
engaged in judging the abilities Of
some thousand employees with view
to their permanent retention. Ability,
rather than length of service, will
determine who shall be kept on. Those
lucky ones named for certification
will receive the present of civil service
status after non competitive examina-
tions. They will-about 900 of them