Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1937-10-15

have been kept. After all, we had the
vessels. They were a total loss II not
used. Hence, American shippers could
keep them on the seas for the mere
cost of operating them. Why not!
That wartime shipyard at Hog Island
in the Delaware River turned out one
7,500-ton ship day and the great ma
jority of them are still being used
The government poured $3OO,OOO,OOO
into that shipyard and it's ships. Amer
lean shipping concerns bought the
bottoms as low as three cents on the
original dollar cost. Yet with this ire
mendous advantage we are steadily
losing-out in the race for tonnage.
Moreover, while these government
ships were being operated, other AM
erican vessels remained idle. The
great S. S. "Leviathan,' formerly the
"Vaterland," was captured from Ger
many. Several United States firms
tried to operate it but completely fail
ed and it is now being scrapped. Its
sistership, the "Imperator," however,
was taken from Germany by the Bri-
fish. It has been successfully crossing
i the North Atlantic under the British
flag all these years known as the
"Berengaria." 1t was on this boat that
I crossed to Europe.
BOunties HO!
Of course, you know that our for
eign competitors substitute their ship
ping concerns in one way or another.
There are figures available hut how
thoroughly or fairly they represent
facts in this mysterious industry, I do
hot 10y
competitors,-Gr Britain, Japan,
France and Italy-average bounties
of around $15,0OO,O0O, a year each. Even
so, our bit in that respect was $685.
100000 in 1888. Aside from this, how
ever, if we look into the problem more
carefully, we shall discover the real
! fly in the ointment.
France subsidies at the rate of over
$40 per ton of ships-Japan at only
81. Why the difference? Neither coun-
try is favored on fuel costs. The an
swer lies mainly in wage rates and
freight loaded. Pay on Japanese ships
is about one-quarter of that on Unit
ed States and French vessels. Great
Britain gets along with average wages
| fairly low subsidy, but a high volume
of freight. Besides high wages, our
trouble is our inability to get the
freight. Banking, insurance, and 9th
err features of foreign trade are ex-
tremely complicated. In this maze OF
relationships, we have lost our shrewd
Yankee ancestors art in getting the
freight.
! New Era VS.. Fundamentals.
! With the war eagles screaming
everywhere the Administration wants
to build up our merchant marine. It
gave American shipping the Merchant
Marine Act of 1886 and put Mr.
Joseph P. Kennedy at the head of the
new Maritime Commission. Under the
Act, our shipping companies may Sc
cure newly-built American vessels by
putting up about one-third of their
construction cost. This alone will not
solve the problem, however. So the
government further agrees to foot the
bill of differences between the Amer
lean and foreign operating costs.
! But bribery" will never serve as
a substitute for efficiency. High wages
, and short hours can. temporarily be
obviated by taxation and bounty; but
only until other countries Out-bOunty
u.s. Besides, our people are now not
"ship-minded." We lack the initiative
and courage of our ancestors in get
ting the volume of trade, The seafar.
ing spirit of early America is gone
Until there is rebirth Of these quail
tiles, I advise readers not to buy ship
! ping securities. o.