Evening star., 1937-07-17

/ OF Latin America, which the warning
nations had been compelled to aban.
don. We need never have sold to the
belllgerents, he said, but could have
dealt legltimately with South Ameri.
ca, the Far East and South Africa.
The situation became so serious that
in 1916 Congress passed legislation
creating the United States Shipping
Board. The Nation then embarked on
the most stupendous shipbuilding pro.
gram In the worlds history. Ships
We're ordered by the thousands, were
Communicated, requisitioned. seized.
purchased and chartered Shipyards
came into being almost overnight and
within 20 months grew to such an ex-
tent that one which had employed
1000 persons took On seven times
that many. The demand was greater
than the steel industry could supply,
and the country took to building
wooden, composite and even concrete
SHIPS. Three billion dollars was spent
or committed to construction of ships
this orgy Of building. when the Ma
ton had to have ships at any cost. the
Governme MT is spending 100000 000
year in interest charges alone on
| that wartime fleet
The scene shifts to the post t-var
! period. and America begins a drastic
Tightening of its belt, nauticallv
speaking. The curtailment OF ship
building activities was SO rapid, in
fact. that during the years 1918 to
1921. inclusive keels laid each year
totaled ITO. 651, 81 and S. respec-
lively. And from 1922 to 1923 not a
single ship was built in American
yards for overseas foreign trade serv-
ice, while during the same period mill
lions OF tons were built by foreign
competitors.
| EIGURES-even figures about boats
and oceans-are dry, but these tell
| story: From June. 1922, to June.
1888, the steam and motor ship ton.
mage OF the world increased by $685.
600 tons, while the United States was
reducing its tonnage by more than B.
600 600 tons, or over 20 per cent Of
its total. British Empire tonnage de-
creased by only 40. 600 tons or less than
one fifth Of per cent Of its total.
| This Nation ranks next to last in
ship tonnage among the six principal
maritime countries in ships with
speeds Of II knots and upward. and
has the smallest percentage Of vessels
| 10 years old or less.
| In five years time all but about 40
Of Americas foreign trade feet of 38l
| vessels will be at least 20 years old,
and every last ship in the Govern
ment-owned merchant feet will be
| that old. In the private merchant
fleet engaged in foreign trade ships Of
only 10 knots speed predominant.
During the quarter ended last March
| 81 the United States was behind Great
/ Britain, Germany, japan and Holland
in ship construction, according to sta-
tistics from Lloyds Register Of Ship
ping. She was building only l45, $40
tons-less than per cent of the total
under construction while Great
Britain was building l,Oll,244 tons.
WITH American shipping at such =
low tide-lowest in the Nations
history, with the exception OF the 10
years preceding the World Wharf.-The
Maritime Commission aims to restore
the United States TO the maritime
position it occupied in the middle of
the last century. This 1t seeks to do BY
direct subsidy, by compensatng ship
operators according to the difference
between their operating costs and the
operating costs OF their foreign COM
petitorS. These differences are largely
matters Of wages, subsistence. mainte-
nance, insurance and repairs. To
qualify for subsidy an operator must
agree to develop long-range program
for the replacement Of all vessels over
Il years old
1t is not the present intention of the
commission. officials said to encourage
the building Of 'superliners" like the
Queen Mary. the Normandie. IJalys
Rex and Conte di Savoia, Germany's
AuAoPh anu iCHlCll. EIclSIISu NT6
speedy ultra modern O,OOO-tonners,
like the Manhattan and George WASH
ington-combination passenger and
cargo ships. The time for superliners
may come soon, but it is thought best
to wait until the American merchant
marine re-establishes itself on q sound,
profitable basis. Ocean giants like the
Queen Mary are regarded more Al
costly advertisements than As service
able merchant vessels.
After years Of being . second-rate-
worse, a NTH and sixth rate mari
time power-the United States 10
ocean minded again, and the era may
not be a distant one when Columbia
again will rule the waves and the Stars
and Stripes will be AS prominent in
domestic and foreign ports ax the
Union Jack, the Tricoleur. the ewas-
tika and the Flag Of the Rising Sun,