Evening star., 1940-12-08

lie 1e1l9IhdUlE TtUiIiu VI lllt hIlltI
lean merchant marine is emphasized by
current British requests for construction
Of new shipbuilding facilities in this
country. The plan is to utilize these
projected shipyards to offset, with vessels
of American construction, the mounting
toll being taken by German submarines,
bombing planes and mines.
Since virtually every large coastal
shipyard is now fully occupied either
with Navy or Maritime Commission con-
tracts. the British have suggested that
a number of new yards should be hur-
riedly established along our eastern sea-
board These yards would really be
assembly lines at which specially fab
ricated cargo ships of small size would
be turned out on a mass production
basis. Under this system it is believed
that standardized steamers could be
built, or rather fitted together, in as
little as six months.
This emergency fleet, for which British
agents in this country are now anxious
10 place contracts, would not compare in
design or structure with the splendid
vessels now coming INTO the service OF
our own merchant marine at the rate of
one week or better. Nor would the
product, or such part of it as might sur
vlve the war, be likely TO compete sue
cessfully with the ships sponsored by the
United States Maritime Commission
under a construction program which was
planned in detail before the war.
Achievement Is Notable
Three years have now passed since the
Inauguration of this l0-year program
which at the outset called for the build
ing of 500 merchant vessels at the rate
of so a year. Contracts for 179 of these
ships have now been let OF these "a
have slid down the ways of Is shipyards,
located in IA States. OF the vessels
launched, SIS have been delivered to their
owners and are now III service under the
American flag on all the open trade
routes of the globe.
This achievement would be notable
even in normal times. II Is the more so
because the progress of American ship
building comedies with a rapid deple-
ton of the merchant fleets of other
countries.
While the United States completes
new steamer every week, the British have
lately been losing them at the rate OF
three day which is of course far IN
excess of their construction capacity.
Meantime the merchant Shipbuilding OF
all the other great maritime nations, eX-
cept Japan, is largely halted and ship
wards in all the belligerent countries are
the constant targets of bombing raids
Already in view of the destruction of
tonnage, the original Maritime Commits
sion program of one new ship week
over a period of 10 years has been accel-
Grated and may soon be doubled. In the
Immediate future for instance, there VIII
be launchings on December 10, Is and 18.
IF the United States remains at peace 1t
seems certain that the end of the war VIII
see this country a dominant maritime
nation for the first time since the Gays
of the famous clippers.
Much the same opportunity vas avail
able to the United States during the
previous war, but for various reasons 1t
was missed.
Rehabilitation Of Shipping.
II was the triumph of those who
drafted the Merchant Marine Act OF
1896 to confront this discouaging sltua-
ton squarely and, as the event shows,
to find the formula of successful solution.
Even without the present war, admins
tration of the Act would by this time
have brought a pronounced rehablllta-
ton of American shipping. The effect
of hostilities has been to facilitate pro-
eress which otherwise would not have
been gained without very stiff competi-
tive struggle.
The Merchant Marine Act Of 1886 is
comprehensive and complicated docu-
rent of rs pages. But its essence can be
briefly summarized
Part of the achievement was negative.
The Act dissolved the old Shipping
Board and turned away from the dis
credited policy of Government operation.
II further abolished the groSsly-abused
system of ocean mail subsidies. These
have been replaced by outright and un-
eier,,icod construction on6 OnpTqtlO0