Evening star., 1941-05-11
Figures on Britain S
Sea Losses Sought
By Senators
Stote Department May
Be Asked to Clear Up
Ship Toll Confusion
By GOULD LINCOLN.

BY GOULD LINCOLN.
The State Department may be
asked to clear up the picture of
British losses at sea, particularly
of ships clearing from United States
and Canadian ports, before the Sem
ate Commerce Committee acts on
the administration ship seizure bill
by an overwhelming majority, it was
learned yesterday.
Many Senators were amazed
and to some degree shaken-by the
letter which Chairman Emory S.
Land of the Maritime Commission
wrote Senator Vandenberg. Repub-
lean, of Michigan, listing only 8 out
of 205 merchant vessels sailing from
this country for Britain in the first
three months of this year as lost,
with only four more lost in April.
The Senate committee is to meet
tomorrow morning and at that time
may take steps to request the State
Department to furnish it the in
formation, presumably from British
sources.
More Serious Picture.
In the meantime, the British Ad-
miralty yesterday released figures
which gave a much more serious
picture of the ship losses of Brit
ain and her allies, showing that
1908 ships, aggregating 4,734, ,407
tons, were sunk in the year since the
Nazis invaded the Low Countries.
The ship seizure bill, which gives
President Roosevelt authority to &C
Quire and make use of Danish, Ital-
ian, German and other foreign ships
tied up in American ports, has been
advanced by the administration as
measure necessary to get to Brit
ain the aid which this country has
promised.
Some Senators who support the
administration foreign policy said
yesterday they saw no reason for
a change of their position. even if
the Land figures were correct. One
of them, leader in the Senate who
preferred not to have his name used
at this time, said: Il do not be-
lieve that the letter and figures
submitted by Admiral Land should
have any influence at all, either
upon the ship seizure bill or upon
the convoy issue. This country has
decided to give Britain the aid she
needs to stand up against Hitler.
I do not believe that we should
wait until England is in extremis
and about to lose the battle of the
Atlantic before Weprovide her with
ships needed to carry supplies, or
that we should wait until that time
to use the Navy to see that supplies
are landed in British ports"
Easy Passage Predicted.
This Senator also predicted that
the ship seizure bill would pass the
Senate by a substantial majority.
Chairman Bailey of the Com
merce Committee has promised that
the bill will be reported to the Sem
ate early this week, certainly by
Wednesday. He has no intention
of delaying the measure in COM
mittee.
A number of amendments to the
ship seizure bill already have been
prepared by Senators opposed to
granting the President the sweep
ing authority contained in the House
bill. One of them would provide
that the ships could be used only
in American waters, or outside the
combat areas, and only in American
use. Another would forbid turn
ing any of the italian or German
ships over to the British. Still
another amendment would provide
that the owners should be compen-
sated by the return of these vessels
after the emergency has passed, and
paid in cash for their use.
The idea behind this last amend
ment is that owners of Danish YES
sells, for example, would not be
justly compensated if they were
given merely a money price for the
ships fixed by this country. They
should be entitled to have the ships
to put into their own carrying trade
at the conclusion of the war, it
was said.
Two Questions Raised.
Two questions are disturbing
some committee members. The first
relates to the seizure of the ships
while this country is not actually
q belligerent. Some of the Sena-
tors are inclined to hold that the
law of angary, under which the
ships may be taken, runs only for
belligerent nations under interna-
tional law. There have been in
stances, however, when neutral ma
tions have seized foreign shipping
in their ports. as did Italy during
the last World War. The other
question relates to the wisdom of
turning the ships, especially those
OF axis registry, over to Britain.
Senators here yesterday received
q telegram from the Fight for Free
dom Committee, urging that diplo-
matte relations with Germany and
Italy be broken and that the Navy
be used without further delay. 1t
said:
"At last the high officers of the
administration have spoken. At last
we know what we have long sensed:
That the danger is absolute and
that we must face it tomorrow. We
believe national emergency must
be proclaimed at once. We urge
a break in diplomatic relations with
our mighty naval force to hold the
seas of the world against the enc
mics of the world. America is ready,
as always, to do her duty to the
cause. Let's wait no longer"
The telegram was signed "The
Fight for Freedom Committee, Mrs.
Calvin Coolidge, vice chairman;
Henry w. Hobson, chairman; Fran
els P. Miller, vice chairman; Wayne
johnson, treasurer; F. H. Peter
Cusick, executive secretary"