Evening star., 1950-05-21
Subsidy Situation
In Merchant Marine
Due for Scanning
BY Bill Ross

Dy OIL MOSS
The Nation honors the Mer-
chant Marine tomorrow, National
Maritime Day.
The event marks the first trans
Atlantic steamship crossing, made
131 years ago by the Savannah.
which paddle-wheeled to Europe
with considerable help from
wind and sails-in u historic
days.
Most major port cities along
the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf
coasts have scheduled celebra-
tions, and wherever an American
merchantmen is at sea the Or
ders are to dress ship" with every
pennant and flag.
Maritime Day 1850 finds the
United States with O. merchant |
marine in many respects the finest |
the world ever has known. Scat |
tered along global sealanes are
more than 1900 United States
merchant vessels. all fast and ef-
ficient ships, built during or after
the war.
Giants Being Built
Six giant luxury liners-includ-
ing a $7o,00o,0Oo supership-are
being constructed to bolster the
passenger feet. Maritime work.
ers, ashore and afloat. last year
numbered about 100000 and were
paid an estimated $1.4 billion in
wages.
But Americas shipping indus
try has multibillion- dollar prob
lens. The men who build and
sail merchant ships point out that
since VI day the strength of
our mercantile fleet has dwindled
sharply in the face of mounting
foreign flag competition. Ameri-
can shipyards also have felt the
postwar pinch.
No. l problem of the Merchant
Marine. however, is wrapped up in
the future of it's dealings with the
United States Government.
Since the days when Capt.
Moses Rogers sailed the Savannah
from its namesake port in Georgia
to Liverpool, England, the bulk
of American shipping has received
Federal aid in some form. Con-
gress has authorized these subsi-
dies to insure. according to the
law. a Merchant Marine ade-
quate for the needs of commerce
and the security of the Nation"
Millions for Competition
These payments-nearly 500
million in 1949-are made to en-
able American ships to compete
with foreign vessels which have
considerably lower labor and
other costs.
Uncle Sans role In shipping
has been handled since 1886 by
the United States Maritime Com
mission, an independent agency
set up by Congress. The Senate
on Friday approved the Truman
proposal to abolish the Maritime
Commission and unless the House
does otherwise. the plan will be-
come effective next Wednesday.
For two years the agency has
been under heavy fire from the
General Accounting Office and
committees of both the House and
Senate for the way it has handled
subsidies.
When President Truman pro-
posed the agency be reorganized
he made no direct mention of the
confused subsidy situation. He
said only that the change should
be made for reasons Of economy
and to streamline administrative
functions.
At other times. however, he has
recommended look-see at-and
possibly a ceiling on-future pay
ments to the shipping industry.
Subsidy Scanning Due
For this reason, most observers
are agreed. the first major assign
ment of the proposed new Federal
Maritime Board will be top-to-
bottom shakeup of subsidies.
"And without continued sub
sides at at least the present
level" a top-flight shipping ex-
ecutive said in discussing the mat
ter. foreign merchantmen will
chase us from the seas"
Military men take no part in
the subsidy argument. but hold
that the merchant fleets strength
already is dangerously low.
Some 1000 war-built cargo ves-
sells now are tied up in reserve
f1eets-ready to be quickly con-
verted to military duty. But. ac-
cording to defense experts. these
s.lips-as we'll as those on active
duty-might not be enough In an
atomic conflict.
The shipbuilding industry-and
the men who sail the vessels
seem certain that the answer Is
more Federal help.
Perhaps Maritime Day should
be on another date" one ship line
president speculates. Maybe we
shouldn't observe it on the ami
versary of the Savannah's cross
ing. After all, she was nothing but
a bad-luck ship.
4 Capt. Rogers and a group OF
Georgia businessmen all but lost
their shirts on the 98-foot. 800
ton vessel.
i "She was the first ship to use
steam to cross the Atlantic" the
shipping man continued, "but she
never made a penny for any one"
Two years after the epoch voy-
age the Savannah-which had be-
come a coastwise sailing ship
went to the bottom of Long Island
i Sound.