Milford chronicle., 1956-11-30
NEW SHES ON THE WAYS

Six new Amerlcan-fag SHIPS are now
under construction or will soon be started.
This marks the beginning of So billion
ship replacement program by merchant lines
operating under government contract. The
program will require 10 to Is years to COM
plete and will mean 100000 man-yearS of
employment - reaching, through subcon-
tracts into every state in the union
The reason for so big an undertaking is
plain enough. Some 80 per cent of our mer-
chant fleet was war-built. Without replace
ment, it would become obsolete by traditional
shipping standards between 1861 and 1865.
If that happened, the u. S. flag would begin
to disappear from the trade lanes of the seas
and the potential effect of this on our ma
tional defense system and our domestic econ
omy with its heavy dependence on trade
throughout the free world, would be of cat
astrophic proportions.
That phrase, operating under govern
ment contract" deserves explanation. The
contracts are rigid and provide that Ameri-
can seamen must be employed, supplies must
be bought in this country whenever possible,
maintenance work is to be done in American
yards, the ships are to maintain regular sail
ings on routes the government deems essen
tial, and so on. In return, the government
makes payments to the contract lineS to help
make up some of the great difference be-
tween operating costs of American ships in
relation to foreign competitors And the con-
tracts contain unique provision ii it the
lines make profits, large proportion of those
profits must be paid to the government to
reduce the subsidies. Thus, we get our es-
sential merchant marine at minimum cost
to the country.
THE REVOLT THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN
! Prior to the election, many people felt
that disaffection on the part of farmers might
prove very costly, in terms of votes, to Pres
ident Eisenhower. Much political fire was
scentered on the Administration and partic-
ularly Secretary of Agriculture Benson, for
favoring flexible supports as against high
and rigid supports.
This ''farm revolt simply did not hap
pen. The President ran with great strength
in the principal farming regions
Why it did not happen is susceptible to
several answers. For one thing, as Farm
Journal said in its November issue, "Out-
side drouth areas, most farmers, though not
all, have been doing pretty well consider
ably better than a year ago." For another,
recent years have witnessed strengthening,
not weakening of the institution of the
family farm, which is certainly ali to the
good. For third, the government supports
apply to only six so-caled basic crops and,
as Secretary Benson has effectively pointed
out, are of primary benefit to big CONNER
cial-type farms rather than to the smaller
family farms
There may well be still another reason
that is more compelling than any of these.
Many farmers must realize that no nation is
rich enough to continue indefinitely to build
up governmert-boughts surpluses- many
must realize, OH the grounds of both expert
ence and theory, that when government does
the paying, government also does the boss
ing. Some leading farm groups, in fact, have
long recognized this. The livestock produc-
ers, for instance, have steadfastly opposed
government supports and controls, even in
times of severe economic strain.
Farmers value freedom too.