Evening Star Newspaper, February 28, 1922, Page 6

President Advocates Fund From Import Levies To Aid U. S. Ships; Opposes Discriminative Dutie,é (Continued from First Page.) and ships were so essential that material for them was given prior- ity over arms and munitions. There was the call for ships, and ships, and yet more ships, and we en- larged old yards and established new ones without counting the cost. We builded madly, extravagantly, tmpractically, and yet miraculously, but we met a pressing need and performed a great service. A people indifferent to the vital necessity of a merchant marine to the national defense ungrudging- 1y expended at five times the: cost of normal construction, and appro- priated billions where millions hed been denied before. We ac- quired vast tonnage. Some of it much of it, is suited to the peace service of expanded commerce. Some of it, much of it. may be charged to the errors and extrava- gances of wartime anxiety and haste. The war program. 2nd that completien of contracts which fol- lowed because such a course seemed best to those then charged with ~esponsibility, gave us some- thing more than 12,000,000 gross tonnage, not counting the folly of the wood ccnstruction, at a total outlay of apprcximately three and one-half billions of dollars. Vast Tonnage for Cargo. We thus became possessed of the vehicles: of a great merchant marize. Not all of it was prac- tical for use in the transoceanic trades; little of it was built for the speed which gives the coveted class to outstanding service. But here was vast tonnage for cargo service, and the government, in the exceptional call of commerce which Immediately followed the war, sought the establishment of shipping lines in every direction calculated to enhance our foreign trade and furtner cement our friendly relations. The movement lacked in most cases that inherent essential to success which is found in indi- vidual initiative. It was rather a sovernment experiment, where lines were established in high hope and little assurance, because the public Treasury was to bear the burden. There was the mere suggestion of private enterpris jnasmuch as allocations and cha; ters were made under which pri- vate management was to share in profits and private interests were paid to make the experiment, though the government was to bear all the losses. I forbear the detailed recital. The misadven- ture was so unfortunate that when the preseat administration came into responsibility the losses were approximately $15,000,000 a month, and to the cost of failure was added the humiliation of ships li- beled in foreign ports. % In spite of all the later losses in operation, however, it is quite be- yond question that our abundance of American tonnage was mainly responsible for our ability to share in the good fortunes of world trade during the two years imme- diately following the war. In all probability the losses we have sustained in our shipping activi- ties were fully compensated to the American people in the saving of ocean freights in that period. Convictign of Fallure. Today we are possessed of vast tonnage, large and very costly ex- Pperience, and the conviction of failure. It is fair to say that a mistaken policy. was made more difticult by the unparalleled slump in shipping which came late in 1920 and prevailed throughout the year so recently closed. It was the inevitable reflex of the readjust- ments, which follow a great war, and there were heavy losses in op. erations, which had to be met by long-established and heretofore successful shipping lines, and slups built at top war costs ook ¢ the slump in prices below the nor- mal levels of peace. But we have our ships, the sec- ora largest tonnuge in the world, and we have the aspiration, aye, let me say, the determination, to establish a’merdharnt marine com- mensurate with our commercial importance. Our problem is to turn the ships and our experience and aspirations into the effective de- velopment of an ocean-going ship- ping service without which there can oe no assurance of maintained comnrercial eminence, without which any future conflict at arms wilt send us building azain, wildly and extravagantly, when the prop- er comcern for _this necessary agency -of commerce .in peace will be our guaranty of defense in case that peace is disturbed. Out of the story of the making of great merchant marines and out of ‘our own experience we ought to find the practical solu- tion. Happily we are less provin- cial than we once were, happily we have come to know how in- seperable are our varied Interests. Nobody pretends any longer that shipping is a matter of concern only to the ports involved. _Com- merce on the seas ig quite a# vital to the great interfor as it is to our coast territory, east, south, or v Shipping is no more a sec- tional interest than is agriculture or manufacturing. No one of them can be prospered alone. Farsight in Waterway Plan. . ‘We have had a new manifesta- tion of this broadened vision in the enthusiasm of the great middle west for the proposed Great Lakes- St. Lawrence waterway, by which it is intended to connect the Great Lakes ports with the marts of the world. There is far-seelng visien in the proposal, and this great and commendable enterprise, deserv- ing your favorable consideration, is inseparable from a great mer-~ chant marine. : What, then, is our problem? I bring to you the suggestions which have resulted from a comprehen- sive study which are recommended to me by every member of the United States Shipping Board. It is a program of direct and indi- rect aid to shipping to be conduct- ed by private enterprise. It is pro- posed to apply generally the bene- fits which it was designed to d rive from discriminating duties to all ships engaged in foreign com merce, with such limitation on re-~ muneration as will challenge every charge of promoting special In- terests at public cost. In lieu of discriminating dutles on imports brought to us in Ameri- can bottoms it is proposed to take 10 per cent of all duties collected on imports orought to us In American or forelgn bottoms, and create therefrom a merchant ma- rine fund. To this fund shall be added the tonnage charges, taxes and fees imposed on vessels enter- ing the ports of continental United States, also such sums as are pay- able to American vessels by the Post Office Department for the transportation by water of foreign mails, pagce] posts excepted. Fund for Development. Out of this fund shall be paid the direct aid in the development and maintenance of an American merchant marine. The compensa- tion sball be based on one-half of 1 cent for each gross tom of any vessel, regardless of speet, for gach 100 miles truveled. When the spead is 13 knots or-over, but féss than 14,, two-tenths of ‘a’ cent’ on each gross ton shall be_sdded; for 14 knots, three-tenths-6f a cent; for 15 knots, four-teaths of a cent; for 16 knots, five-tenths: for 17 knots, seven-tenths; “for 18 knots, ni tenths; for 19 knots, eleven-tenths: for 20 knots, -thirteen-tenths shali be added to the basic rate. For 323 kpots the maximuny is reached at. ! i ¥ I | I \ [ lc——=[cl——1c lolc——]a]c——] 2.6 cents for each gross ton per 100 miles traveled. I will not attempt the detalls of requirements, or limitations, save to say that all vessels thus re- munerated - shall carry the United States mails, except parcel post, free of cost, and that all such-re muneration must end whenever the owner of any vessel or vessels shall have derived a net operating income in excess of 10 per cent per annum upon his actual investment, and thereafter the owner shall pay 50 per cent of such excess earnings to the merchant marine fund, until the full amount of subsidy previously recelved is returned to its source. In other words, it is proposed to encourage the shipping in foreign tradé until the enterprise may earn 10 per cent on actual investment, whereupon the direct aid extended 1s to cease and the amount advanced is to be returned out of a division with the government of profits in excess of that 10 per cent. The provision makes impossible the en- richment of any special interest at public expense, puts an end to the Bovernment assumption of all losses, and leaves to private enter- prise the prospective profits of suc- cessful management Cost to Run High. The cost of such a program prob- ably will reach fifteen millions the first year, estimated on the largest possibilities of the present fleet. With larger reimbursement to high-speed vessels and the en- largement of the merchant marine to a capacity comparable with our commerce the total outlay may, reach the limits of thirty millions, but it is confidently believed that the scale may in due time there- after be turned, until the larger reimbursements are restored to the Treasury. Even if we accept the extreme possibility—that we shall cxpend the maximum and no return will ever be made, which is to confess our inability to establish an American merchant marine—the expenditure would be vastly preferable to the present unfortunate situation, with our dependence on our competitors for the delivery of our products. Moreover, the cost for the entire year would be little more than the deficit heretofore encountered in two months during the experi- ment of the government sponsor- ing the lines and guaranteeing the cost of their operation. The proposed plan will super- sede all postal subventions, postal compensations and extra compen- sations, excepting _parcel-post freights, all of which combined are fast growing to approximately five millions annually. 't will ul- timately take the government out of a business which has been, and is now, excessively costly and wasteful and involving a loss in excess of the highest subsidy pro- posed. It will bring to shipping again that individual initiative which is the very soul of success- ful enterprise. It should enable Tl Ll 13 a Few Pianos and Players Priced to Sell Quickly And Just a Word as to Prices Prices alone do not necessarily mean values. fll Just Come in. SPECIAL New Player-Rolls Discontinued Lines 50c Each To to Pay Balance o Approved Credit Take a Long Time Stultz & Bauer. the government to liquidate its vast fleet to the highest possible advantage. Must Meet Competition. The making K of a successful American merchant marine, which must face the stiffest possible com- petition by the fleets of the mari- time nations, requires something " more than the direct ald to which I have alluded. The direct aid proposed, even though it ulti- mately runs to $30,000,000 annu- ally, is insufficient alone to offset the advantages of competing fleets. There are more than wage costs and working conditions and the higher costs of rationing, which no considerable American senti- ment will consent to have lowered to_competing standards. The men who sail the seas under our flag must be permitted to stand erect in the fullness of American opportunity. There is the higher cost of construction, the larger investment, the higher cost of insurance outlay, even though the rate is the same. There are higher Interest charges. Oun problems in shipping are very much the same as are those of our industries ashors, and we should be as zealous in promoting the one as we are in protecting the other. We may and mnst ald indirectly as well as directly. We need a favoring spirit, an awakened American pride, and an avowed American determination that we shall become, in the main, the carricrs of our own com- merce, in spite of all competition and all discouragements. - With direct and indirect aid, I bring to you a definite program. Those who oppose it ought, in all fair- néss, to propose: an acceptable alternative. There can be no dis- pute about the end at which we are aiming. Of the indirect aids there are many, practically all without draft upon the rpublic treasury, and yet all highly helptul in pro- moting American shipping. Urges Officials to Use Shipa. It is a simple thing—seemingly it ought not require the action of Congress—but American officlals traveling on government missions at government expense ought to travel on American ships, assum- ing that they afford suitable ac- commodations. If they do not afford the requisite accommoda- tion on the main routes of world travel, the argument that we should upbulld is strongly em- phasized. 1 think we should discontinue, so far as practical, the transport services in the Army and Navy, and make our merchant and pa senger ships the agents of serv ice in peace as well as war. ‘We should make insurance avail- able at no greater cost than is :afforded the ships under competing flags, and we can and will make / you. Ask the salesmen to explain them. You will be courteously treated and a painstaking effort will be made to show you, in a comprehensive way, what a-splendid selection you may make of both new and used instruments. . Read carefully some of the values listed below. If these are dependable, well-made instruments, surely they are worth hml:t W:l:n‘nfll investigate for yourself. Perhaps we have just what you want at the price you want to pay. us it over. Solo Concerto ... Story & Clark. . Solo Concerto ................ Davies & Son. .. Smith & Barmes. ... J. & C. Fisher Tnabe | To fully appreciate the prices on new and used in- struments we are offering at this time it is absolutely necessary that you see them. Thefigumalmdoyot give you a fair idea of the real worth of these bargains. Come in and see them. You cannot obtain the value you seek in a piano or player without looking for it. If after reading this list you will come here and look through just once, you will be quickly convinced that what we offer are thoroughly dependable pianos and players and our guarantee privileges will fully protect Used Players Solo Concerto ............. Ivers & Pond.........c....c.ooiin i, arerooms {iyanmioms pne 1330 G St. N.W. \ effective the spirit of section 28 of the Jones act of 1920, provid- ing for preferential rail and steam- ship rates on through shipments on American vessels. American rallways must be brought into co- operation with American steam- ship lines. It {8 not in accord with either security or sound business practice to have our railways fur- thering the interests:of foreign shipping lines, when the concord of American activities makes for common American good fortune. Contemplating the competition to be met, there ought to be an amendment to the interstate com- merce act which will permit rail- way systems to own and operate steamship lines engaged in other than coastwize trade, There is measureless advantage in the longer shipments, where rail and water transportation are cordi- nated, not alone in the service, but in the solicitation of cargoes which ever attends an expanding com- merce. . ‘We may further extend our long= established protection to our coastwide trade, which Is quite in harmony with the policy of most maritime powers. There is au- thority now to Include the Philip- pines in oyr coastwide trade, and we need only the establishment of proper facilities to justify ‘the in- clusion of our commerce with the islands in our coastwise provisions. The freedom of our continental markets is well worth such & fa- voring policy to American ships, whenever the facilities are suited te meet all requirements. Other indirect aids will be found in the requirement that immigra- tion shall join wherever it is found to be practical in aiding the mer~ chant marine of our flag under which citizenship is to be sought, and in the establishment of the merchant marine naval reserve. The remission of a proportion of income taxes Is wholly compatible when the shipping enterprise is of direct government concern, pro- vided that such remission is ap- plied to the cost of new ship con- structlon. . Congress has already provided for a loan fund to encourage con- struction. It might well be made applicable to some special require- ments In reconditioning. It is also worth our consideration that, In view of suspended naval construction, the continued build- ing of merchant ships is the one guaranty of a maintained ship- building industry, without which no nation may hope to*hold a high place in the world of commerce or be ussured of adequate defense. Cites Indirect Ald. A very effective indirect aid, a substitute for a discriminating duty which shall inure to the bene- fit of the American shipper, will be found in the proposed deduction on incomes, amounting to 5 per cent- um of the freight paid on cargoes carried in American bottoms. The benefits can have no geographical restrictions, and it offers its advan- tages lo American exporters as well as those who engage in im- port trade. Our existing ships should be sold at prices prevailing in the world market. 1 am not unmindful of the hesitancy to sacrifice the val ues to current price levels. W constructed at the top cost of war $350 Take a Long Time when necessity impelled, when the building resources of many nations were drawn upon to the limit to meet a great emergency. If there had come no depression, & return to approximate normal cost would have been inevitable, But the great slump in shipping has sent ton- nage prices to the other extreme, not for America alone, but throughout the world. If we held our ships to await the recovery we should only make more difficult our response to beckoning _opportunity. One of the outstanding barriers to gen- eral readjustment is the tendency to await more favorable price conditions. In the widest view, the nation will ultimately profit by selling now.. We may end our losses in an enterprise for which we are not equipped, and which .no other government has success- fully undertaken, and the low prices at which we must sell to- day will make a lower actual ‘in- vestment with which we deal in promoting permanent service. Experiment Has Been Costly. If I were not deeply concerned ‘ with the upbuilding of our mer- chant marine, I should neverthe- less strongly urge Congress to _ facilitate the disposal of the vast tonnage acquired or constructed in the great war emergency. The experiment we have made has been, very costly. Much has been learned, to be sure, but the out- standing lesson is that the gov- ernment cannot profitably man- age our merchant shipping. most fortunate changes in the personnel of management would stll leave us struggling with a policy fundamentally wrong and practically impossible. Having failed at such enormous cost. I bring you the proposal which contemplates.the return to individual initiative and private enterprise, aided to a conservative success, wherein we are safeguard- ed against the promotion of pri- vate greed, and do not discourage the hope of profitable investment, which underlies all successful en- deavor. We have voiced our concern for the good fortunes of agriculture, and it is right that we should. We have long proclaimed our interest in manufacturing, which is thor- oughly sound, and helped to make us what we are. In the evolution of rallway, transportation we have revealed the vital relationship of our rail transportation to both ag- riculture and commerce. We have been expending for many years large sums for deepened channels and better harbors and improved inland waterways, and much of it has found abundant return in en- larged commerce. But we have ig- nored our merchant marine. The world war revealed our weakness, our unpreparedness for defense in war, our unreadiness for self-re- liance in peace. Once Outsailed World. It would seem as though transpir- ing events were combining to ad- monish us not to fail now te reas- sert ourselves. In the romantic days of wooden hulls and whitened sails and the sturdiest men of the sea we outsailed the world, and carried our own cargoes, revealed The SPECIAL New Player-Rolls Discontinued Lines 50c Each To Approved Credit 'to Pay Balance our flag ta the marts of the world. TUp to the world war we were a debtor nation. _Oan abligations were held largely by the maritime Ppowers; ! Apart from the advan- tages 1 -carrying our commerce they sought our shipments for the balancgs; due- to them. - There s a differest condition now. . They are conce ,with shipments to us, but nqt.so inierested in our ship- ments to them. It is.our high pur- pose {o ‘continue our exchanges, both buying' and selling, but we shall be surer of our seling, no- tably our foodstuffs, if we main- tain facilicles for their franipdrta- on. Cotemporaneous with the'awak- ening, we have the proposal to carry our ocean-going facilities to the great “unsalted seas” which shall place the farms of the upper Mississippi valley on a market way to the marts of the old world. We should fall to adjust our vision to the possibilities If we halted in making for American eminence on the ocean highways now awaiting our returp. - = 5 We - have recently joined the great naval powers in a program which not only puts an end to cost- 1y competition in naval armament and reduces the naval forces of the world, but adds to the confidence in maintained peace. The relativity of strength ong the powers would be wholly one of “disap- pointing theory if ours is to be a merchant marine inadequate for the future. I do not care to stress it as a means of defense. The FROM THE AVEN war and our enforced outlay have already stressed that point. Second Line of Defense. The merchant marine s univer- sally recognized as the seend line of naval defense. It is -indispen- sible in the time of great national emergency. It is commendable to upbuild and maintain, because it is the highest agency of peace and amity, and bears no threat and in- cites no suspicion. And yet it isa supreme assurance, without which we should be unmindful of our safety and unheeding of our need to continued growth and main- tained influence. I am thinking of the merchant marine of peace. Commerce is in- separable from progress and at- tainment. Commerce and its hand- | maidens have wrought the greater intimacy among nations, "which calls for understandings and guar- antees of peace However we work it out, whatever our adjustments are to promote international trade, it is inevitable that the hundred millions here, outstanding in gen- ius and unrivaled in industry and incalculable in their resources, must be conspicuous in the world's exchanges. We cannot hope to compete unless we carry, and our concord and our influence are sure to be measured by that unfailing standard which is found in 2 na- tion’s merchant marine. road Labor Board nounced working conditions for supervisors of mechanics equipment | roads. The new , which had disputes before the board | and which | ard for all railways, apply to all fore- | men | ment department below the rank of | g@eneral | that all such employes shall be paid {on a monthly basis and that foremen | who have seven- | tions shail be granted two days off per month, and if for any reason they | work these days they are to be paid jextra on a pro-rata bisis; | also forbid reduction of foremen's pay | because shops may reduce working | hours. | conducted e “taxation { Ohio State University. UE AT NINTH -5~ RAIL LABOR BOABD GIVES .7 RULES FOR SUPERVISOBS | ; Working Conditionsf Also Announcs ; ed in Chicago for Bosses Over Mechanics. CHICAGO, February 28.—The Rall- last night an- its decision on rules and i} in the maintenance of department of the rail- rules, affecting all roads will tend to become stand- in the maintenance of equip- foreman. The rules provide ay-per-week posi- the rules Only the telegraphers’ rules and working conditions now remain be- fore the board. - —_— 2 The Ohio League of Woman Voters: institute” at ., P-B Spring Top Coats i "That top all coats by their service and smartness A raincoat in a shower—a top coat when it’s chilly—a duster in the motor, the spring top coat is a garment of-many uses. For spring we are showing many new E models in handsome gray and tan herring- bones and tweeds, developed along exclu- sive lines—and priced along the lines of least resistance. Top coats, satin and silk trimmed, $35, $37.50, $40 All-Wool gabardine top coats, $25.00, $37.50, $50 “ Stetson Hats for Spring Stetson stands for style—just as we stand for service. Together we submit for your approval a rare collection of Stetsons, new organization that presents the latest styles first, by reason of their character—and pre- quality. $7 and $10 . { The Avenue at Ninth IONALLY KNOWN STORE & | { in their shapes and shades, all typical of an . i serves thém longest, by reason of their ; NI A