The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, November 29, 1917, Page 4

T | Washington Bureau Nonpartisan Leader N sharp contrast to the efforts of old-line politicians in con- gress to grab the undeveloped power resources of the nation, now held in public control, and turn them over to private inter- ests for the future exploitation of the people, is the story of the government and the ocean shipping problem. Did you know that the first great conscription of an industry had taken place? That “conscription of wealth,” in so far as the absolute use of all of the materials and machinery of a great industry is concerned, had been ac- complished? The United .States shipping board requisitioned all American shipping of over 2,500 tons dead weight, except vessels on the Great Lakes, on October 12. - These ships, to a total of consider- ably more than 1,000,000 tons carrying capacity, are now working at the ex- pense and for ‘the profit of the gov- ernment. Huge profits were being earned by the steamship owners and steamship lessees before this order took effect. Those profits, to the degree that they have not been cut off, now go to the nation. The E‘ompanies are getting simply a margin of “reasonable profit” that will keep their machinery going. The day of their excess profits of 200 to 500 per cent has gone. TUncle Sam is master of every vessel. He is the biggest shipmaster on earth today, ex- cept the government of Great Britain. GREED OF MONOPOLY CAUSE OF ACTION This action on the part of the gov- ernment, in taking possession of the shipping industry and running it on public account, is due in part, of course, to the fact that we are at war. We were compelled to ship materialy and food to Europe, regardless of cost: and without reference to the previously arranged schedules of sailings, which had been based on private commerce in times of peace. : But just as the railroads have thus far escaped seizure, and the mines and the packing plants have remained in private hands, the steamships would have remained in the hands of the biz private cerporations, but for one thing —the greed of those corporations. They were not content with big prof- its. They wanted double, triple, quad- ruple prefits. They held up all ship- ments for a robber rate of toll. And they held up shipments so determined- ly that the president of the United States put the stamp of condemnation upon them. His address to the busi- ness men of the United States, issued on July 12 last, was in fact the pro- nouncerment of sentence upon the life of the shipping monopoly. This address will be remembered ic Owners] ) {THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES], @ 1p=a‘f throughout the war as the one in which the president sounded the slogar: “Patriotism leaves profits owut of the question. TPatriotism and profits ought never, in the present circum- stanc>s, to be mentioned together.” In that appeal to patriotism as ahovw greed he said: “Lat mes turn for a moment to the shipcwners of the United States, and the other ocean carriers whose example they have followed, and ask them if they realize what obstacles, what al- OWN AND OPERATE THE MARINE TR!’-\NSPOPTATEQN FACILITIES. oo e = fE AT \THROUGH THE GOUERNMENT, NOW | T 1".,&!( v fllfl. | “T am not questioning motives. I am merely stating a fact, and stating it in orcer that attention may be fixed upon it. The fact is that those who have fixed war freight rates have taken the most effective means in their power to defeat the armies engaged against Geimany. “When they realize this we may, 1 take it for granted, count upon them to reconsider the whole matter. It is high time. Their extra hazards are covered by war-risk insurance account, which will come _into commis- sion next year and in 1919. --Uncle Sam will operate all of tllisf‘ti‘gmendous system of water transportation, on his own responsibility, at his own expense and for his own service and profit. Profits in the ocean carrying trade can be measured by the price of ships. Or put it the other way—the value of a ship depends on what it is allowed to earn. Before the war, ships sold for $60 to $70 per ton in the ports of the United One of the many mushroom, temporary buildings being built by the United States government at Washington, D. C., to house the head offices of the many nev and enlarged activities the government is engaged in as a result of the war. As never before, the government is extending its functions into fields which, in the past, have been thought to be the pre- serves of private capital and “initiative.”” The taking over, under public ownership and operation, of the sea transporta- tion facilities is an instance, discussed in this article from the Leader's Washin famous Washington monument at the national capital in the background. most insuperable obstacles, they have been putting in the way of the success- ful prosecution of the war, by the ocean freight rates they have been ex- acting. ri “They are doing everything that high freight charges can do to make the war a feilure—to make it impossible. I do not say that they realize this or intend it. The thing has happened naturally encugh, because the commercial pro- cesses which we are content to see operate in ordinary -times have with- out sufficient thought been continued inth a period.where they have no prop- er place. The farmers are demanding public ownership of transportation and marketing facilities such as affect farm products. “Imp_og- sible,”” ‘“Socialistic,”” ‘‘disloyal,’”’ is the answer of the politi- cians and Big Business to this plan of the farmers. ‘‘Impossible ?’’ But wait a minute! Read this story of what has happened in one of the country’s greatest industries. The people of the United States, through their government, now own and operate the American marine transportation facilities, till recently a private monopoly sucking almost- unbelievable profits from our people and from our allies. It couldn’t be done, of course! And yet IT IS being done. How? Why, the governinent just natu,ra'lly stepped in and COMMANDEERED—or requisitioned, if you like —all the ships and all the crews and all-the other shipping facili- ties it wanted, AND NOW IT IS RUNNING THEM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE PEOPLE AND OUR ALLIES IN THE WAR. Has the subsidized Big Business press told you all the details of this PUBLIC OWNERSHIP OF A PUBLIC UTILITY IN SUCCESSFUL OPERATION? Certainly not, but you can read it here. PAGE FOUR Those who do not respond, who do not respond in the spirit of those who have gone to give their lives for us on bloody fields far away, may safely be left to be dealt with by opinion and the law, for the law must, of course, command these things.” = The law did command, before the profiteers responded to the president’s challenge. The order of October 12, three months after the date of tais warning, wiped out, for the period of the war at least, the private profiteer- ing, of the American merchant marine. GOVERNMENT TOOK SHIPS BEING BUILT This law gives to the United States shipping board the power to requisition ships, terminals and all other property needed in the industry, until six months after the ratification of the treaty of peace at the close of the war. Today the companies are agents of Uncle Sam. They get their orders as to where each ship shall dock, where if. shall coal, when and to what port it shall sail, and with what cargo. Beside the Americar-owned shipping which has been requisitioned, -there.is a vast tonnage of secized German ships, and of ships requisitioned while under construction in this country for owners in -neutral countries. Ships heing built for American and neutral firms, as fast as they are completed, are put under charter to the shipping board, which operates them with government- employed crews. This, also, will con- tinue until six months after the war has closed. ’ Finally, there are the millions of tons of new shipping now under construc- tion, every bit of it on government gton bureau. In the picture, notice the States. English shipyards could build them for about $40 per ton. ‘When the government stepped in to put an end to the war-profiteering of the shipowners, in October, ships were selling at $300 per ton. If the govern- ment were to permit their sale te foreign companies, they would sell at that figure, or higher, today. RATES ARE REDUCED UNDER PUBLIC CONTROL All of this unearned excess profit on the investment in ships went to the owners. When the government laid its hand upon the ships, and informed the private owners that they would henceforth be permitted to receive only a reasonable rate of interest upon ac- tual investment, there took place the first act in the curbing of the trans- portation kings of America. Where the process will lead, no man can say. Before the ships were requisi- tioned, the rental of a cargo ship ranged from $12 to $15 per ton per month. Neutral ships not controll- ed by the shipping board still com- mand that rate for charter. But the present rate, under government control, is from $5.75 to $6.07 per ton per month, or a reduction in rate of more than 50 per cent. This is not, of course, the immediate gain of the shipper. A: steel manu- facturer in Pennsylvania may have contracted to deliver steel, over a period of six months, to the Italian government at a certain price. This contract price was based on the old profiteering rates for shipping. The government now takes the profit, ine (Continued on page 12)