The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

ee = =§6§6—~FHE MARINE REVIEW trouble at present is duce chiefly to the fact that the shipping board: has not sought more the advice of typical American shipping people. The ship- ping board, he said, should® give more ear to the large American ship oper- ators, the men who have for years conducted an aggressive campaign to build up the American merchant ma- rine and not to those persons who, while residing in the United States, have allegiance to another nationality. Ship operators in any criticism of the actions of the shipping board have more reason to do so than have ship- builders. The latest action of the board was to give notice that steel vessels under 4000 tons deadweight would be released. That was a wel- come notice to those operators who own small vessels, but the release will operate unfairly against those American lines which are composed solely of ilarge ships. One shipping man figured out that the discrimina- tion would average $100,000 a month in favor of the small boat. | AKE the case of an owner of a 4000-ton boat which is at Genoa. It was estimated that she will earn $50,009 for her owners upon her re- turn voyaze home. This boat can then take on a cargo at $75 a ton and earn $200,000 on the voyage, inas- much as she is released. The ex- penses of the voyage will not be over $30,000, leaving a profit of $270,000. It will take this boat two and a half months at the outside to make the round trip. In comparison with the earnings of a 12,000-ton vessel the owner of the small ship will have the advantage by probably $200,000 during the same period of time, be- cause this large. vessel is com- mandeered and remains in the war service. The 12,000-ton vessel ‘s capable of making 15 knots and is an excellent ship in every respect. Being retained in the war service, however, her re- turn is fixéd at $4.15 per ton. During a month she will earn but $49,800, or approximately $125,000 during two and..a. half «months:. “‘This--boat.. is operated -for the government upon a ‘bare-boat charter basis. While this example is but a hypo- thetical. case it represents, less, some of the discrepancies in shipping control which have grown up under the shipping hoard. These are some of the problems which the ship operators are endeavoring to have called to the attention of Wash- ington and they are the questions which they desire Washington to solve. If they cannot be solved with equity under the present plan of merchant marine control, then the operators contend merchant shipping neverthe- . should be returned to private control. “Instead of giving us back our ships,” said one operator of American liners, “the board offers to -sell us new wooden boats. Why doesn’t it ships itself if operate these wooden U.S. Vessels Returned to Owners D.W. Owner—Vessels—Service— Tons. Clyde S.S. Co.— Choetaw—To be returned by navy.... 3,000 Kiowa—To be returned by ay, Teen 8,095 A. H. Bull S.S. Co— Dorothy—Atlantic coast ............ 3,940 Crowell & Thurlow S.S. Co.— Tampico—New England, coal........ 3,300 James W. Elwell Co.— Mae—West Indies .......0...0000% 3,000 Garland S$.S. Co.— Justin—Tacoma-Shanghai ........... 3,300 Grayson—Chinese ....... ees eee voce 4,000 W. R. Grace Co.— s Santa Rita—Nitrate trade........... 2,600 Santa’ Inez—Nitrate trade.......... 2,715 Santa Alicia—Nitrate trade......... 8,600 Maryanne Shipping Co.— Maryanne—West Indies ............ 2,490 Metropolitan Coal Co.— J. H. Devereaux—New England, coal.. 2,600 Munson S.S. Line— Tuscan—West Indies ...........+-- 2,813 Muniala—West Indies ............. 23725 New York & Cuba Mail S.S. Co.— Manzanillo—West Indies ........... 2,700 Yumuri—West Indies ....6. see. eds 2,700 New York & Porto Rico $.S. Co.— Ponce, PB Ort RICAN: see acs eee 3,400 _ San. Juan—Porto Rican............. 3,400 Pacific Mail $.S. Co.— City of Para—Central American..... > 8,460 Peru—Central American ............ 3,120 Newport—Central American ......... 2,200 Eisner Navigation Co.— Risner—Nitrate trade ...........5. 2,600 Fyne Co.— Montara—New England, coal........ 3,000 White Oak Transportation Co.— Bayview—New England, coal........ 2,650 Swayne & Holt— ‘ Alvarado—Hawaiian ........0-eeeee 2,750 El Dorado—West Coast South America 3,280 United Fruit Co.— Coppename—West Indies .... ...... 8,400 San Matso—West Indies............ 3,200 Esparta—West Indies ..........000- 3,600 Limon—West Indies .........e-e00% 3,600 San Jose—West Indies............. 3,600 Saramaca—West Indies ............ 3,500 U. S. Steamship Co.— Huron—New England, coal.......... 3,100 Binghamton—New England, coal..... 8,000 Vestkyston Shipping Corp.— Pauline—Nitrate trade ............ 2,717 Coastwise Transportation Co.— Corsica—New England, coal......... 3,250 Inland—New England, coal.......... 8,250 Matson Navigation Co.— Enterprise—Hawaiian ..........6.... 3,900 New England Fuel & Trans. Co.—* Arlington—New England, coal........ 8,600 Brandon—New England, coal........ 3,600 Pacific $.S. Co.— Admiral Sebree—West ‘Indies........ 3,500 Pacific American Fisheries Co.— Windber—Hawaiian Ce ie ce a ey Meteor—New England, Warren Transportation Co.— Matoa—New England, coal.......... 8,600 China Mail S.S. Co.— — China ee ee ee a CeCe eC eC er ee they are as good as they’ contend them to be, and give us back our old steel ships?” Tyre these exasperating events American shipping men believe that the future for our merchant ma- rine is very promising.’ They believe that a large and can be built up if the shipping board will but once grasp the proper point turn all possible shipping property to the older established American ship- influential marine. February, of view. During the rush of wa is conceded that it was necéssa act hastily and to take advice of first supposed authority that — sented itself. Now that peace is sight such a method of conduct the affairs of shipping regulatior should be abandoned and care éxe: cised before making a decision. Ship operation is today in a rath chaotic condition not alone becaus of the war but in part by reason o the “war babies” as shipping men are prone to call them. “War babies” are companies which had_ probably owned no more than a tug when the government commandeered all ship- ping. “By some turn of the wheel some companies have been successful — in having a rather neat fleet of ships allocated to them. Enriched with the ships allocated the “war babies” have grown to considerable propor- tions in the shipping business. What is to be done with these is a question — which shipping men are asking. Allocations made by the shipping board during December do not show this situation in the same way as previous allocations. But previous allocations: were protected by the war censorship and the shipping board has not as yet seen. any occasion to make public what was done. During December the U. S. A. lines and-the Barber Steamship Co. were allocated three ships each. The U. S. A. lines received the bark, ANAKoNDA, 1393 tons; and the ships, ASHMUND and WESTLAND. The last named is an 8500-ton vessel to be used in trade between New York, Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand ports. To the Barber Steamship Co. was allocated the Monmoutnu, 8000 tons, New York to Yokohama, Kobe, Shang- hai and Hongkong; the Grorce WasH- ~ York te; INGTON, 9000 tons, New Montevideo; and “a _ steamer,’ New York to Montevideo. The operations division of the ship- ping board is at last striving to re- the owners. Nevertheless the largest | and the fastest steamers belonging to American operators are still retained — in the war service. Some shipping people are inclined to believe that these vessels will not be returned for a year, and that they will be retained for the use of the war department to bring back soldiers and military sup- plies from Europe. The shippin board has in its power to build up the “war babies” into formidable rivals of ping lines. The potential influence of the board is great and it is for thi reason that shipping authorities at the port of New York especially are anxious to have the merchant maritf removed as soon as_ feasible from any possibility of political control. —