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. 246 to build vessels to meet the demands for the proper growth of our foreign trade, and to maintain a force of workmen skilled in the art of ship- building in the shipyards of the United States: It is declared the policy of the United States to encourage and aid its shipbuilding industry sufficiently to cause ships to be built in the ship- yards of the United States for the foreign trade. To accomplish this end, the United States will acquire an in- terest in the vessels built under this act and will pay a portion of the cost of vessels so built. “Sec. 2. That the government of the United States shall have the right in case of war or national emer- gency to purchase or charter any of the vessels built under this act upon the conditions and terms hereinafter set forth; that in the event a vessel built under the provisions of this act is owned or operated in violation of its terms or the flag changed during the period the United States has an interest therein, the vessel shall be subject to seizure and sale by the United States and the rights of the United States as to its interests there- in shall take precedence over all mort- gages, claims, liens, etc., against the vessel, and notice to this effect shall be recorded in the custom house at the vessel’s hailing port and on the vessel’s papers carried on board. “Sec. 3. That vessels built under this act shall be owned by citizens of the United States as provided for in the merchant marine act of 1920; the vessels shall be of the most mod- ern design, and shall be approved by the United States shipping board; the vessels so built shall not engage in the coastwise trade of the United States; the price of vessels built un- der this act, together with the price of changes made during the construc- tion of the vessels, shall be submitted by the owners to the United States shipping board for approval. “Sec. 4. That there shall be paid from any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, upon the war- rant of the chairman of the United States shipping board and with the approval of a majority of the mem- bers of the board, to the builders of vessels in the United States who con- form to this act, a sum not less than 20 per cent or more than 30 per cent of the cost of each and every vessel so built; the comptroller of the treas- ury shall be and he is hereby authori- zed and directed to make such pay- ments when duly certified by the chair- man of the United States Shipping board; and the sum of $20,000,000.00 shall be and it is hereby appropriated for payments to be made on vessels MARINE REVIEW constructed under this act; the in- terest of the United States in a ves- sel so built shall be depreciated at the rate of 5 per cent of the amount paid by the United States, per annum, and shall cease at the end of twenty years. “Sec. 5. In the event of a sale and change of the flag of a vessel built under this act, before the interest of the United States ceases, the United States shall be repaid for the interest it holds at the time of sale. “Sec. 6. That in case of war or national emergency, the United States shall have the option of purchasing or chartering vessels built under this act for a period of twenty years after the date of documentation, on the fol- lowing terms: “If the vessel is purchased, the sum to be paid the owner by the United States shall be the original cost of the vessel to the owner (exclusive of the amount paid by the United States to the shipbuilder) less five per cent per annum for depreciation. “If the vessel is chartered, the sum to be paid the owner by the United States shall be at the rate of eleven per cent of the original cost of the vessel to the owner (exclusive of the amount paid by the United States to the shipbuilder), provided that all the costs of operation, maintenance, re- pairs, insurance, etc., are paid by the United States during the charter pe- riod and the vessel is returned to its owner in as good condition as when chartered, ordinary wear and tear ex- cepted.” Some Objections Answered The United States can give protec- tion equivalent to section four of the bill by making loans from the con- struction loan fund equal to 50 per cent of the cost of vessels built in the shipyards of the United States for the foreign trade, without interest, and payable in twenty equal annual in- stallments. Certain criticisms of the proposed bill have been made. One appearing in a New York newspaper claims that “protection for American shipyards is not needed as the world is over ton- naged and that this is not the time to seek protection.” In response to this comment it is only necessary to point out that any period of time is of little consequence in the determina- tion of a national policy and a state- ment to the effect that ships should not at this time, be built in American shipyards, is in reality a statement that ships should not be built in Amer- ican shipyards at any time., Another critic of the proposed bill for protection for Amreican shipbuild- July, 1925 ing has said that the bill will not have the support of the President, the state department or the majority of congress as they do not believe a na- tional emergency will again occur wherein the United States will re- quire ships for its ‘national defense. In answer to this criticism it is sug- gested that the only way to predict the events of the uncertain future is from a study of what has happened in the past. History is our only guide to the future. When the writer was a student at college, he engaged in a debate to show that the pen was mightier than the sword. It was argued that our civilization had reached a development where diplo- macy would thereafter settle the con- troversies between nations. His side won the debate. Since that time the werld has been continuously at war and all the civilized nations of the world have engaged in at least one struggle that threatened their destruc- tion and this country has been involved in at least two major conflicts. The writer has, therefore, changed his opin- ion since the time of the debate. It is dangerous to navigate the ship of state on a new course and assume that the uncharted future will be smooth sailing and different than the past. Still another comment has_ been made to the effect that the interest of the United States in the vessels is not protected. As set forth in sec- tion two of the bill it is the inten- tion that the interest of the United States shall be protected only by the right of seizure and sale, provided that in case of partial loss or damage that interest shall continue in the event of the repair of the vessel and only in such event. Last traces of one of the modern wonders of the world, the Hog Island shipyard near Philadelphia on the Delaware river, rapidly are disappear- ing. Recently the dismantling of the steel derricks which served the 50 shipways was completed. There were 200 of these derrick towers, about 20 x 80 feet at the base and 50 feet high. The problem was not only to cut them down but to reduce them to scrap in marketable sizes. The job was accom- plished in only four months by a crew of a dozen men. What once would have been a colossal wrecking under- taking was rendered a comparatively simple matter by another modern won- der—the oxy-acetylene torch. Lorin W. Ferdinand, head of the L. W. Ferdinand & Co., Boston, man- ufacturers of marine glues and special- ties, died recently at his home in Cambridge, Mass.