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Railroads and the Merchant Marine. He said in part. “Naturally, the railroad are vitally concerned in the matter of a mer- chant marine in the carriage of our foreign trade; first, because it is an American institution; second, because of the direct bearing it has upon the ecommerce and general welfare of our country. “You who have been engaged with the affairs of the merchant marine deserve to be congratulated upon what has been accomplished. When I hear that the American merchant marine with American vessels is to- day carrying 35 per cent of our total foreign commerce as against less than 10 per cent before the war, and with a plain and definite policy al- ready firmly established by the con- gress of the United States involving a plan of government assistance and support to private initiative, it would seem that there is not much more to be desired beyond seeing to it that there is a fair and wise administra- tion of this policy in the future which will conform to the real intent of congress and the desires of our people, and one which will permit of retaining in full measure what al- ready has been accomplished. “The establishment in recent years of fifty odd world trade routes from the ports of the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific to all the leading ports of the world, and the placing of these serv- ices in private hands on a sound basis is a real achievement. Their future development will require the co-op- eration and support of all branches of industry concerned. Perhaps mutual understanding and working arrange- ments can be entered into with for- eign flag lies which will materially stabilize transportation, and this up- on a base of live and let live so nec- essary to business and particularly to business international in scope.” The address of J. Howland Gard- ner, president, Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers is published in full, page 10, this issue. W. ROBERTSON, chairman of the board, Westinghouse Elec- tric & Mfg. Co. addressed the con- ference on Industrial Rehabilitation and the Merchant Marine. He said in part: “Tt is my belief that this confer- ence would do well to establish ways and means to rekindle a _ national consciousness on behalf of American shipping. “Basie economic fundamentals (a nation’s geographical location, its natural resources, the productivity of its labor, its industrial and agricul- tural development and its economic statesmanship) rather than its politi- eal influence are the determining factors today as to a nation’s ship- ping requirements. We should build ships because we must have ships and berause we as a nation have proven we can build everything we need as well if not better than the rest of the world. The Necessity of Ships “One commonsense reason why we must have our own ships is because we have goods to sell and deliver to the world. What modern-minded merchant would permit his competi- tors across the street to deliver his goods to his customer? We should make our own deliveries in our own ships. “T feel it a presumption for me to detail the needs of the shipping industry to you, but it seems to be the consensus of opinion that we need more new Ships and the rehabili- tation of these we now have. To do. this means that we must have both governmental and private support. In order to gain that support we must so inform the people of this country as to engage their interest and give them a thorough under- standing of the important part which this industry plays in our industrial life. Such a plan would necessarily entail some expense and a great deal of effort. A recent analysis shows that almost every profession and trade and nearly every state in the union contribute directly to the build- ing of a ship; while the indirect con- tributions—from the farmer who grows the food for the workers to the physician who safeguards their health—form a group that represents the entire nation. “Tf the needs of your industry are to be met, there will be an extensive job of rehabilitation. Your position in this respect is similar to most of the other industries.. “Some of you may ask—-Why should I modernize? It is a natural question and I only give you the same answer we gave to other busi- ness men— “(1). To reduce costs; (2). To improve your competi- tive position; “(3). To provide for greater op- erating efficiency when increased business develops. “Hquipment can be purchased and installed today at a cost below nor- mal; improvements in equipment and overhaul can be made now while ship- yard plants are not busy; and recent improvements in equipment design offers unusual opportunities for cost reduction. “Every seagoing ship built in an American yard gives employment to a large sumber of Americans—rang- ing from 700 for a year in the case of a moderate-sized cargo vessel to 2200 for three years in the case of an express liner. About half of these are employed in the shipyard; the . remainder are engaged in making and transporting the large variety of MARINE REVIEW—March, 1933 necessary materials and supplies and in providing the needed power. In a similar manner the rehabilitation of our present ships would give employ- ment to a proportionate number of people. RED I. KENT, vice president of the Bankers Trust Co., New York, spoke on International Trade and Shipping. Calling attention to the fact that the amount of shipping re- quired in the world is determined by the amount of international trade, he suggested that the shipping industry, if it hopes to see a restoration of its business on a sound basis, must do its part toward bringing this re- sult about. In speaking of the great forces which have curtailed interna- tional trade, he summed them up as follows: 1. Excessive taxation. 2. Allied debts. F 3. Depreciated currency. 4. Trade barriers. He deprecated ‘buy at home slogans, whether ‘“‘buy American’’ or ‘buy British’’ or any other similar slogan aiming to center the minds of purchasers exclusively upon home made goods, as unfor- tunate for the world and as adding to its difficulties. In referring to causes of trade bar- riers and the necessity of wise action to remove them, Mr. Kent said in part: ‘“‘Attempts by governments to help the unemployed by paying them for doing nothing instead of develop- ing the means to enable them to work has resulted in excessive taxation, depreciated currencies, unbalanced foreign trade evidenced by maldis- tribution of gold——often treated as a cause although in reality an ef- feet—and great internal unrest which has fostered international resent- ments, “Hoping to correct the evil effects of this policy, governments then be- gin to raise trade barriers against each other, which the terms of the various treaties following the armis= tice greatly encduraged. Every suc- cessful barrier that was. raised brought forth new ones in other countries to counteract it until the nations were lead through a long maze of tariffs, import prohibitions, quotas, unwise borrowing: and for- eign exchange restrictions, that alto- gether are acting to kill world trade upon which all people depend to such an important extent for their ecom- fort in living. “Many leaders of the European na- tions are beginning to see the neces- sity for a change from policies of re- taliation to those of cooperation. . “Tt is doubtful, however, whether we in the United States have pro- gressed as far in our understanding of this necessity. .. . “We cannot hope for better econ- ditions until our mental attitudes 13