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British shipping men and shipbuild- ers to evolve, as trade warrants, the best possible ocean carrying power. All this to be done by private indi- viduals and companies engaged in this great industry without the sup- porting hand of the government. If the world could accept this thesis any past golden era of this great empire would fade into insig- nificance compared with what the future would hold in store for her. What a pity that the rest of the world, each nation predisposed to look upon this question, to some extent at least, from its own na- tional point of view, cannot whole- heartedly fallin line. It would make it so much easier for the British ship- ping industry and it would save all other maritime nations, according to the committee’s point of view. pro- digious sums from their national ex- chequers. But it cannot be. Other maritime nations learned many things during the war and will not political philosophy we are _ predis- posed to the continuation of Great Britain as a great maritime nation. But we do expect an understanding and appreciation of our legitimate right to a fair place in ocean shipping. What this fair position should be has been stated time and time again. The bed rock of this position is our un- alterable determination to develop an up-to-date and _ efficient merchant marine in overseas trade, capable of carrying a fair proportion of the world commerce to which we are a party. We have set out to attain this posi- tion by government aid to offset the established differentials in cost of building and operating ships. We want no more than a basis of fair competition. We have not engaged, nor do we propose to engage, in any dumping of ships and services on the trade routes of the world. We are not aware of American shipping men now engaged in overseas trade adopt- S. 8S. Colombia—5236 gross tons—Speed, 18 knots—OCompleted, Nov. 17, 1932—WSister- ship, one—See MARINE Revirw for January, 19338 voluntarily restore the status quo. Giving Up Our Sea Heritage In this article we are primarily in- terested in the position of the United States as a maritime power. It would seem to be unnecessary, and it is in fact unnecessary, to say to the people of such great experience of the sea as the British that it isn’t in human nature to expect the United States to meekly hand over its own heritage of the sea. For many years prior to the war this, in effect, is exactly what the United States had done due to the circumstances of preoccupation with the settling and development of a vast inland territory. It was in other words, during the growing up period of this nation that our com- mercial sea power suffered its de- cline, Since the war, we have again become sea conscious and develop- ment of our maritime power will pro- ceed from now on. All fairminded men acknowledge thé unique position of Great Britain in maritime affairs. We have no am- bition nor desire to disturb this posi- tion. By ties of common heritage and 14 ing any policy of cut-throat competi- tion. If the service is better and the vessels are better on any particu- lar route than those offered by our foreign competitors that will have to be accepted as fair competition. That this may come about in certain in- stances due to government aid must be accepted as the result of a planned development of the commercial trade lanes between the United States and the remainder of the world. Our Limited Objective Since we have established our posi- tion as having no interest in the ocean carrying trade between foreign countries we may rightly feel that it should be of no concern to any other nation should we, in the course of the development of our merchant marine place a superior service on any or all of our own trade routes. If a British line, for instance, is sufficiently interested in the ocean carrying trade between the United States and South America, to meet American competition there is noth- ing to stop its doing so; (it is being done) but it is manifestly absurd for MARINE REVIEw—July, 1933 Great Britain to take the stand that the service provided on this route by its own nationals is good enough and that it is unfair to place superior American ships on this route because they receive certain government: aid. Should we take the point of view which the British want us to take of ignoring higher American costs, re- move all aid to American ships in such a service, let nature take its course, and allow private British ship- ping men to determine the class of ships warranted by this service, we would in the end have no American ships on this route and would be solely dependent on foreign ships. The report of the British national committee, though presenting in every word and line the British point of view concerning the mercantile shipping crisis, deserves the most careful consideration by the nations of the world and the leaders of mari- time affairs. By a thorough consid- eration of all of the problems in- volved, including the fundamental right of governments in the exercise of their just sovereign powers to take steps to aid their own national ship- ping to overcome disadvantages which cannot in any other way be removed, a basis of operation could undoubted- ly be arrived at which would elimi- nate many existing difficulties and causes for unnecessary friction. Will Not Turn Back The greatest difficulty inherent in such a conference is the untenable premise indicated in the British na- tional committee’s report in assum- ing that it is impossible to return to healthy conditions unless all direct and indirect aids to national shipping are removed. We cannot go back to prewar conditions and it will become necessary to iron out the existing problems on the basis of live and let live under fair conditions of competi- tion. The rub as far as Great Bri- tain is concerned is that this would mean acknowledging a defacto situ- ation on routes now being served by American ships instead of insisting that they had no business to continue to operate as long as they received any government aid. After frank consideration of all the factors con- cerned friendly recognition should be given to such efficient American serv- ices. If a conference on the mercantile shipping crisis is to be held by the maritime nations much good might come if some agreement could be reached to remove the menace of an oversupply in world tonnage ' by scrapping obsolescent and over-aged ships. There are great difficulties, no doubt, in the way of any practical method of accomplishing this pur- pose but it might be worked out through the co-operation of the vari- ous governments involved. Perhaps something might be worked out on the basis of a prior right in any par- (Continued on Page 38)