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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1915)
?." f ' fft "fJffif, T'T I h A lf" The Commoner VOL. 15, NO. 11 20 ? , - I 1 rV y 4 am S.'. to, , I $ i it-: i m ! x: ' ill f ; ! iHrnnp "J -s ' yv , farms. Tho effect upon our prosperity Is evi dent to the moot casual observer. If tho volume of our foreign trade should continue to be even as great as now, It would mean a long period of unsual prosperity In this country, but when peace is restored in Europe there will bo a decreased demand for many of our products. It will be necessary to substitute marketB which are now available and practically untouched by us if wo are to preserve our prosperity unchecked. I refer to tho markets of South America and the Orient. If we take them while wo have the chance, we can establish unparalleled prosperity In this country. "Wo have, by reason of the fed eral reserve system, so organized and consoli dated our credit resources that we now have tho financial strength to extend our commerce wherever it will go. Our one indispensable need is ships; merchant ships of American registry. Wo can get them by creating the necessary naval auxiliaries. Why is it necessary to our commerce to have a merchant marine under tho American flag? This Is an economic question of primary im portance. Wo are ono of the greatest industrial and producing nations on earth. We must have foreign markets to absorb our surplus products. Without them wo shall havo stagnation and de pression and idleness and want. To securo our share of the open markets, such as Central and South America and tho Orient, wo must compete with other loading industrial nations of the world, such as Great Britain, Germany and France. If wo havo to depend on their ships to carry our goods In competition with them, to South America and the Orient, they will natural ly favor British or German or French merchants, as the case may be, both in rates and service, as against American merchants. We have no con trol over or power to regulate these foreign steamship lines, or to prevent thom from dis criminating against our interests. If we have American ships, their first interest Is to build up and extend American business, just as the first interest of the British ships is to build up Brit ish business, and the German Bhips to build up German business. After the European war is ended, competition for the open markets of the world will be more intense than over. We must havo every facility that our competitors have, if 'wo are to got an even chance. Let me illustrate: Suppose a merchant in Buenos Aires wantB to place a large order for cotton goods, or steel rails. Ho gets quotations in England, Germany and tho United States. The English manufacturer has an English steamship line to carry his product to Buenos Aires, and the German manufacturer has the same advant age in a German line. But tho United States manufacturer has only a British or German ship to carry his product to Buenos Aires. Don't you suppose that the British and German steamship companies are going to give tho best rates and service to the British and German manufacturers; instead of tho American? Of course they are. Their first interest 1b in building up their own countries. But if the American manufacturer has an American steamship line to give him a fair show in rates and service, he may get the business. Having few American Bhips in the foreign trade, we are dependent today on the flag of Great Britain for the carriage of the greatest part of our commerce. She is at war. She must use her ships for her own necessities first, as a matter of course. She can not supply us with the ships we need for our own commerce, and tho longer the war lasts the less she can do for us. The German flag, our other chief reliance, has disappeared from tho seas. If Great Britain's control of the sea should bo destroyed or seri ously impaired, it would react disastrously on our trade and general situation. As an economic question, are we justified in relying upon the ships of any foroign flag to protect our vital in terests, especially when tho nation upon whose ships wo depend is, or may be, engaged in great Wrp? Consider a more serious phase of tho matter. Suppose that a war between Great Britain and the United States should ever break out. Her ships would be withdrawn and we would be in volved in immeasurable disaster, ' '" The risk is too great for any first class power to take. We have no right to hazard the for tunes and tho welfare and the safety of our country on such a chance. Already wo are too close to tho awful European conflict although ivr are at peace, thank God, with every belliger ,nt. Let us secure our safety, physical and economic, by doing what is necessary to be done, and what wo are so able financially and other wise to do. We are, moreover, piying to foreign steam ship lines more than ?3 00,00 0,0 00 per year, when, by having our own ships, wo could pay them for this service, build up a merchant ma rine which will profit our people in time of peace and sorve our country in time of war. Tho question now arises as to .how these mer chant marine naval auxiliaries can be operated with the greatest benefit to the country. It must be borno in mind that a really useful naval aux iliary should consist of fast passenger and cargo ships as well as ordinary cargo ships. The com bined passenger and cargo ships would bo suit able for operation on specific routes, such, for instance, as lines running, To Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, and touch ing at the important ports of those countries. To Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile, and along the west coast of South America. To the Orient, touching at Honolulu and the leading ports in Japan, China and the Philip pines. We should not, however, establish regular steamship lines where sufflcienteand satisfactory service has been established by American com panies operating ships under American registry. The ordinary cargo ships could be used in any and all parts of the world, and in such manner as will be most beneficial to the commerce of the country. . .. : To bring about these results a shipping board should be created, consisting of the secretary of the navy and the secretary of commerce as nJem bers ex-officio; and three members to-be selected' by the President and confirmed by the senate. I suggest that the secretary of the navy be a mem ber of the board, instead of the secretary of the treasury as proposed in the shipping bill intro duced in the last congress, because, at that time, the necessity for naval preparedness was not so apparent as it is now. Naval auxiliaries and naval reserves make co-operation and co-ordination with the navy essential, and with the secre tary of tho navy on the board, this will be se cured. The secretary of commerce, whose de partment has its hand constantly upon the busi ness pulse of the nation, Bhould obviously be a member of the board. Congress should appro priate and put into the hands of this board a fund of $50,000,000. This would be sufficient to create a naval auxiliary of suitable merchant ships of from 400,000 to 500,000 gross tons. This board should have authority to establish, as quickly as possible, steamship lines to the east and west coaBts of South America and to the Orient. In my judgment it is highly important that such lines be established and operated un der government control, so that there may be a guarantee of sufficient, regular and reliable ser vice, and at such rates for passengers and freight as will put our farmers, producers and manufac turers on a competitive basis with their rivals in the world's trade. What the American pro ducer and manufacturer needs, more than any thing else, to enable him to capture his share of the world's markets, is this kind of steamship service, a service which he knows he can. depend .on, and rates which he knows will enable him to successfully comnete wUh his European rivals. In order to make this .service most satisfac tory, the shipping board should have authority to organize a corporation, or corporations, and to subscrlbo to the capital stock thereof in whole or in part, as the board mav determine will most effectively carry out the objects in view. The board should have authority to vote tho stock belonging to the United States for the election of directors. These directors will, in turn, choose the officers and employees of tho corporation. By this means they will be removed from political influences, just as the Panama Railroad Company and SteamBhin Line, in which the government is the solo stockholder, is unaffected by political influences. Another great advantage In having a corpora tion in which the government is a stockholder instead of the government itself operate these lines is this: The corporation can sue and be sued, and a shipper will have no difficulty in on forcing his remedy or claim against the corpora- tion. If the government directlv n aLJZ ship lines, shippers would bo embarrassed in tho enforcement of their claims. They would have to sue in the court of claims at Washington, and after judgment, securo an act of congress before pavment could be made. In commercall under takings it is important that legal remedies shall bo prompt and effective. Moreover, the opera tion of ships through the agency of a corpora- tion such as I havo described will result in secur ing tho most efficient management, and the meth ods will be as simple and direct as those of ri val lines operating under foreign flags. These line operated by a corporation or corporations under the general supervision of the shipping board will give confidence to business men not only in the United States but in all those coun tries of South America and the Orient with which they will connect. As a result of the Pan American Financial conference held in Washington last May, in which eighteen Central and South American na tions participated, I am confident that those countries to -which such lines run will extend every possible facility In tho form of docks, ter minals and favoring laws. Certain of those na tions have Indicated their eagerness to co-operate with our government in the most effective manner for the purpose of improving trade and commercial relations between their countries and ours. As to the distinctively cargo ships, to which I have referred, and which would constitute a largo and important part of the proposed naval auxiliary, I think that a different form of treat ment could be adopted with great advantage to our commerce. The Bhipping board should have the power to lease these ships to responsible in dividuals, firms or corporations, under such con ditions as the board may deem best, but in no event at less than 3 per cent on the cost of con struction and 4 per cent for depreciation. Tho length of such leases, or charters, and the gen eral conditions connected therewith, should he left to the discretion of the shipping board. This would put in the hands of the board a mobile fleet of vessels which could be used in any part of the world, and under conditions that would enable them to meet any emergency that might arise anywhere with respect to our com merce. Let us consider such a condition as now con fronts the northwest. The lumber and grain interests in Washington, Oregon and throughout tho northwest, have suffered severely for lack of shipping facilities. At certain seasons of the year the south requires a large number of ships to transport its cotton to Europe. In such cir cumstances the shipping board could throw a fleet of steamers into the leading ports of the northwest and south to take care Df the season al demands, and protect shippers and business men in those sections of the country against loss and injury, and the excessive and extortion ate charges from which they have too frequently suffered. I do not mean -to Bay that the power of the shipping board should be limited to leasing ships. The board should also have authority to operate them in commerce whenever suitable lessees can not be found, or whenever in its judgment the interests of bur commerce would be best subserved by such direct operation through the medium of a corporation, or cor porations, as I have already described. Under this plan these merchant marine naval auxiliaries could be made to set the pace in merchant marine construction and operation. They could be used as a school for demonstra tion, along with the highly utilitarian services they would perform. The department of agri culture and the department of commerce have demonstration sohools or agencies which havo rendered invaluable services to our farmers, manufacturers and business men, and there is every reason to believe that the shipping board could render highly valuable services in the ship ping field. These ships would constitute the very backbone of an American merchant marine and would restore the American flag to tho hjgh seas. They would also constitute an effective protection for the commerce ot this country, to say nothing of the vital service they would per form for tho nation in time of war. Under the stimulation of such a plan, our shipyards would get additional business, not only for the construction of vessels, but also for their maintenance and repair. As I have before stated, we would, incidentally, be developing the shipyard facilities which are an essential unrt of the program for preparedness. The orders for these vessels need not be limited to shin yards on tho Atlantic and Pacific coasts. There is no reason why our shipyards along the Great Lakes can not be utilized for the same purpose; why they can not be employed during the dull winter months in turning out the ports for those vessels, which could be transported in sections through the Groat Lakes and the canals to the Atlantic ocean, and assembled there. This would (Continued on Pago 21) 'V o. $ .n o. I Jl.