When converted into an oil engine-electric drive vessel by the Staten Island Shipbuilding Co., the tanker J. W. Van Dyke will have cargo space for 60,600 barrel, and bunker capacity for 4,300 barrels. Three 6-cylinder 840 h.p. Ingersoll-Rand oil engines, each direct-connected to a 250 volt direct current generator, and a 2,300 h.p. 750 volt direct current motor will constitute the new propelling machinery.

The Shipping Board has authorized the transfer of four concrete tankers to the War Department for operation by the Federal Barge Line on the Mississippi and Warrior Rivers.

Donald Bros., Inc., of 24 State Street, have chartered their oil burning steamer Jeanette to run in the Gulf lumber trade during the next five months.

The liner President Cleveland, operated by the Pacific Mail in transpacific trade, established a new low fuel record on her last voyage, burning only 29,000 barrels, of which 26,600 barrels were consumed at sea.

W. & J. Tiebut are the successful bidders for the equipment furnishings of 70 picket boats at present being built for the U. S. Coast Guard Service. The cabin of each boat is 36 feet long.

The New York Commercial, on Oct. 23, published a story, which it claimed was semi-official, whatever that may be, predicting a reorganization of the Shipping Board and Fleet Corporation after election, "to end clashes of authority." This move, says the Commercial's story "has been contemplated for several months." It may be, but we doubt it. Foreign shipping interests would like to see the Board abolished and its ships junked but the American people would not.

Uncle Sam collected about $12,000 a day during the midsummer season from the sale of passports, for which he should be heartily ashamed of himself, and so should the foreign nations that require them, being merely an annoying and expensive humbug. A real boycott of American travelers would quickly end it.

Secretary of Commerce Hoover is reported as having

said that "New York distributors have informed me that last season they could have sold 20,000 carloads of California and Florida products were terminal facilities available." This is one of the things the Port of New York Authority is seeking to overcome through the cooperation

of the railroads.

John Dowd, president of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York, has been appointed by Governor Smith a member of the Board of Governors of the New York State Nautical School, to succeed former President Charles H. Potter, resigned.

H. Epstein, of 15 Whitehall Street, managing director of the recently organized American-Palestine Line, which has purchased the President Arthur from the Shipping Board and is having her reconditioned for the first sailing of the line from New York to Haifa next March, states that negotiations are under way for the purchase of the President Fillmore from the board.

The Netherlands Royal Packet Company, Amsterdam, is considering the placing of orders for about eighteen new steamers to augment its services in the Far East,

and under the agreement with the Government the majority of these ships will have to be built in the Netherlands.

The fifteenth annual report of the Port of London Authority for the twelve months ended March 31, 1924, shows a total net tonnage of arrivals and departures, including both foreign and coast wise trades during the year of 41,215,062, as against 39,293,139 for the previous year and 40,082,282 for 1913.

The Atlantic Refining Co. of Philadelphia has awarded the contract to the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation for converting the steam driven tanker Anahuac to oil engine electric drive.

A loan of $1,825,000 to the Eastern Steamship Co. of Boston was approved on Oct. 7 by the Shipping Board. The loan will be applied on two new passenger ships-the New York and the Boston, now in service between New York and Boston. The Board announced that the loan would run for ten years at not to exceed 54 per cent interest.

The bulk freight steamer Joseph Frantz, of the Columbia Steamship Company, which was launched at the Great Lakes Engineering plant at Detroit last Saturday, will rank as one of the largest vessels of her class on the Great Lakes. The ship is 618 feet long, 62 feet beam and 32 feet deep. Power is furnished by three Wilcox water tube boilers and triple expansion engines. The vessel will be turned over to her owners at the opening of the 1925 navigation season.

The Equitable Trust Company has sold the steamer Lord Ormond, 6,700 deadweight, to a local buyer for foreign account. The purchase price works out at a little over five dollars per deadweight ton.

To meet their increasing business the Arnesto Paint Company of West 99th Street, will, during December, move to more commodious premises at 548-550 West 46th Street, where they will continue the manufacture of their well-known marine paints, enamels and varnishes.

Directors of New York Shipbuilding Corporation last month declared a dividend of $2 on the capital stock of the corporation, payable on Nov. 6 to stockholders of record on Oct. 27. New York Shipbuilding Corporation is a member of the International Mercantile Marine group, its stock being owned largely by I. M. M. American International Corporation, Pacific Mail S. S. Co. and W. R. Grace & Co.

The Goodrich Steamship Lines and the Graham & Morton Line have completed a merger, according to advices from Chicago last month. A total of 12 steamships, operating on the Great Lakes are involved as well as capacity amounting to $5,000,000.

Following the satisfactory operation of two Diesel electric tankers now in service, the Standard Oil Company of California has ordered a third, which, it is reported, will operate between San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands. This will be similar to the other two, with the exception that the engine room will be amidships and the propulsion motor aft. the propulsion motor aft. The tanker will be 221 feet over all, 36 feet beam, 13 feet 6 inches draft.

"Gunning" For the Shipping Board

There seem to be a few American shipowners, much more vociferous than numerous, who have determined

to minimize the effectiveness of the United States Shipping Board. The United States Shipping Board through the operation of Government-owned ships in ocean trade is doing what no private citizen or aggregation of them can do, under present conditions. To be sure the loss falls on the nation, but substantial benefits also accrue to the nation, not to be lost sight of in considering the operation of Government-owned merchant ships. The country loses in the cost of operating its ships, but it gains in the minimum freight charges the presence of its ships helps to maintain. Our growing exports are finding foreign markets more cheaply—much more cheaply than they would do if there were no Government-owned ships and the same is true of our imports, they come to our people much more cheaply because of the existence of Government-owned ships than they would come without them. The difference between the loss suffered by the Shipping Board and the gain enjoyed by the people, is vastly in favor of the latter-the gain is many times the losses.

American ships in foreign trade are objectionable to the great maritime nations, and especially their shipowners and shipbuilders. The latter would much prefer to do our foreign carrying for us, and, to the extent that the policy of the United States Shipping Board keeps Government-owned ships in operation in that trade, to that extent the Shipping Board is being opposed by foreign interests and their American sympathizers, of which latter there are far too many. There has been a feeble sentiment manifested in the Shipping Board to "get rid of its ships," even to the extent of giving them away, or scrapping or sinking them if they cannot be given away, a sentiment much approved of by all enemies of American shipping. The Shipping Board, too, is credited with a desire to make much more effective the shipping under our flag in foreign trade that is to say, a majority of its members are. They would like very much to strengthen our shipping in transatlantic trade. They would like to have the Government authorize the construction of a goodly number of high class passenger and freight ships, so that distinctly larger and better American service in transatlantic trade may be furnished. In short, a majority of the members of the United States Shipping Board strongly desire a better balanced fleet of American ships in foreign trade. The time is ripe for fine American passenger ships in the trade with the many countries washed by the Mediterranean—the time was never riper for such ships in that trade than now. Private enterprise seems to be unable to bear the cost of establishing such ships, and so it is proper that the Government should do so so so long as it is to be our sole dependence for maritime strength in foreign trade. Perhaps passenger lines could be established over other great trade routes, not now covered by American ships. All of these lines, so established, may be purchased by pri

vate citizens whenever the latter are ready to agree to maintain them efficiently and permanently. It is not as if the Shipping Board would forever run merchant ships in foreign trade. They will get out of it just as soon as private American capital is ready to take over the lines. Meanwhile, just as the law instructs the Shipping Board to do, it is building up and augmenting its lines and its services as against the time that private Americans can take them over. That is just as it should be.

But this policy makes the Shipping Board extremely unpopular with foreign shipowners and their governments. And, before the Shipping Board is able to secure the consent of Congress for increases in its fleet that will better balance our shipping in foreign trade, the plan seems to be to get rid of the patriotic and courageous members of the Board who cherish such designs. We don't believe that the effort to get rid of the most efficient of our Shipping Board members will succeed, although we concede that some of those "gunning for" precisely those members possess an amazing amount of political influence--few as they are in number.

For more than half a century-nearer three-quarters of a century-Congress has refused to pass laws that will help maintain American ships in foreign trade. It has allowed our ships to compete under free trade conditions with foreign ships and the lack of protection for such ships today explains the absence of private American capital in their operation. It is quite proper, therefore, for the Government to maintain an effective American merchant marine in foreign trade until it is ready to establish a protective policy under which private American capital may take it over, and just that seems to be the thing that makes a majority of Shipping Board members offensive to foreign shipping interests and their American sympathizers.

Chief Engineer Holland of Vehicular
Tunnel Dies

The death of Clifford M. Holland, chief engineer of the New York-New Jersey vehicular tunnel, was reported last month in a telephone message from Battle Creek, Mich.

Mr. Holland's death, which came as a shock to the members of the New Jersey Bridge and Tunnel Commission, of which he was the chief engineer, caused immediate postponement of the elaborate ceremonies marking the opening of the tunnel, which had been arranged for the following Wednesday evening.

Word of the prominent engineer's death was first communicated by telephone from Battle Creek to Theodore Boboettger, of Hackensack, chairman of the New Jersey Commission. Mr. Boboettger in conference with John M. Boyle, of Jersey City, decided to indefinitely postpone the ceremonies. Mr. Holland's home was in Brooklyn.

Colburn Speaks at Harvard

Mr. Harrison S. Colburn of the Harrison S. Colburn Co., addressed the Harvard Post Graduate School of Business Administration on Friday, Oct. 24. This is the third consecutive year that he has been invited to address this school on the subject of Industrial Location.

THE

sel, Julius Henry Cohen, and Wilbur LaRoe, Jr., started a drive at the hearing before the United States Shipping Board on the subject of the ocean differential of 72 cents per 100 pounds in favor of North Atlantic, as against South Atlantic seaports, in favor of the abolition of all differentials, railroad and ocean, with a uniformity of through rates from the interior of the United States to foreign destination, and vice versa, which bids fair to cause a great deal of discussion, but the justice of which position is likely, finally, to lead to the success of the drive.

In favor of the abolition of all differentials, ocean and rail, it is understood the North Atlantic ports, the South Atlantic ports, and the Gulf ports, are united, with the exception of Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Norfolk, which strenuously oppose such abolition. The question is likely to resolve itself into whether or not three ports of the United States will be able to block a reform in transportation rates desired by all of the other ports of the country.

This matter was discussed at a meeting of those interested, in Washington, October 6, on the even of the opening of the hearings on the ocean differential, Mr. LaRoe speaking for Boston and New England ports, and Mr. Cohen for the Port of New York Authority. It was pointed out that it was undesirable that the fighting between the different ports of the country on the subject of differentials should longer continue. The Federal government, it was also shown, has complete charge of the matter, the Shipping Board through its control of ocean rates, whenever it sees fit to exercise it, and the Interstate Commerce Commission over the railroad rates. Mr. Cohen said it was not true that New York desired any advantage over other ports. Its interest was the interest of the nation and that that port could not prosper unless the whole country prospered. Feeling against New York, he said, might have arisen on account of the financial predominance of that city. He had noticed, he said, that when one lent money to another there was always a feeling of friction, even after the loan had been repaid. Wilbur LaRoe, who called the conference to order, said he had jarred his clients when they asked what kind of testimony they should gather to be used in the fight with the south Atlantic ports by telling them he did not want any, because to him it seemed foolish to be always in a fight when the matter should and could be settled by the two governmental bodies in an amicable way. Frank S. Davis, of the Boston Chamber of Commerce, marine department, was called to the chair as permanent chairman. Those attending the conference, other than those already mentioned, were:

E. E. Clark, Wilbur LaRoe, Jr., New England Ports; S. Lancaster, F. F. A., B. & A. R. R., Boston, Mass; C. D. Hubbard, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Boston; W. T. Lamoure, F. T. M., B. & M. R. R., Boston; Elmer S. Chace, City Solicitor, Providence, R. I.; Samuel Silverman, Asst. Corp. Counsel, Boston; F. P. Kenney, G. F. A., N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R.; P. J. Dowd, Trf. Mgr., Holyoke, Mass.; Thos. P. Burke, Port Utilities Com., Charleston, S. C.; Frank H. Owen, Port Utilities Com., Jacksonville, Fla.; J. A. Banks, Municipal Docks, Jacksonville, Fla.; J. W. White, F. T. M., Municipal Docks, Jacksonville, Fla.; G. D. Guthrie, Mgr. Jacksonville Traffic Bu., Jacksonville, Fla., Geo. Baldwin, Jacksonville, Fla.; Wm. Rhett, G. F. A., I. C. R. R., Chicago; . B. Gaines, City of Savannah, and Savh. Bd. of Tr.; L. V. Beatty, Kansas City Southern Ry., Kansas City, Mo.; J. Á. Van Dohlen, Charleston, S. C.; Frank P. Latimer, Secy. South Atlantic S. S. Conf., Savannah; J. V. Norman, Louisville, Ky., Charleston, S. C., and Jacksonville, Fla.; R. G. Cobb,

F. M., Mobile Chamber of Com., Mobile, Ala.; J. D. Oliver, A. G. M., Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery, Ala.; Julius Henry Cohen, Port of New York Authority, N. Y.; N. Sumner Myrick, Chamber of Commerce of U. S.; William Allen, 832 Munsey Bldg., Washington; N. O. Pedrick, 1311 Hibernia Bldg., New Orleans, La.; Matthew Hale, 25 Broad St., N. Y.; Malcolm Stewart, Chamber of Commerce, Cincinnati; H. B. Arledge, 920 Munsey Bldg., Washington; R. L. McKellar, Louisville; Geo. F.Feeney, Portland, Me.; J. V. Norman, South Atlantic Ports; Carl Giessow, New Orleans Joint Traffic Bureau.

Mr. LaRoe, in calling the meeting to order, said there was no though of having any resolution adopted or asking anyone to sign on the dotted line, but to get together with a view to having the subject discussed from a national point of view. The idea, it was said after the conference, received general approval, but Mr. Rhett, of the Illinois Central, was more reserved, indicating that, inasmuch as that road had always promoted the interests of New Orleans, it expected to continue to take the position that New Orleans must not be deprived of any of the advantages of its location near the center of the great manufacturing and agricultural sections of the countrp. connection with the conference, the following statement in part was made by its promoters:

It was pointed out that heretofore, over a period of decades the several ports and the several sections have almost constantly fought each other for the purpose of obtaining rate advantages or removing rate disadvantages. There are pending at the present time before the Interstate Commerce Commission several cases in which the New England ports seek more favorable rates on export and import commerce, also several similar proceedings filed by the South Atlantic ports. Before the Shipping Board there are pending several consolidated cases filed on behalf of Charleston, Jacksonville and Norfolk, bringing into issue the propriety of the ocean differentials. Mr. Cohen and Mr. LaRoe suggested that in the national interest, the several sections should agree, if possible, upon a principal which would bring to an end these differential rate wars, and they suggested as the only practicable method an equalization of rail rates and an equalization of ocean rates.

Reference was made to the fact that the principle of equalization has already been endorsed by the New England ports, the New England railroads, the Port of New York Authority, the traffic vice-president of the New York Central Railroad, many southern ports, and many western shippers, and in certain public expressions by the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Shipping Board. It was pointed out that a joint attempt on the part of the East, the West and the South to bring about equalization of the rates would be in the national interest.

Mr. Cohen, and Mr. LaRoe in expressing the view of the Port Authority, said:

"Gradually there has emerged a new conception which with reason can be defined as the American conception. It is the distinct idea that all the benefits and advantages that may accrue from public ownership and operation of carriers can be secured through national regulation by appropriate federal agencies and yet retain the benefits of the initiative of private ownership and operation. The harmonizing principle is found in this, that the national interest shall at all times dominate, the private interest shall at all times be subordinate to this national interest, the country should be looked upon as one great whole, and thus railroads and waterways and the great national ports shall all be regarded as a part of one great national arterial system through which the commerce of the country shall move with the greatest freedom of flow, and with expedition and economy. To this end, declares Congress, the decisions and orders of all Federal regulatory bodies shall be in the direction of coordinating all rail and water transportation, so systematizing the service that the entire country shall be served by the cheapest and most expeditious routes of transportation, utilizing the facilities of all rail and water carriers both privately and publicly owned and so stimulating them, as well as the various ports, that competition on their part will take on the shape of offering the best and most effective service to the country. In this manner the selfinterest of the ports, as well as the self-interest of the carriers, is not only subordinated to the national interest but is made to