gestions and advice from Captain Behrend, bearing upon marine and port problems, because he spoke from ripe experience, thorough knowledge and a desire to advance the welfare of the Port of New York. It is the personal loss that we feel the most, however, because the passing of Captain Behrend leaves a void that cannot be filled. He was a rare man, high minded, warm hearted, considerate, of sterling integrity, utterly without guile, straightforward and fearless. We miss him sadly.

The manner in which Captain Behrend was held by his intimates is well expressed in the following resolutions adopted by the Richmond Borough Board of Trade and Transportation, of which Max Thaten is President, and who, too, is one of the vice-presidents of the Union Transport Company, of which Captain Behrend was president:

At a regular meeting of the Richmond Borough Board of Trade & Transportation, held February the twenty-seventh, 1924, the following resolutions were unanimously adopted :

WHEREAS, On the ninth day of February in the year nineteen hundred twenty four, death claimed Captain HUGO W. BEHREND, a Charter Member, Director and active member of our Board, Treasurer of the Citizens Committee on Narrow's Tunnel Celebration, prominent Shipping Man, public spirited citizen and formerly a resident of Staten Island; therefore be it

RESOLVED That we deeply deplore the sudden demise of Captain Hugo W. Behrend, with a full realization of the great loss to ourselves and the community in which he labored and lived, who while a resident here, gave unstintingly of his time, hospitality and wealth to make our community better known, remembered and attractive to friends and visitors alike, who was ever ready to lend a helping hand in promoting the welfare of Staten Island, who had implicit faith in the approaching eminence of our Borough and who brought home to us a clearer vision of the future Port of Staten Island, demonstrating his faith in the efficacy of our waterfront facilities by bringing into active use some of the largest City Piers during a most critical period of post war depression, bringing to our shores increased shipping

and much needed employment and trade, who was not only a man among men, but a true, loyal and most generous friend to all who knew him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we extend our deepest sympathy to his wife and family, that his memory be perpetuated in our archives and that these resolutions be recorded in the minutes of our Board.

Funeral service was held in the Royertown Funeral Chapel, 43rd street and 8th avenue, Manhattan, at 10 o'clock Tuesday morning, February 12, with interment at Woodlawn Cemetery. There were many floral tributes from his many Staten Island friends.

To Build Two Electric Ferryboats

The Golden Gate Ferry Company of San Francisco has placed a repeat order with the General Electric Company for complete electric propulsion and control machinery for two new steel hull, double-ended ferry boats. These crafts will, it is expected, be operated in the same manner as the Golden Gate and Golden West, equipped with General Electric propulsion and control machinery and now running between Sausalito and San Francisco. It is expected the new boats will be run between the same points, releasing the old craft for new routes. The two new ferryboats will be somewhat larger than the previous craft, having instead of two main generating sets, three Werkspoor Diesel engines, each direct-connected to a 270kilowatt, 250 volt, direct current generator, a 30-kilowatt auxiliary generator being mounted on an extension of each main generator shaft.

One of the chief reasons we are so loath to protect our ships in foreign carrying is our desire not to arouse our foreign rivals who now enjoy that carrying-we are always so considerate for the foreigners we neglect ourselves.

T

HE perfected plans and specificatons for the physical improvements on Marginal Belt Line No. 13 between Edgewater and Bayonne, the appropriation for this purpose and the announcement that a Director of Operations has been appointed pursuant to the agreement with the Port of New York Authority, are embodied in a report signed jointly by Robert J. Cary and Julius Henry Cohen, Counsel for the Carriers and the Port Authority respectively, which was. made public on February 20 by Clyde B. Aitchison, Chairman of Division 5 of the Interstate Commerce Commission at Washington, and in a letter sent by Mr. Cary, as Chairman, Committee of Counsel for the Carriers, to Mr. Cohen. The text of the two letters follows:

I beg leave to advise you of the following developments in the consummation of the plan adopted by the railroad companies operating in Port Authority territory and The Port of New York Authority for unifying the operation of the segments of railroads extending along the westerly side of the Hudson River and comprising in the Comprehensive Plan of the Port Authority Marginal Railroad No. 13.

You will recall that at a meeting of railroad executives held on September 11th, 1923, a resolution was adopted proposing the installation of certain facilities upon the above mentioned properties at an approximate cost of $500,000., in order to insure the economic and expeditious handling of traffic over the same, and also, among other things, approving the suggestion of a supervising operating agent to direct the unified movement of trains over Marginal Railroad No. 13. Such resolution was offered in evidence at the joint hearings then being held before the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Port Authority and became the basis of cooperative action between the interested parties to accomplish the purposes proposed.

The railroad companies have perfected plans and speciritfications which have been acquiesced in by the Port Authority for making the physical improvements above referred to, and the New York Central Railroad Compay has recently appropriated the sum of $427,000 for constructing the facilities to be installed by it.

The appropriation so made is for the following pur-

poses:

Interlocking Plant at National Junction for joint use of New York Central and Lehigh Valley ........$100,000 Automatic Block Signals between Weehawken and

The Lehigh Valley Railroad Company is likewise arranging to construct on its line the facilities to be installed by it.

The appropriations above itemized are in certain instances more liberal than those contemplated by the resolution above referred to. This is notably so in the instance of the Kings Bluff yard, where a more comprehensive plan for increasing capacity has been adopted than that originally provided for.

Work upon the improvement proposed will be begun. immediately and it is estimated by the engineers that the Interlocking Plant and Automatic Block Signals can be completed within about six months.

In addition to the foregoing the Operating Committee of the railroad companies has recommended a plan which has been approved by the three executives of the railroads comprising Marginal Railroad No. 13 and also by the Port Authority for operating such properties under a Director of Operations.

The individual for this position has been selected, but as his services cannot be utilized until the Interlocking Plant and Block Signal System have been completed it has been deemed wise to defer his appointment until a later date.

Very truly yours,
(Signed) ROBERT J. CARY.
Chairman, Committee of Counsel.
February 19, 1924.

Hon, Clyde B. Aitchison,

Interstate Commerce Commission,
Washington, D. C.
Dear Sir:

Pursuant to the understanding had at the conclusion of the joint hearings held in September, last, at the rooms of the Port of New York Authority, before the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Port Authority, we beg leave to report to you the progress made between the carriers operating in Port Authority territory and the Port Authority in disposition of the subject matters at issue between them.

1. The railroads have perfected plans and specifications for making the physical improvements on Marginal Railroad No. 13 authorized by the executives in their resolution adopted September 11th, 1923, a copy of which was submitted at the joint hearing above referred to and incorporated in the record of the same. The Port Authority has acquiesced in the installation of such proposed improvements as representing appropriate steps to be taken for operating Marginal Railroad No. 13 as a unit. The railroads propose to begin forthwith the construction of an interlocking signal station and an automatic signal system, and in due course the work of installing the other improvements agreed upon.

2. The Operating Committee of the railroad companies has recommended a plan to the three executives of the railroads comprising Marginal Railroad No. 13 for operating such properties under a Director of Operations, which such executives have approved. The Port Authority has considered this plan and has also given its approval to the installation of the same.

On February 5th, 1924, the Operating Committee of the railroad companies met with representatives of the Port Authority for the purpose of considering the opportune time for the appointment of a Director, having regard to the necessity of the installation of an interlocking signal station governing movements at National Junction and Waldo Avenue, and also providing office space for the Director of Operation, train directors and staff necessary to carry out the new plan of unified operation. The respective parties will meet again on February 19th to consider this subject.

3. The Traffic Committee of the carriers has been engaged in the preparation of revised rates between points on proposed Marginal Railroad No. 13, with the object of cancelling rates via long haul routes and the establishment of rates via nearby junctions so as to avoid circuitous routing of traffic. That Committee has also been engaged in preparing a revised and improved rate structure between points on Marginal Railroad No. 13, and points within and beyond the territory of the Port of New York Authority. The Traffic Committee will meet with representatives of the Port Authority on February 25th to report progress in the above respects, and to discuss the rates proposed.

The carriers and the Port Authority are sincerely cooperating in an endeavor to solve the problems which confront them. It is believed by us that they have made substantial progress towards this end.

Cunard Line Sets High Mark

A new record in first class passenger traffic during the winter season has been made by the Cunard Line, two ships of the company sailing from New York on Saturday, February 23, with 1114 first class passengers. This is the high mark for a day for any single line or combination of lines during the cold weather. Travel has been unusually heavy this winter, cruising ships carrying full capacity to all parts of the globe, but it remained for Cunard to carry off the honors for a single day's traffic. The Tuscania sailed at noon Saturday, February 23, with exactly 400 Cunard tourists for Mediterranean ports, many going to Egypt and Palestine; at 5 p.m. the Berengaria departed for Cherbourg and Southampton with 14 first class passengers, thus making an individual winter record for a single sailing, in addition to swelling the day's total.

The Cunard Line carried off the honors for passenger carrying during 1923, embarking a total of 225,642, nearly one-fourth of all the passengers who crossed the Atlantic during the year.

Shipping Board Has Seven Members Again

On January 28th the Senate confirmed the nominations of William S. Hill, of South Dakota; Frederick I. Thompson, of Alabama, and Bert E. Haney, of Oregon to the Shipping Board. There was no opposition to any of the appointments in the Senate Commerce Committee which adopted favorable report on the nominations.

Additions to Our Navy

Shipyards that have been looking to the Navy Department for work that will keep part of their extensive facilities busy during the present depression in merchant shipping are informed in a statement just issued by Clarence Samuel King, secretary of the Atlantic Coast Shipbuilders' Association, that no funds have been provided to finance the Navy's new building program which calls for the construction of eight scout cruisers and six river gunboats.

The statement points out that Congressman Thomas S. Butler of Pennsylvania, chairman of the House Committee on Naval Affairs, lately presented to Congress in a bill known as H.R. 6580 the Navy Department prograni of new construction for the present year, and that the fourteen new vessels thus proposed would not only be a valuable asset to the Navy, limited as it is by the existing treaty on disarmament, but would also form an essential commercial asset in keeping alive the organizations of our shipyards.

Representative Butler's bill contains no provision for financing this program and neither does the 1925 Navy appropriation measures which is also being considered by Congress, according to Mr. King, who declares, however, it is reasonable to expect that this oversight will be remedied since the proposed new construction conforms to President Coolidge's fiscal program and will probably command not only vigorous support but also a unit vote from the Republican members of the House.

Other than ten vessels of the light cruiser type lately built or now building the United States is without real cruiser strength, according to the Navy Department, which told Congress in support of the Department's present program that the power of cruisers in offense and in defense is a primary factor in naval strategy and it is only with such vessels that the Navy can overtake the raiders that drive our commerce from the sea and that attack our transports and ships. The Navy Department claims that the cruisers recommended are also essential if the United States is to approach equalization with the fleets of other nations, Great Britain now having 45 and Japan 23 vessels of this type.

The Butler bill authorizes eight scout cruisers of about 10,000 tons displacement "carrying protection and armament suited to their size and type, to have the highest practicable speed and greatest desirable radius of action, and to cost, exclusive of armor and armament, not to exceed $11,100,000 each." Besides this there is provision for six river gunboats of a type suitable for service on the bays and rivers of the Far East and nearby ports of this continent, to cost, exclusive of armament, not to exceed $700,000 each. In addition, the bill authorizes major alterations of the superdreadnaughts New York and Texas including anti-craft deck protection, the installation of additional protection against submarine attack, and the addition of new fire control system, at a total cost not to exceed $6,800,000.

Newark Protests Terms of "Port Newark" Sale

The city of Newark, through Director Raymond, protested on February 20 to Secretary of War Weeks and United States Senator Edge against conditions the Government has set for sale of the Port Newark property. Particular opposition is expressed against the inclusion of an alternative proposition that would exempt the land from taxation for twenty years if purchased by an individual or corporation under a deferred payment plan.

THE

To Enforce Section 28?

There were more sharp teeth in the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 than in any shipping bill that ever passed Congress. But the sharpest teeth in the act have never been put into use, and the law has not, therefore, accomplished all that had been hoped for it. One of the provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 was that only such imports and exports as were carried ir American vessels should enjoy the benefit of the lower rates by rail applicable to imports and exports, as compared with rail shipments in domestic traffic.

For a long time on certain commodities the railroads have given lower rates in export and import trade than in domestic trade, and it was the purpose of section 28 to limit those rates to imports and exports in our own ships only, thus creating a preference for American ships, and increasing their cargoes. But this section. was suspended until such time as the Shipping Board was satisfied that sufficient American tonnage was engaged in overseas trade to meet all necessities. That time has at least been reached, and, pursuant to the provisions of section 28, the Shipping Board has notified the Interstate Commerce Commission that the insufficiency of American tonnage that led to its asking the Commission to suspend the operation of the section no longer exists, and that, therefore, the section. should be enforced.

Neither the railroads nor the Interstate Commerce Commission believe that the enforcemnt of section 28 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 will accomplish all its friends hope for, and there may be some hitch or delay in the enforcement of it.

The existence of these lower rail rates on imports and exports gives opportunity for very substantial preferences for American ships, if availed of by the railroads in a spirit of true cooperation in a desire to increase our merchant marine in foreign trade. It will be discouraging if the railroads show a disposition to prevent the successful working of the section, because of contracts, arrangements, or whatnot between themselves and foreign lines, very much to the disadvantage of American shipping. The enforcement of section 28 gives the railroads a fine opportunity to help build up and sustain American shipping in foreign trade. The character and effectiveness of their cooperation, therefore, will be a test of their loyalty to American as compared with foreign shipping interests.

The New German Trade Treaty

There is reason to believe that the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has decided to recommend to the Senate the elimination from the pending proposed new German trade treaty any and all articles therein that would in any way abridge the right of either nation to discriminate in favor of its own ships or the goods they carry, in foreign trade. This is said to be the result of some very striking and convincing argu

ments put up against the articles in question by Senators Randsdell and Fletcher and Vice Chairman Plummer of the Shipping Board. As the pending treaty is to be a model for other similar trade treaties, nearly a score of which are to be negotiated, the victory for American shipping is of the most encouraging and helpful character, because the deletion of the articles from the German treaty that would prevent either country from discriminating in favor of their ships and the goods they carry will no doubt be followed by their omission from all of the other similar treaties about to be negotiated. More than this, such action should force the State Department to recognize the incongruity of older treaties continuing with these restraints against the reapplication of preferential shipping policies, and perhaps lead that department to suggest to the President the enforcement of section 34 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which would eliminate from all trade treaties any restraint in respect to the application of discriminating import duties and tonnage dues. Either that, or the negotiation of new treaties in place of existing restrictive ones.

The action of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, if we are accurately advised as to its intention to recommend the elimination of all articles that would restrain either nation from establishing preferences in their own trade for their own ships and the goods they carry, is wise and salutary. It conforms to the expressed will of Congress, as enunciated in section 34 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920. It is a proper rebuke to the State Department which, in defiance of the expressed will of Congress, sought to insert in a new trade treaty provisions that Congress has expressly stated it desires eliminated from all trade treaties. The State Department sought to disregard the will of Congress. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee would respect and sustain the will of Con

gress.

Most of all, however, it revives the hope of such action by Congress as will lead to the early solution of our perplexing and baflling shipping problem.

The Death of Captain Behrend

The United States lost a good citizen, and the Port of New York lost a helpful friend, when Captain Hugo W. Behrend, President of the Union Transport Company, died last month. A native of Denmark, Captain Behrend followed the sea for many years, visiting practically every port, suffering shipwreck, scurvey and similar vicissitudes that fall to the lot of seafarers, finally settling in New York, where he was for a number of years engaged in the general steamship business.

Captain Behrend had an abiding faith in the future of the Port of New York, and this was especially true of Staten Island, which he expected would one day be the center of the port's greatest shipping. He introduced here a unique port service at a flat rate per manifest ton which has met with such good results that it

has become the main service the Union Transport Company is rendering to shipowners, particularly at its two Staten Island piers (15 and 16) and at Pier 5, South Brooklyn, one of the Bush wharves.

During the World War Captain Behrend had a reputation of never permitting his ships to miss a convoy, and he gained much local renown for the quick turnarounds of steamers assigned to his care. He was always at the forefront, with his money, and his influence, to help along anything that would add to the prestige and business of the port, being conspicuous in promoting the construction of the Brooklyn-Richmond freight and passenger tunnel, supporting the city administration most effectively. As Treasurer of the Narrows Tunnel Celebration on the occasion of the sinking of the shaft on the Staten Island shore, on July 19, 1923, he contributed more than any other individual to its huge success, ably seconded by VicePresident Thaten, of the same company.

The Port of New York has none too many such friends as Captain Behrend, and sadly we mourn his loss.

Frank C. Munson's Views

Prospects for 1924 in the steamship trade look a little better than 1923, said Frank C. Munson, president of the Munson Steamship Lines. Rates of the markets of the world have been influenced upwards during November and December by the demand for ships to carry cargoes to Japan, and since Japan must of necessity rebuild a considerable number of buildings which were lost during the earthquake, it is possible this demand may continue and so make 1924 show a little profit for steamship owners engaged particularly in the Pacific Ocean trades against the loss for 1923.

The influence of this demand on the Pacific trade is bound to influence other trades somewhat, and it is my opinion, therefore, that we may look for slightly im proved earnings in 1924 in the steamship trades of the world. This is greatly needed, as all costs of operations, including repairs, have gone up instead of down.

The second great need of this country is that we shall have a stabilized Shipping Board, which can look at its problems in a thoroughly constructive manner in the interests of the people of the United States. The tremendous losses being suffered should be eliminated.

Tonnage should be sold by the Board at whatever they can get for the vessels, as a regular settled policy. No Board so long as it only serves to increase their losses, more ships should be brought out to be operated by the because additional ships will only tend to depress the markets of the world below what they already are.

Sewers Endanger Shiping

As a result of the grounding of the Leviathan in the Upper Bay on December 21 and her collision with the outlet of the Passaic Valley sewer at Robbins Reef, the Merchants' Association has asked the Secretary of War to cause the removal of the sewer outlet as a menace to navigation. The main ship channel used by the Atlantic liners passes close to Robins Reef.

The Merchants' Association protested as long ago as 1913, when the sewer plans were first announced, against the location of the sewer outlet at this point and the Leviathan accident sustains the objections that it then made against the sewer.