AND SHIP NEWS UNITED STATES SHIPPING BOARD (Through United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation) INVITES OFFERS FOR THE PURCHASE OF VESSELS COMPRISING ITS FLEET Offers are solicited for the purchase of vessels herein described, which have been, or prior to sale, will be appraised and which are being hereby duly advertised for private competitive sale. A bidder is defined hereunder as any person who shall make or submit an offer of purchase. All offers received on or before March 14, 1924, will be considered, and no award will be made before that date. Negotiations may be continued thereafter, and all offers received before final award of any vessel will be considered. Bidders may make offers for one vessel or for more than one vessel or for all vessels. The following is a segregation of the ships according to classes and types: Names, location and status of vessels of each design are obtainable on request. Particulars and planograph drawings will be furnished prospective buyers free of charge. Detailed plans are on file and may be examined,, or sets of detailed plans, if desired, will be furnished at cost of reproduction. Vessels may be inspected upon application. The vessels will be sold "as is, where is" at date of sale, exclusive of consumable stores, bunker fuel and submarine signal apparatus or other leased equipment aboard at time of delivery, and without warranty or guaranty as to seaworthiness, condition, description, capacity or tonnage. Offers may stipulate right of bottom inspection of vessel on drydock at risk and expense of buyer, and the Board, at its option, may make a credit allowance equivalent to the cost of repairing any underwater bottom damage then and thereby disclosed, which the Board may consider to be of an insurable nature. Offers for vessels in active operations may also stipulate the safe arrival of vessel at port of delivery. No accountability by the seller for errors in description. The Board is prepared to consider offers for the purchase of vessels under the various types, based on their relative value as affectd by their desirability from point of design, physical condition at time of sale and other pertinent factors. The basic sales price for each vessel shall be that adopted by the Board as a result of appraisal which shall be subject to change without notice as the circumstances may warrant. Prospective buyers will be advised of the basic prices of vessels at the time inquiry is made. Pursuant to provisions of Merchant Marine Act, 1920, the Board may consider, in connection with offers to purchase, and may prescribe as part of the terms and conditions of sale, the operation of vessels purchased on specified trade routes deemed to be desirable and necessary; the reconditionisg and/or alteration of vessels to approved designs; or such other terms and conditions as may be considered essential. Adequate security will be required for the fulfilment of contracts of sale. Offers must be submitted on a lump sum basis, on standard proposal forms, which can be procured from the undersigned office, and must be accompanied by a certified check made payable to United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation, for two and one-half per cent. of the amount bid. If award is made to any bidder the sum paid by him will be credited on the purchase price in the event of his completing his purchase, but in case he shall fail to complete his purchase the bidder shall have no right to demand back the whole or any part of any deposit made pursuant to his offer of purchase. Checks will be returned promptly to unsuccessful bidders. The Board reserves the right to accept or reject any and/or all bids, and to defer the sale of such vessels and floating equipment as may be required in connection with operations for the account of the Board. Proposals and inquiries should be addressed to: Department of Ship Sales UNITED STATES SHIPPING BOARD Washington, D. C. E Interesting Items About a Most Successful Hotel Manager and the DWARD CLINTON FOGG, managing director of the Hotel Plaza in this city, and the Copley-Plaza in Boston, has resigned to become managing director of the new Rosevelt, a twenty-two story enterprise of the United Hotels Company of America, now under construction in the block bounded by Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Streets and Madison and Vanderbilt Avenues, New York City. EDWARD CLINTON FOGG Selected as Managing Director of our new Roosevelt Announcement of the selection was made early last month by Frederick W. Rockwell, Vice President of the company, who is also Vice-President of the New York United Hotels, Inc., which owns the hotel as a subsidiary of the United Hotels Hotels Company. Managerial Work Begins on May 1 Mr. Fogg will begin work as managing director of the Roosevelt on May 1st. He is also managing di rector of the Hotel Breslin and VicePresident of the controlling company. He will devote himself exclusively to the management of the Roosevelt. It was learned that Mr. Fogg recently has had under consideration, several important managerial positions in this city, Chicago, and elsewhere. Why Mr. Fogg Accepted Hotel Roosevelt Management "I chose the Roosevelt," he said, "because there seems to me to be a larger opportunity for service at this hotel, which, in many respects, is unique in hotel history. Located in what is probably the most active zone of New York City, with direct underground connection with the Grand Central Terminal, a block from Fifth Avenue, and near the new jewelry center which is being built up in this region, also convenient to the theatre district, this hotel presents a varied opportunity of service, and I feel sure that we can make it worthy of its environment." Several new and distinctive features planned for the hotel are known to have influenced Mr. Fogg in making his selection. One of these, a group of emergency rooms, adjacent to a large Turkish bath, with the usual accessories, where temporary accommodations can be furnished for guests, for whom a regular room is not immediately available. These rooms will also be at the service of business men who wish to dress and otherwise prepare for evening engagements without going to their homes, also for others who arrive in the city in the early morning and wish to prepare for business engagements during the day. Grips and other property can be checked at the hotel in conjunction with this special service. Another novel feature will be private roof gardens, attached to the suites of permanent guests. These roof gardens, numbering approximately one hundred, are made possible by the two set-back floors of the structure. Mr. Fogg is so impressed with the prospects at the Roosevelt, that he not only will assume the direction of the hotel, but has also made a heavy personal investment in the company. He has been in charge of the Plaza for only a little more than a year, but in that time has added largely to this hotel's distinction. A Self-Made Man of the Roosevelt Type Mr. Fogg is a self-made man, and it is interesting to know that at one period of his career, he followed closely the course of the great American after whom the new hotel is named, Roosevelt. When a young man, too close attention to office work undermined his health, and Mr. Fogg was obliged to seek outdoor employment just as Roosevelt, for the same reason, was obliged to go West to rebuild his shattered strength through ranch life. Mr. Fogg, then in Portland, Maine, where he was born, secured employment as a street car conductor, and for several years, worked at this job, and succeeded in building up his physical strength, until even now, after the passing of the years, he is robust and athletic. Golf is his favorite recreation. Mr. Fogg's first position in the hotel world was at Clark's Hotel in Boston, where he was cashier. Later he worked in the back of the house, and finally in the front office. After that he was manager of a small summer hotel at Magnolia, Mass., going then to the Savoy in Boston, where he was room clerk for one season. His next step was as manager of the Lincoln House, owned by Wadwell Brothers, at Swampscott, Mass., where he spent the summer, returning in the fall to the Savoy in the capacity of clerk. The Savoy was sold in the fall of 1904, and Mr. Fogg, whose ability was becoming more and more recognized, was called to New York by Washington Jacques, who owned the Murray Hill Hotel, where Mr. Fogg became chief room clerk and what is now known as office manager. When the Murray Hill was sold, Mr. Fogg went to the Gotham for one year, then accepting the managership of the Belmont under B. L. M. Bates, the owner. His next important position was as manager of the Copley-Plaza in Boston, which he took over in September, 1913. He still retained his managerial control of the Copley-Plaza when he came to New York to direct the Plaza management, a year ago last May. Meanwhile, he had become interested in the Breslin as managing director and vice-president. Secret of Success in Hotel Management His record of managing so many first-class hotels at the same time is exceptional in the hotel field. Asked about the secret of his success, Mr. Fogg said: "Cooperation; that's all there is to it. If you can get the wholehearted support of every employee in the establishment, then you have gone far towards success. Not a week passes by at the Plaza but that I do not hold a con AND SHIP NEWS ference with all the heads of departments, and I have found that this practice is very helpful in perfecting a plan of co-ordination, without which no hotel can give a maximum of service to its patrons. "I expect to introduce at the Roosevelt the same system, only I shall be in an even better position here, as I shall have the benefit of cooperation from all the units of the United chain. The hotel is ideal in respect to location. It is built exactly where it should be, to serve the greatest need. It is my purpose to build up an exclusive clientele, both in respect to the residents of New York City and also among transient hotel guests. I believe Mr. Dudley, Mr. Rockwell, and other members of the United Company are doing wonderful work in elevat ing the standard of hotel construction and service throughout this country and Canada. I am pleased to have an opportunity to serve in this splendid organization, and particularly to have the honor of directing this latest addition to the United chain." Mr. Fogg's New England acquaintances will be par ticularly interested in his new connection, as the Roosevelt, with its direct passage to the Grand Central Terminal, will serve the convenience of New England people coming to New York. He has thousands of personal friends throughout the country who will be glad to observe this further recognition of his exceptional ability as a hotel manager. Hotel Roosevelt, Now Under Construction in the Block Bounded by 45th and 46th Streets, and Madison and Vanderbilt Avenues M° OST of his life Senator Oscar W. Underwood, of Alabama, who was born in Kentucky, where he lived a part of his early life, after which he went to Minnesota, where he completed his education, but who has represented Alabama in Congress for nearly thirty years, and who is now one of the leading candidates for the Presidency on the Democratic ticket this year, is a strong and unyielding advocate of discriminating import duties and tonnage dues, so strong, we believe, that foreign influences, and departmental influences, and all other influences that could be brought to bear upon him, would not cause him to swerve from his fixed views as to the proper American shipping policy for this country to adopt, in the House of Representatives in 1911 introduced the following bill and resolution, which very fully explain themselves, and shows where he stands on the subject of discriminating import duties and tonnage dues: (Copy) A Bill To Repeal The Act of May 24th, 1928, and Every Other Act Authorizing the Suspension of Regulations for the Encouragement of the Shipping Trade; to Notify Foreign Nations of the Desire of the United States to Terminate Each one of the Conventions or Other Agreements Made in Pursuance of Said Act or Acts, as Provided For in Said Agreements, and to Inform Said Nations That No More Such Will Be Made. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that the act of May 24th, 1928, and all other acts whatever, at any time, authorizing the President to suspend the laws or regulations then in force for the encouragement of the carrying trade, on condition that any nation shall reciprocate such suspension on its part, is hereby repealed; and the Secretary of State is hereby requested forthwith to notify each of the nations in convention or agreement with the United States for the mutual suspension of said laws or regulations in pursuance of said act or acts that the United States desires to terminate each one of said conventions and agreements, as provided for in each case, and that the termination as aforesaid will be duly made, and all privileges under said convention or agreement will be revoked. A concurrent resolution of Congress is one that does not require the approval of the President, only joint resolutions of Congress requiring such approval. (Copy) Concurrent Resolution Whereas, on May 24, 1828, an act was passed by Congress authorizing the President to make proclamation of the suspension of all regulations then in force for the encouragement of shipping in foreign trade, in favor of such nations as were willing to reciprocate such action, and Whereas, in pursuance of this act conventions or agreements were made with various nations, most of them running for ten years, and al of them conditioned, that after expiration of term, either party may terminate the said convention or agreement, by giving one year's notice to the other party, and Whereas, it is now deemed to be for the interest of the United States to terminate all such conventions or agreements, retary of State be requested forthwith to give to each nation in maritime reciprocity convention or agreement with the United States, for suspension of regulations of commerce under the act of May 24, 1828, the stipulated notice of the desire of the United States to terminate the said convention or agreement, and of the dctermination of the United States not to renew any agreement for the suspension of regulations as aforesaid, or to make any more suspensions under the act aforesaid. For those who may be interested further as to Senator Underwood's attitude on the subject of discriminating import duties and tonnage dues, it is worth recalling that on February 26, 1910, he made an extended speech in behalf of the reapplication of that policy by the United States for the upbuilding and prosperous maintenance of American shipping in foreign trade. In 1913, when Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee he drafted a section of his famous Tariff Act that contained a provision for the readoption of the discriminating duty policy, a section of the act that the executive branch of the Government resolutely and insistently opposed, and which the Supreme Court of the United States finally declared was not intended to go into effect until existing trade treaties and conventions were modified or abrogated. Report on Ward Line The The first report of Col. Francis C. Caffey, receiver in equity for the New York & Cuba Mail Steamship Company, Ward Line, was recently filed here with Judge Knox of the Federal District Court. receiver, named by the court to take over the affairs of the line on December 31 last, gave in detail the assets of the line in the form of floating equipment. In his statement to the court the receiver recites that the Ward Line is possessed of a fleet of fifteen ocean. going steamers, one of which is worthless and two in need of repairs. The value of the ships as fleet units is given as $6,700,000, and estimated realizable value $4,691,900. In addition, it has self-propelling harbor equipment in New York with an estimated realizable value of $60,000, barges, lighters, etc., valued at $51,000 and other equipment in Nassau and Merico with realizable value of $232,000. Eight ships are listed as being under charter. Six Subsidiaries The capital stock of the company is given as $10,000,000, dividend into 200,000 shares of par value of $50, of which 198,942 are owned by the Atlantic, Gulf & West Indies Steamship Line. The company has, it is decleared, outstanding $5,103,000 principal amount of bonds secured by mortgage. Subsidiary companies are named as follows: Compania Cubana de Navigaceon, Havana; Santiago Terminal Company, Ward Line Termnial Company, Tampico; Cuban American Terminal Company, Campania Maritima Cubana, Sanitiago Warehouse Company and the Santa Clar Sugar Company. The Cuban American Terminal Company has in course of construction at Havana a terminal on which to date approximately $1,800,000 has been expended out of a program of $2,500,000. On the property is a mortgage of $2,000,000 which the company is obligated to refund Be It Resolved, the Senate concurring, that the Sec- by July 1, 1925. |