Ship News

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manager of the American Oriental Mail Line, and he adds that both passenger and freight business is exceeding expectations of several months ago.

"It is folly to expect ships, under other than the American flag, to exhibit much enthusiasm in carrying American products to markets which the nationals of these foreign ships claim as their own," says Julean Arnold, commercial attache to the Department of Commerce. True as gospel!

The Shipping Board vigorously protests the recommendation of the Budget Bureau of a cut to a $15,000,000 appropriation for next year. The place to lodge the protest is with Congress which it is not believed purposes strangling to death our existing American merchant marine.

"In 1923-24, there were 338 cargo vessels" of the Shipping Board in operation, says a Washington statement, which continues thusly: "In 1924-25 the number was 299. The present plans call for operation of 279 vessels while in fact there has been in operation recently only 232 cargo ships."

It is said that, exclusive of tanker cargoes, American ships carry but 28 per cent of our foreign commerce, and it is bodldly declared, the Lord of the budget to the contrary notwithstanding: "If less than $22,000,000 is appropriated for the next fiscal year destruction of established lines will result." Think about it!

Portland people protest against Columbia River operating matters affecting Shipping Board ships being handled by the Seattle district office, and they explain as their reason that the two sections are in the keenest kind of competition.

President Palmer of the Fleet Corporation formally denied on Aug. 23 that there is any possibility of the Leviathan and the other lines of the United States Lines being tied up. He declared that they are in service permanently. The statement was made because General Manager Roosbottom, now in Europe, stated he had heard the rumor, which, he said, was being taken advantage of by our foreign competitors to reduce future bookings on U. S. Lines' ships.

It is declared that "the Philadelphia area" spends five billion dollars a year, but not all of it is spent to attract ships and commerce from the Port of New York that is naturally tributary to it.

The New York Shipbuilding Corporation, it is said, has been acquired by "the Brown, Boveri interests of Switzerland." Whatever Swiss interests are willing to pay for an American shipbuilding company should not be more than American interests should be willing to pay.

"Idle steam tonnage of the world totaled 5,780,000 gross tons on Jan. 1, 1925. With many ships laid up during the first half of 1925, however the idle tonnage increased nearly 1,000,000 to 6,753,000 gross tons. Coincident to this the index number of trip charter rates dropped to 96 per cent of the average for 1911-1913," according to E. S. Gregg, transportation division, Department of Commerce.

Chairman O'Connor, of the U. S. Shipping Board, is quoted as saying that the sale of the cargo vessels to the American Export Steamship Corporation would now pave the way for the sale of other services. Among these, it is to be noted, are the United States Lines, for which Moore & McCormack and the United American Line have made offers; also the Black Diamond, the Cosmopolitan, and Pacific Coast lines.

During July 418 commercial vessels transited the Panama Canal; tolls of $1,800,239 were collected.

Net earnings of the Pacific Steamship Company for the six months that ended on June 30 were $505,506, or at the rate of better than a million a year, some part of which the company seems disposed to spend to secure a foothold in the Atlantic coastwise steamship business, just as the Clyde Line seems disposed to "break in" to the Pacific coastwise steamship business, in the way of appreciation, so to speak.

Fearing the ships might be withdrawn from service if sold now, and willing to buy them as soon as they get on a "non-loss basis," Portland, Ore., people object to the sale to the highest bidders ships now operated to the Orient from Portland by the Columbia-Pacific Shipping Co.