THE MORNING OREGONIAN, TUESDAY, JULY 11, 1933
SHIPPING INTERESTS, OFFER CONVINCING ARGUMENTS BEFORE SHIPPING BOARD COMMITTEE AGAINST ENFORCING
' MERCHANT MARINE LAW SECTION. -
A
1 -w&
INTERESTS ACCUSED
TV',-' ' '-'v.
,
George E, Chamberlain Says
:Trouble Is Being Made.
$1725
i
'4
FORE
1 II
SHIPPING B0RD BACKED
Ej-Senator Blames Japanese and
British and Declares Xaval
Iiimitation Pact Mistake.
Charges that English and Jap
anese interasts are fomenting trou
ble in the United States, .with a
view of embarrassing and crippling
the American merchant marine,
were made yesterday at the lunch
eon of the members' forum of the
Chamber of Commerce by George
E.- Chamberlain. ex-United States
, senator from Oregon and now a
.member of the United States ship
ping board.
An open attack on the Washing
ton conference and the "5-5-3"
agreement also were contained in
Mr. Chamberlain's address. Eng
land, he-said, won complete mastery-
Of the -sea when tne, aiiieu biu
tnen at Washington adopted the
Arms 'limitation programme.
Senator Chamberlain's address
.was fiery and patriotic. He spoke
to defense of the American mer
chant marine and the shipping
tvoard,. scored "those. Americans who
ld, business wlthi foreign shipping
.oompanles because of lower rates,
end called on his audience to sup
port a programme that would put
the American flag in its rightful
, place- oarthtr high -seas.
' BtoreigifcJiiterestsv Blamed.
Xxm-not-attacklng Great Britain,
pecan se m axe. the- descendants of
the English people, but I speak
as an American who wants to see
the American flag in its rightful
place-on theeeven seas," said Mr.
Chamberlain. "We have had trou
11b here in Portland and; in other
ports. That trouble has been ad
iiuBted. But scratch the backs of
those who are-causing mis irouuio
and .you will find invariably that
they are the representatives of
British and Japanese Interests.
"England, as a result of the dis
armament agreement, is the com
plete mistress of the eas. Of aljt
the ships of a tonnage of more than
2000 and capable of a speed of -more
than 22 knots, we own 22 per cent
and. Britain owns the remainder.
By arming her great liners she
Could wipe the American merchant
marine off the sea whenever she
chose. No wonder that British
Statesmen, smiled -when "they-signed
the agreement." 1
f Ex-Senator Wildly Applauded.
The ex-senator's ottefances were
greeted with storms of applause.
The conventional hand -clapping
gave way to crtas of "Go on,
George," and the rrfain dining hall,
filled with one of the largest crowds
in its history, echoed back the spon
taneous enthusiasm of the audience;
Following the routine Introduc
tion of new members, Admiral W. S.
Benson, chairman of the shipping
board, was presented to the mem
bers. The admiral discussed Port
land, its port, its beauty and its
roads. He declared that the great
shipping problems of the future lay
on Ahe Pacific, and that the develop
ment of the local harbor showed
that Portland was prepared to meet
the problem.
he admiral stressed the fact that
the shipping Industry required ex
ecutives with a different line of
knowledge than is acquired in other
professions; that Its problems are
international and not domestic, that
a. ship on leaving a harbor im
mediately enters into close compe
tition with foreign interests and
that America, unfortunately, does
not possess a trained class of ship
ping executives.
Merchant Marine Vital.
Admiral Benson spoke in behalf
of merchant marine legislation and
outlined the difficulties confronting
the shipping board.
Meyer Lissner, Los Angeles' repre
sentative on the board, spoke next.
Mr. Lissner's remarks paralleled
those by Admiral Benson. He dwelt
otf the necessity of a merchant ma
rine, the difficulty of securing
trained men to direct the energies
ofthe American fleet, the. necessity
of- creating a better balanced fleet
with fast freighters, passenger and
refrigerator ships.
..When Mr. Chamberlain took the
floor at the close of Mr. Lissner's
address, he was greeted witX pro
longed applause. He began by il
lustnating trie difficulties that con
front the shipping board and the
many baseless charges of favoritism
made by every port in America.
The board, he declared, tried to be
fair with all ports, favoritism was
not a part of its programme and
Portland was receiving as fair a
deal as any city in America.
. Board Hampered by Congress.
The speaker related more of the
difficulties that arise between con
gress and the shipping board. Ad
miral Benson, he said, was the only
member who had previous expe
rlence in shipping. In order prop
erly to direct the American mer
chant marine, the board had reached
out and engaged experienced men
from private corporations, paying
them salaries commensurate with
their abilities. Congress immediate
ly cut these salaries and it was
only the patriotism of the men that
kept them with the board.
Then the speaker began his at
tack on foreign trouble-makers.
After he had charged English and
Japanese interests with causing ma
rine troubles, he opened his attack
on the Washington conference. He
said:
s l do not favor war and I am
in.' favor of anything that will pre
vent war but go back to the be
ginning of time and voir- will find
that wars always have existed. As
long as greed fills men's hearts,
we will have wars. a
""Historic Humiliation Recalled.
"We practically disarmed .after
the revolutionary war. In 1783
congress gave the remnants of our
navy to the king or France. You
know what happened. The little
state of Algiers seized two of our
ships and cast 150 of our seamen
istui . prison. We made a dishonor
able treaty with that little state,
paying $1,000,000 in ransom for our
sailors. Other powers on the Bar-
bary coast followed suit and levied
tribute against us, an unarmed
nation.
"A few years later we engaged in
a fwo years' naval engagement with
. France. Then came the war of
1812. Congress did appropriate a
little money to build a fleet, but
it twas the American merchant ma
rine that kept cue. flag on the
seas."
The attack veered to Britain and
the speaker gave his opinion of
the victory that England had won
In the "p-5-8" agreement
A plefolIowed for united sup-
7
I
L
Scene in federal court.
Seated on
port of a merchant marine that
would keep the American flag on
the seas and act as a proper aux
iliary to the fleet in time of war.
The senator concluded his re
marks by reading statistics purport
ing to show that Portland had not
been discriminated against, that
American ships were not the only
idle ships, and that every maritime
nation was suffering as a result of
depression in the shipping industry.
During 1921 lines operating out of
Portland lost $350,000, the senator
said. For the present year losses
per voyage run from $1940 to $13,369.
Seattle lines are losing more, he
declared, though at the time the
passenger steamer lines were started
out of Seattle business was good
and money was being made by op
erators. Since that time a slump
has struck, the shipping industry,
and Seattle lines now are losing
more than those of Portland.
FOREIGN SHIPS ARE FEN
SECTIOX 28 OF MERCHANT
MARINE ACT FOUGHT.
American Service Is Declared
Needed to Carry Goods Han
dled by Port.
(Contlnqed From First Page.)
some foreign lines. He explained
that the position of Portland was
that it was entitled to have its
passenger requirements considered
by the board in determining the
adequacy of service mentioned as to
section 28.
'We have the local population,
extensive railroad service and busi
ness with the orient, so we cannot
accept the decree that -Sassenger
service from Portland with chipping
board vessels is not to be," said Mr.
Dodson. "We have no fast service
with the heavy commodity type of
ships, yet it is vital to the district
and to the United States that we
SAMENT POINTS YS POBT
iLAJiD'S CASE AGAINST
SECTION 28 AS PRE- -SENTED
YESTER
DAY. Existing shipping board serv- ,
ice held inadequate with one
sailing a month to orient.
Three sailings declared nec
essary. Fast combined freight
and passenger service advo
cated. Lack of facilities here com
pel shippers to book flour for
new season on steamers plying
from Puget eound. San Fran- -Cisco
and Puget sound) have
three shipping board vessels
sailing each month, with Los
Angeles one every 20 days,
the Portland schedule being
monthly.''
Application' of section 28 as
to westbound rates would
drive vessels from Pacific to
Atlantic trade is foreseen, and
committee is reminded that
sentiment is opposed in other
districts as well.
Witness would repeal act,
and points out other laws pro
hibit discrimination against
any port. Law declared to
have been framed as club
originally.
Question whether interstate
commerce commission would
accept certification as to ade
quacy of service without mak
ing own investigation.
have that type. As a result we get
no appreciable part of the oriental
mail or express business, sucn as
silk, which is attractive."
There were 13 commodities of the
class embraced in the list of freight
which speedy and frequent service
were held to control, not alone be
cause of the early delivery," but as
well the insurance feature.
"I think the board needs no other
figures than the record for the last
two years, yet in spite of the show
ing we are losing rapidly, as we are
down to four steamers in tne orien
tal fleet of the board, the service
having . fallen from 11 carriers,'
Mr. Dodson. Foreign fleets have
climbed both in the number of ships
and of heavy commodity types. So
there is an inadequacy of service
for the character of cargo offering
here, and as to the orient, the serv
ice does not approach adequacy."
In presenting a brief Mr. Teal
said the tariffs mentioned in con
nection with section 28 were not
import and export rates, but equali
zation rates, and that they have no
relation to domestic rates, having
been made to give the railroads a
haul on trans-ocean business.
Enforcement Is Opposed.
- He said the enforcement of section
28, at least as regards westbound
rates, would force foreign vessels
out of the Pacific trade and into the
Atlantic. From 76 to 80 per cent of
traffic to be affected originates at
Chicago and eastward, he said, so
the natural outlet is the Atlantic
One favorable expression as to
section 28 came from R. D. Pinneo,
traffic manager of the Port of
Astoria, who read a communication
to the committee. In which he said:
"We have always advocated sec
HmMeMMMMW
SmiilUUMaHi
bench Meyer "Limner, George E. Chamberlain and Admiral W. S. Benson.
presentation on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce.
tion 28 and, at the proper time, its
application, unless something more
effective could be brought forth for
the protection of American ship
ping. My idea is that section 28,.
which is the only weapon ever pro
vided by congress that could be used
to equalize the advantage of foreign
ships, he invoked on the Pacific
coast at this time and that there
are ample American ships to handle
with dispatch all business affected
by it. The success of the applica
tion would depend entirely on the
strict enforcement of all co-ordinate
legislation and the co-ordination
of all government commissions
so they would all work together in
a broad way, for if the interstate
commerce commission used Its
avowed powers to protect all rail
roads in the United States, including
those ' owned by foreign interests,
and the great transcontinental rail
roads would refuse to grant differ
entials wide enough to meet foreign
ship competition, the American
merchant marine would dwindle to
nothing in ashort time."
- New Act Is Praised.
Mr. ' Pinneo continued that he
regarded the new merchant marine
act of 1922 as offering the best
solution to provide aid in meeting
foreign competition.
Mr. Mann said the question of
adequate facilities at Portland had
not been fully discussed as reports
showed local tonnage far exceeded
the interstate business on which
import and export rates would
apply. He said facilities must be
adequate to carry all, not alone the
preferential freight. "It seems to
me you must consider all business
of the port and the relation of alt
ports to foreign business," he said.
"I cannot see from arguments pre
sented here today why foreign ships
would hesitate to come should sec
tion 28 be in effect, any more than
in the past, since there is nothing
moving here under the preferential
rate," observed Admiral Benson.
ArlBhborinjt Ports Used.
'Tour board, in declining to take
low-grade freight here, says it is
unremunerative and that forces us
to send it to neighboring ports that
answers your question," interposed
Mr. Dodson. "Isn't it inevitable, in
the face of that, that we are to
struggle along as a slow-freight
port?"
Chairman Chamberlain said he was
trying to find out if the establish
ment of a fast passenger line from
Portland would build up new busi
ness here or serve to take away
business from Puget sound and San
FTancisco, where "they are already
losing money." Admiral Benson
said he was one who had much to do
with the assignment of passenger
ships and that Puget sound was re
garded ag a strategical location for
such a line as far as the northwest
figured. He said b.e thought that
was the best way to' start In serving
the seeds of the great northwest.
As to the. south, he said Los An
geles was seriously considered as
against San Francisco.
Increased Service Sought.
Frank L. Shull, of the Portland
Flouring Mills company, testified as
to efforts during the last few days
to have the shipping board service
to the orient increased, telegrams
being sent to Washington. He said
much space had been booked on ves
sels from Puget sound because of
Inability to get space here and, that
already three to four times as much
flour has been booked there for
shipment, than wa closed for by his
company'at Portland. He said Port
land should have at least three ships
a month and preferably faster ones
than were operated.
Mr. Ganong said Kerr, Gilford &
Co. - had . refused oriental business
only yesterday because of lack of
space. "I think it is a shame that
Portland is so discriminated
against," he Bald. There are ships
tied up here, yet we cannot get
space on those operating and it is
coming on the busy season with the
orient and there will probably be a
big increase this year."
William H. Payne of the Pacific
Export Lumber company, also told
of difficulties In getting space for
parcel shipments of lumber.
Mr. Moser made the closing ar
gument for the port bodies and in
a foref ul way accentuated important
points that had been taken up.
The morning session was de
Headqrmrte r'fe
for Oregonians
while in Port
land. Smpenal
iotel
Manager
.
voted to presentation of data and j
briefs on behalf of the commission
of public docks and Port of Port
land commission and discussion at
different stages of the presentation,
which was made by Manager Hud
son of the joint traffic bureau."
Chairman Chamberlain announced
at the outset the purpose of the
hearing, saying the sub-committee
of the shipping board was ap
pointed to conduct hearings On the
Atlantic side, in the gulf region
and on the Pacific coast to ascer
tain if there were sufficient Ameri
can documented ships serving ports
on those shores, and that the hear
ing was subject to provisions of
section 28 of the merchant marine
act, also known as the Jones act.
Later Chairman Chamberlain re
iterated that the hearing had to do
with- all ships documented under
the American flag, not being re
stricted to shipping board carriers
alone.
At one point In the presentation
it was sot lorth that the shipping
board service from San Francisco
and Puget sound to oriental ports
was three sailings a month from
each, Los Angeles having a sailing
every 20 days and Portland one
ship eveTy 30 days; also that the
Columbia Pacific Shipping com
pany, operating government vessels
at Portland," had dispatched 1
steamers across the Pacific since
January 1, 1922, representing .
deadweight capacity of 125.4&0 tons,
while the entire amount of cargo
sent to the orient in the same time
was 495,353 tons.
Some Questions Raised.
Mr. La Roche raised a question
as to whether, in indicating that
the 14 steamers mentioned had an
actual deadweight of 125,400 tons,
there had been subtracted, the dif
ference represented in fuel oil and
other capacity for supplies, which,
it was said, had not been taken into
consideration. Allowing 10O0 tons
ior each steamer, that reduced the
total handled by shipping board
vessels in the six months to 115,000
tons, leaving more than 380,000 tons
taken care of In foreign bottoms.
Mr. mann asked for data on. im
ports and exports at Portland, in
cluding shipments originating in
local territory as well as bevond
transcontinental lines. About that
time a discussion was precipitated
involving adequacy of shipping
ooara tonnage available here at
Umes, and it was declared tha.t
business had been drawn to Puget
sound from Portland, also. It was
said, because of lower rates in some
instances quoted on shipping board
steamers from . the northern har
bor. .
Admiral Benson asked to what
extent rates had influenced condi
tions on the Pacific and how such
preponderance of cargo had
moved westward via foreign lines
or tramp steamers. The reply was
that such influence had not been
material. Admiral Benson asked if
MELACHRINO
-The One Cigarette Sold the World Over
.. : f:
Standing; J. N. Teal, making
the shipping board had not allocated
sufficient tonnasre to meet reauire
ments, as Mr. Hudson said ifad
been the case several times. As to
rates, it was held that the shipping
board should meet competitive rates
to get the business, which brought
from the committee the declaration
that the board coujd not afford to
shoulder such heavy losses as would
often follow.
Local Investment Cited.
Mr. Hudson drew attention to the
investment of public monev in the
river and harbor to the extent of
$17,000,000 and said the loss to tax
payers would be considerable if they
could not take advantage of the
service of foreign vessels.
"If the shipping board Is breaking
even here and losing on Puget sound
and at San Francisco, we want to
know it, said Chairman Ciamber
laJn. "It is true that Puget sound
losses on shipping board vessels
reaches , large amount, but taking
into consideration the time' when
they made money and comparing it
with the present, they are breaking
even. Portland took up the opera
tion of shipping board tonnage after
the period when considerable money
had been made on Puget sound and
our figures show the loss in 1921
here was $312,360, which does not
include figures on five voyages and
in 1922 so far, not taking into con
sideration figures on six voyages,
the loss has been $45,346.17. It has
been said the shipping board is dis
criminating against Portland, and if
it is we want to know it. The rea
son I say this is because I read be
lt tween the lines in thia presentation
that we are discriminating and we,
want to correct that."
Mr. Lissner asked if the data as
to ship losses took into considera
tion also depreciation, interest and
insurance, and it was said it did
not. so he replied that an additional
deficit of about 18 per cent must be
included in the calculations.
Mr. Lissner remarked that it ap
peared to him from the statistics
given that the preferential rate
cargo, such as would be effected by
the application of section 28, was
already being taken care of on ship
ping board steamers so that the sec
tion would not operate to the detri
ment of the port.
Mr. Teal directed attention to the
fact that silk from the orient moves
on fast vessels, also tea, not being
carried on slow freighters, and
asked how the service could be held
adaquate or not to be affected by
section 28 when the port has no such
facilities as fast combined passenger
and freight carriers.
20 Statements Embraced.
The presentation on behalf of the
dock and port . commission em
braced, in addition to the brief, 20
statements' in which were embod
ied comparisons on import andi ex
port commodity rates moving via
Atlantic and gulf ports as against
Pacific ports, tonnage subject to im
port and export transcontinental
rail rates, passing through the port
for two and a half years as-handled
MAN is marked by
his manners and
desires to smoke
Melachrino Cigarettes
has always been an evi'
dence of refined taste a
signofsuperiorjudgment
MELACHRINO Ggarettes
body an unusual selection of the
rarest and most delicate of Turkish
tobaccos obminable only by Mela
chrino, and shared by no other
cigarette in the world.
on all vessels, cargo moved by all
classes of vessels to the Atlantic
seaboard and foreign lands, also ex
ports from' Portland under the
American flag other than shipping
board steamers. It also touched on
foreign exports on all vessels from
here with the percentage of increase
In, two years and the lumber move
ments via various railroads reaching
Portland; the interchange of traffic
between Atlantic and gulf ports to
the orient, Panama canal business
with reference to the . same trade,
the movement of rubber, cotton
goods, sailing schedules of the gov
ernment and' privately owned fleets,
backed by nine exhibits in the way
of maps, annual reports of the har
bor bodies and railroad tariffs.
The compilation had been under
way during the last few weeKs.
There was a history of the Columbia
river project on which the army
engineers had directed expenditures
at the entrance up to May, 1922, of
$15,886,535.96, to which the ports of
Astoria and Portland had contributed
$500,000, of that $475,000 being from
Portland. Also, it was said that
want:
FOR RAILROAD
These men are wanted .to take the place of men who are striking
against the decision of the United States Railroad Labor Board, and
their status, and the FULL PROTECTION GUARANTEED, are
. explained by Mr. Ben W. Hooper, Chairman, in his statement of July 1:
' "In this case the conflict is not between the employer and the oppressed employes.
The people of this country, through an act of. congress, signed by President Wilson,
established a tribunal to decide such disputes over wages and -working conditions, which
- are submitted to it'in a proper manner. It is the decision of this tribunal against which
the shop crafts are striking.
"Regardless of any question of the right of the men to strike, the men who take
the strikers places are merely accepting the wages and working conditions prescribed
' , by a government tribunal and are performing a public service. They are not accept
ing the wages and working conditions which an employer is trying to impose. FOR
THIS REASON PUBLIC SENTIMENT AND FULL GOVERNMENT POWER WILL
PROTECT THE MEN WHO REMAIN IN THEIR POSITIONS AND THE NEW
MEN WHO MAY COME IN."
Apply '
W. J. HANLON, ,
410 Wells-Fargo Building, Portland, Qregon
or A. C. MOORE, 513 Oregon Bldg., or Superintendent's Office,
Room 29 Union Station
Until you ride in it yourself,
you cannot possibly realize
how remarkable the good Max
well is in its riding qualities.
Cord tires, non-skid front and rear; disc steel
wheels, demountable at rim and at hub; drum
type lamps; Alemite lubrication; motor driven
electric horn; unusually long springs. Prices F.
0. B. Portland: Touring Car, $1060; Roadster,
$1060; Coupe, $1625; Sedan, $1725.
Covey .Motor Car
Washington at 21st
Broadway 6244
$6,433,469.51 had been spent In the
channel above the estuary by the
government, while $24,319.82 had
been contributed besides.
The work was carried on In the
river proper with the co-operation
of the Port of Portland commission
and that the latter body, in that
work as well as in the property
maintained for channel work, tow
ing, pilotage service, drydocks and
the like. $8,188,706.40 had been ex
pended between 1891 and the open
ing of 1922, the funds being all from
the taxpayers of the port district.
' As to the commission of public
docks, it was shown that during
11 years it has been in existence
in the construction and operation of
terminal properties, which the ship
ping board commissioners are to
inspect today, a total of $9,630,154.17
had been spent up to November 30,
1921, with an additional sum of
$1,124,352.63 for the new 15,000-ton
drydock.
Dry Law Offenders Fined.
ROSEBURG. Or.. July 10.-(Sl)e-
cial.) Earl Rowe and John Falr-
UNION PACIFIC SYSTEM
hofm:
SERVICE AND AT WAGES AS FOLLOWS:
Machinists .......70 cents per hour
Boilermakers . .71 cents per hour
Blacksmiths 70 cents per hour
Electricians ....10 cents per hour
Sheet metal and other workers in this
line .... . 70 cents per hour
Freight car repairers ....63 cents per hour
Car inspectors 63 cents per hour
Painters, freight cars.... 63 cents per hour
Helpers, all crafts ........ ..47 cents per hour
Co.
childs, jSroprletors of a pool hall at
Reedsport, today paid fines of $300
each in the Roseburg Justice court
after pleading guilty to charges of
possessing intoxicating liquor. The
charges followed a raid July 4, when
several quarts of liquor were found
in their place of business. Both
were sentenced to 60 days in the
county Jail, but the jail sentences
were suspended during good be
havior. 5Iob Surrounds 50 Workers.
HOXIE, Ark.. July 10. (By the
Associated Press.) A mob of strik
ing shopmen today surrounded
about 50 men, a number of whom
were armed, brought here by the
Missouri Pacific to replace strikers,
and chased them out of town after
disarming them. The strikebreakers
were picked up by a Missouri Pa
cific passenger train en route to
Poplar Bluff, Mo. There was no
violence, as- the strikebreakers of
fered no resistance.
Read'The Oregonian classified adis.
EN
IB
A