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Two Notable Conventions

WO important and far-reaching conventions were held in the month of May; the meeting of the members of the board of the National Foreign Trade Council at Cincinnati, and the convention of the National Association of Cotton Manufacturers in New York City. It is quite safe to say that no former meeting of either of these bodies so closely related to shipping and foreign trade interests has been more successful in bringing together an influential body of business men, manufacturers, and experts in various lines. It was also notable that in both of these conventions there was evident a spirit of interest, determination and settled planning to the end of assuring for the nation's business a new place in foreign trade enterprise. We are glad to publish for our readers in this. and the July issue portions of two addresses given at these two meetings, the one by Mr. A. C. Bedford on the all-absorbing topic of petroleum and its part in waging the war, and the other by Mr. Gilbert H. Montague outlining the scope and advantages of the WebbPomerene Bill. We wish also to call attention to the report of the Foreign Trade Council's meeting made by our President, Mr. P. H. W. Ross, in another section of this number.

It is the profound belief of the members of The National Marine League that the shipping interests of the country must be kept in the most intimate and vital relation to the foreign trade activities, and that both these in turn should invite the most intelligent and thorough-going cooperation possible with the legislative interests at Washington. The word of the hour in the United States is "co-operation." As it was brought out repeatedly in both of the conventions just noted, no longer should it be possible for separate interests to go on duplicating and competing hurtfully with each other in this country.

If the United States is to take its part in the wide-reaching councils of the world, there must be a new and thorough-going team play among our great business leaders, while the men who make our laws at Washington will be called upon in the future for a new knowl

edge of world affairs as well as a new determination and purpose to make laws suitable to the ever enlarging circle of industrial and trade activities. These will center more and more around our maritime life. While it is to be hoped that no shade of injustice or doubtful dealing shall ever darken the new and awakening life of this country, it is also to be sincerely desired that no selfish or partisan ideal may be allowed for one moment to stand before a united commercial and martime national policy in which every important business interest will function.

Mr. Morgenthau Regarding Turkey

We have heard too little of conditions in Turkey and the Near East. Our readers will welcome the article by Leon Dominian in this number, who presents the situation in this section with much vividness and intelligent comprehension.

A word recently received from ex-Ambassador Henry Morgenthau relative particularly to the way in which Turkey's attitude to education has helped to bring about her present limitation, follows:

"Turkey is totally divest of any educational system. Eighty-five per cent of the population is illiterate. There are fewer schools under the auspices of the Turkish Government than exist today in Turkey under American influence.

"In addition to the colleges established by Americans in Turkey, there are 350 schools altogether, managed by the graduates of these colleges, to which the attendance has been for the most part drawn from the Armenian section of the population. When the missionaries started out many years ago to convert the Mohammedans they found that one of the fundamental principles of this land was to the effect that the renunciation of their religion was punishable by death. The missionaries found it expedient, therefore, to change the direction of their work, devoting

themselves to the Christian nationalities, the Armenians. The missionaries started magnificent educational and health hospitals, furnishing doctors for these hospitals who were possessed of wise missionary devotion.

"The higher institutions especially, such as Robert College, drew to themselves large numbers from Bulgaria. It is generally admitted that the progress of Bulgaria and the evolution of the national consciousness in that country is due very largely to Robert College graduates. This institution became the model and norm for institutions in AsiaMinor and in Beyrout, where a notable institution exists with 900 pupils, being one of the best equipped institutions. south of Europe. It is a notable fact that though the Turks have had an opportunity, since 1456, to assimilate other populations and to demonstrate their integrity over such nations, they have failed. Instead of increasing the wealth of civilization generally, they have been instrumental in largely stamping it out. Turkey is simply a military nation, still living on the loot taken away from the native population which it has failed to elevate or to properly develop.

"Turkey has produced virtually nothing by way of art, literature, archaeology, manufacture or commerce. The Turks have been simply the lighters and longshoremen at the great cross roads of the Mediterranean. For the interchange of produce between Asia and Europe, for all skilled labor and artisanship as well as for the sciences, such as medicine, dentistry, watch-making, etc., they have depended on Christians and Jews.

"A certain Turkish gentleman is reported to have stated that his ancestors made a mistake in 1456 by not annihilating the races of the territories which they had conquered and acquired.

"Now that the six great powers, who have for centuries restrained the Turks

from doing their will or completing their work, being at war with each other, four being Turkish enemies, and two being their allies, it was thought that none of them would interfere with the Turks in the plan somewhat beiated, according to Turkish opinion, of exterminating the peoples within their borders whose presence there is uncongenial or undesirable. The ques

tion is naturally asked by all those having interest in civilization and humanity 'How long will the Christian and advanced nations of the world allow a nation with such ideals and such exhibition of barbarity to exist among civilized peoples?'"'

Wooden Auxiliary Schooners

There has been much talk and much criticism in connection with the building of these ships. Making use of the space kindly offered me by the editor of this paper, I venture to make a few remarks from a commercial point of view.

From our own personal experience we know what splendid service the wooden sailing vessels rendered in old days. As an example, in the days of the eighties, one of these ships, a clipper of 2,800 gross, carrying 27,000 barrels of petroleum, made a record trip from New York to Antwerp and from Quebec to London in twelve days. On account of the immense shortage of tonnage, wooden ships are again called upon. The idea of installing reliable crude oil engines in sailing vessels has been carried out and given very good results in steel square riggers as well as steel fore and aft schooners, and should easily be advantageously adopted for the wooden schooners.

This combination, however, points to a matter which is of great importance, namelyworkmanship. Owing to the immense demand for tonnage, yards have been established and the work has been carried on by non-competent, and in some cases unreliable men. This circumstance has caused more pain than many seem to realize. The results are not only inferior work, making use of green timber, bad

rigging and poor installation of engines, etc., etc., but the immediate result has been the yards' going into bankruptcy, thereby causing incalculable delays, increased cost of the vessels and all kinds of trouble. It seems that the banks in certain localities have not attempted to use the necessary conservative judgment which eventually would avoid such calamities, while the middlemen have been unscrupulous and incompetent and charged exorbitant commissions. It thus seems necessary that the U. S. Government, through its various agencies, should at once introduce a most careful control of the establishment of yards. In many cases, where foreign enterprise, such as Scandinavian, has been left to the judgment of their agents in this country, severe losses have been the result, owing to circumstances mentioned above. Personally I know of not less than three yards which went into bankruptcy proceedings, being absolutely unable to fulfill their contracts. The foreign owners have thus been forced to take the yards over and complete the vessels at considerably increased cost.

As pointed out before, there is no reason why the wooden auxiliary schooners should not prove a first-rate useful cargo vessel. Extraordinary circumstances should, however, be kept in mind, such as green timber having been used in many of the vessels, and consequently it would be advisable for the first two or three years to employ the vessels in a suitable trade. As such, there is none as suitable as the Pacific trade and the Eastern trade, and I look upon the wooden schooners as the most useful tonnage in the trade between Pacific ports and Australia, Far East, Hawaiian Islands, etc., preferably, though, in a trade where they have not to cross the Equator. They will thus be able to release for the transatlantic trade the tonnage SO badly required-fast going

steamers.

The auxiliary wooden schooner possesses many advantages, such as a comparatively small crew, useful in most kinds of weather, and economical in operation. As regards the latter question, however, much depends upon the rate of insurance, and here lays the point, that the insurance companies will need to alter

their opinion of the quality of these vessels. Practical results obtained in the trade will soon prove the efficiency of the wooden schooners, which no doubt will form one of the great helping factors in winning this war.

Progress in Shipbuilding

The statement has recently been made, unofficially but none the less made by men in a position to know, that the U. S. Shipping Board finds, on going over its accounts since October 15, 1918, the day it took over the American merchant marine, that so far it has just about succeeded in breaking even on its venture. And the only comment made by shipping men who have followed the Board's policies and methods of management is, that they are not surprised.

Yet if ever there was a time in the history of shipping enterprises when the opportunities for profit in the overseas carrying trade were greater than they have been in the past year, there is no record of it. It is a commonplace that right up to the time when their business was commandeered by the Government, American shipping firms were making more money than they had ever made before in their lives-more money than four years ago they would have believed possible. One big shipping combine that apparently had gone hopelessly on the rocks a few years before had in a few months been resuscitated, and was piling up profits and paying off its back dividends. Others were capitalizing their immense earnings and launching into new and ambitious schemes of expansion. The shipping boom was so great that the solid men of the industry were beginning to view with anxiety the influx of adventurers from other fields, attracted, as always, by the lure of unexpected profits.

Government control put a sudden and complete stop to this. So sudden and complete, in fact, that the only shipping men who are at all surprised at the result we have mentioned, are surprised that the Shipping Board has done so well as to break even. It is a question which enthusiastic advo

cates of Government ownership and control of the shipping industry will do well to ponder; why, under precisely the same, or even more favorable, conditions as those which to private enterprise meant immense profits, the Government has been barely able to struggle along. And if they cannot answer this, there will be another question still more bothersome; if shipping under Government control needs the greatest boom conditions in all history to enable it to get along at all, how much will it cost the Government, when normal conditions are restored, to keep the industry going, and how long will it be before the industry, if retained under Government control, begins to pay returns comparable with even the taxes which the Government formerly reaped as its share of the returns of private enterprise?

In fairness to the Shipping Board, it must be recorded that in taking over the shipping, it decided to forego some of its opportunities for profit by cutting rates, but in no case did it cut rates below a point which, a few months earlier, had still meant very handsome returns to private shipping enterprise. And against this must be recorded another circumstance less favorable in its implications. During the past year the ablest men in the shipping industry have placed their service, as a patriotic duty, at the disposal of the Shipping Board. That the Board has not always availed itself of their advice is beside the point. The main fact is that during this period the Board has been able, if it wished, to count upon expert knowledge and judgment which is worth millions of dollars a year to private shipping enterprises. In peace time it is not likely that these men will continue indefinitely their unpaid service to the Government. More likely they will compel it to learn efficiency, if possible, by competing with it. Then what?

An Unadvertised Navy

The statement made recently by Sir John Foster Fraser, chairman of the War Lectures Committee of Great Britain, before newspaper