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“ To Towing. in part, is Uh Etro ‘te radio addiess from here fast cht buf Joseph P. raped u, chair- of the Maritime Commussion: There has been some disposition ot here, I understand, to regard the West Coast as the “forgotten man” of shipplug. I want to as- eure you that there is no justiti- vetion for this view, The members of the Marilime Cornmission are imply cognizant of the needs of » Pacific States, We have done, wid will comtioue to do, every- ‘hing within our power te protect ae dntercets of this great area. Shipping, perhaps more than any wher dndest:,, must bo viewed as ‘ational emerprisc. Ou no alher Seis ean we justify the partici- pation of Lhe Federal Govern- nent, Unfortunately, birre are two Factors thr‘ tend to mibitate ozalnst our efforts in behalf of farifle Coast shipping. One is the fact that e onomic Inws are no ry seckor of recional boundarics. ve other is our lack of euthori'y ia . deal wilh same of the matlors ot issue. There bas been a great deol nf discussion, not only on the Coast but in Washington. too, aubeut the removal of Grace Lines -esrels [rom the intercoastal trade ond the piospective removal of ''e Panama Pacific vessels. These ivsels were built with Govern- nent loans and cere operated, inft_l pecenth oowilh the assistance Toners mail rontroels. hey lait up oa tplendid service, bath meesenger mud freight. between ‘oe Frsb and Woot Cousts. Toesses of &5.266.000 The merchant mains act of i946, which replaced the sys.em 4 mall contracts with direct eid, ‘revided that no vessels in doames- ‘In service should be gligible for -wesidigs. This mrant a Oe of sere than $409.000 a year in suh- | a Nppin sidies for_the Grace ships and an almost equal amount for ama Pacific vessels. Inasmuch as both lines were aiready operat- ing at a loss, even with Govern- ment assistance, it is obvious that they could not pasibly stay in the trade when the subsidies were withdrawn. Panama Pacific losses for six and a half years in the inter- coastal trade, we have been in- formed, aggregated $5,300,000. These losses were incurred de- Spite the payment of subsidies, which amounted to more than $2,500.000 for the period. The ac- tual operating deficit of the Jine amounted to nearly $8,000,000. Can anyone blame the owner of this line for throwing up the sponge? Many persons have felt that the Maritime Commission should do somcthing to keep these vessels in the jnterceastal trade. We are forced to point out that the mail contracts granted to the two in- tercoastal lines were widely criti- tized during the period when they Ouriig tne period Waite widy were in force, and did much to undermine public support of the Merchant marine act of 1928. Al- though the vessels in question made stops in forelgn countries, they wera regarded, and correctly 50, as Intercoastal carriers. They were, therefore, declared ineligt- ble for aid under the 1936 act, Policy of Subsidies The question is immediately asked: “Why not extend the stope of our shipping policy to include vesseis in domestic trade?” The. answer to that question, I fear, Must be sought from Congress. The Maritime Commission, under the present law, has no jurisdic- tion over shipping in domestic trade, The whole policy of ship sub- then first off. is based on we at American reas compensation to oHent ' Situs 1 g Situation the lower costs of foreign opera- tog ibtheneh direct nts have been given in the pas tesa ness the railroads}, and although indirect aid is rendered today {such as highway development), the cash support of one form of transportation at the expense of others is an exceedingly ticklish proposition. I do not say that it hasn't been done, or that it can’t be done, I want to emphasize, however, that such a course should not be undertaken without care- ful scrutiny of the objectives to be attained and possible repercus- sions upon other segments of the national economy. Few nations have found it ex- pedient to subsidize coastwist shipping services, What About Others? Subsidizing one operator, or group of operators, immediately raises the question of what to do about the others. It would be manifestly unfair to assist one or iwo of the intercoastal lineg and not extend the same treatment tm ott hee Arcwat awe in tan stn Ww Wil other VUPTIAvo LI the VEU. Furthermore, once we establish the principle of support for inter- coastal lines, there is no logical reason why the procedure should not be extended to the coastwise lines, The payment of subsidies to do- mestic operators would obviously arouse intense opposition on the pert of rival transportation agencies. The railroads afd buses would have every justification, i seems to me, for demanding simi- lar relief. Moreover, we must not lose sight of the fact that there are stub- stantial elements of our popula- tion who do not believe in ship gubsidies of anv kind. The pres- SUDSICICS Of Bny san ane pres ent shipping act was passed with a margin of only eight votes, de- spite the support of 20 West Coast 1 Jators oa one aspect of THEE Here's Kennedy’ 's Address On Shipping y Vanghourr . LW. “pw 8. sole Syvewd 00. 2... soe: Ce a Te a A Fz m3 2 = 3 . a a 3 —. BAN FRANCS WOW AR \ ES Gad TT AN Ty fA F