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Show EXPECT TO SPEED UP o Centralized Control of Trans - Atlantic Shipping Ship-ping Established With the Creation of a Committee Com-mittee to Operate All Vessels, American, Allied Al-lied and Neutral. P. A. S. FRANKLIN MADE CHAIRMAN Shipment of Goods Intended In-tended for Overseas Transportation Will Be Diverted in Accordance Accord-ance With the State of Congestion at Northern North-ern Points. WASHINGTON, Jan. SO. Centralized control of transatlantic shipping was established es-tablished today with the creation of a ship-control committee to have supreme charge of the operation of all shlpa American, allied and neutral entering and leaving American ports. The committee was named by representatives repre-sentatives of the shipping board, the war and navy departments, the food and fuel administrations, the director general of railroads, the British government and ship owners who met to devise some plan for speeding up the movement of supplies to Europe. It comprises P. A. S. Franklin Frank-lin of the "International Mercantile Marine, Ma-rine, chairman; H. H. Raymond, head of the Clyde and Mallory lines and recently made shipping controller at New York, and Sir Cunnop Guthrie, director of British shipping in this country. The arrangement, as explained by shipping ship-ping board officials, in effect creates a pool of ships moving supplies to Europe. Goods destined foir overseas will be loaded in available ships whether operated by the United States or the allies. Will Direct Supplies. With the aid of the railroad administration, adminis-tration, the committee will divert to southern ports much of the supplies that heretofore have clogged the port of New York, and incoming vessels will be directed di-rected by wireless to proceed to the ports In which materials of the most importance impor-tance await shipment. The plan yet has to be approved by the British government and by the other allies, but officials today received the assurance as-surance of Sir Cunnop Guthrie and Sir Richard Crawford of the British embassy em-bassy that this would be forthcoming. Approval of the neutrals is not necessary, inasmuch as neutral ships operated by the United States and the allies are operated under charter. The British long have urged an arrangement of the kind and months ago sought to have the United States enter the inter-allled chartering conference. The centralized control authorized au-thorized today virtually creates such a conference on this side of the water. Representatives Abroad. In connection with the action officials attached particular significance to the decision to dispatch abroad Raymond B. Stevens, vke chairuui.it of the shipping board, and George Rublee or' the board's legal staff, to sit in London and Paris as permanent representatives of the United St;iies in shipping matters. The representatives en the other side will seek to accomplish the same alms sought by crea tion of th control committee. In additiun they will represent the United States in the allocation of neutral tonnage ton-nage obtained by agreements between the allied and neutral countries. A decision to give the control committee commit-tee authority to divert to the various ports shipments of goods intended for overseas transportation, officials said, will accomplish an amalgamation of rail and water transportation facilities sought since the beginning of the war. Such a welding, it was declared, was impossible until the railroads came under government govern-ment control. Will Clear Congestion. As explained tonight hy shipping heard officials, the diversion of traffic to ports other than New York will clear New York harbor of its present congestion and do much to speed up loading and - (Continued on Page Two.) EXPECT TO SPEED UP MOVEMENT OE SHIPS (Continued from Page One.) unloading". It was declared that at least 1,000.000 tons of shipping-would be gained by a proper co-ordination of effort. While' the army and navy have no direct di-rect representatives on the committee, officials said that both departments saw the need of co-ordination and had expressed ex-pressed themselves as ready to fall into line to accomplish it. The formation of convoys under the arrangement to ship more goods out of southern ports will be made somewhat more difficult, but no real obstacle, it was said, will be offered. of-fered. The railroad administration has agreed to co-onerate in every way to make the plan a success, and will so route freight as to get it quickly to southern ports. Charleston and Savannah will be the ports through which most of 1 he freight diverted from New York will be moved. All cotton and other products coming from the south will go largely through these ports and no more will be shipped to New York to be stored until ship space can be obtained for its transportation. transpor-tation. Foodstuffs to a large extent will be sent out of gulf ports. Will Move Promptly. Under the plan tentatively adopted by the conference today materials will be sent to ports in which there is no congestion, con-gestion, and in which an abundance of bunker coal may be obtained. Ships before be-fore leaving the other side will be directed di-rected to proceed to the ports at which goods which should be moved most promptly are awaiting shipment. Thus it might turn out that a British ship is carrying- American materials, while an American ship is transporting British goods. An -pffort will be made to bring about a maximum efficiency in unloading on the other side of the Atlantic, and Mr. Stevens and Mr. Rublee will address themselves to this problem. The arrangement does not displace the shipping board's director of operation, Edward F. Carry, but the control committee com-mittee will be In supreme charge. Mr. Carry's department will deal solely with shipping board ships and will turn vessels ves-sels as soon as chartered over to the committee. The arrangement will be continued throughout the winter and probably throughout the entire year. If railroad congest ion is cleared, however, an increasingly in-creasingly large amount of goods will be shiipej out of northern ports, because the haul is shorter. The pooling feature, though, will be continued indefinitely. |