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Show chased all the vessels it could secure. We have seized the German and Austrian Aus-trian ships, and they will not be returned re-turned to their owners. The number of American vessels seized was not largo and need not be considered. To all intents in-tents and purposes, the government of the United States will own tho shipping of the country when the war ends, and it will have cost some billions of dollars. dol-lars. These vessels can be sold or leased to private companies, but it is to be doubted if the people who have been taxed to build them would approve such a course. It will be one of the many big issues of the campaign of 1020 without doubt. Tn the meantime we shall continue to build ships with all possible speed and the government will own them absolutely. The German shipping, like that of Great Britain, has been seriously impaired im-paired by reason of the war. If tho British board of trade plan is adopted, the end of the struggle would find the Germans practically without ships of any kind, for their fleet will either bo destroyed or treated as spoils of war. The Germans, however, are not figuring upon any such possibilities, and are already al-ready making arrangements to invade tho foreign markets with their wares as soon as their vessels dare to venture upon the high seas. They are undoubtedly undoubt-edly building some new merchantmen, how many we have no means of finding out. In addition to this, they are even now trying to charter foreign vessels for long periods, as much as four years after the war. They are willing to pay good prices a ton a month, and the owners will be free from all expenses and insurance premiums. Offers of. this kind from German brokers have been received in Norway, and it is possible pos-sible some Norwegian vessels have bce'n chartered, although some of tho conditions condi-tions imposed by Germany are clearly against the law. Norwegian ship owners own-ers have offers from other countries which they can accept and make money. It is the general opinion, however, that they can make more by taking a chance in the open market, as freights are certain cer-tain to be very good for a time at least. All this goes to show that the shipping question is an exceedingly live one, even at the present time, when the principal maritime nations of the world arc engaged in war. Tho Japanese, not being actively engaged in fighting, are building ships as never before, and will be our rivals on the Pacific. We I still think, however, that if we keep up steam in the shipyards long enough we shall not be com .idle J to make use of foreign bottoms hereafWi SHIPS AND TRADE. The question of having enough ships to. engage in overseas trado after the war is being seriously considered both in Great Britain and Germany, the two great commercial rivals of the United states. The British board of trade recently named a committee to consider con-sider the matter, and the first conclusion conclu-sion reached was that "we consider that no peace would be f-ati.-factory which tid not enforce the surrender of enemy shipping and inflict drastic and exemplary punishment for crimes committed com-mitted at .ten." The committee reeoin-mends reeoin-mends tiiat enemy dipping, when -eized, should be divided among the countries whose shipping has suii'ered, or he sold so as to exclude enemy or neutral buyers. It Is also recommended that the government relinquish its control con-trol over merchantmen when peace comes, and that effort'! be made to buibl two million tons of men hant ships annually after the war. Great I'.ritain has been the baling rj'.aritirne power for g- nrrat ions. She has likew iso en ioyrd the larger share of the world's trade ami London has been the financial center of the world. It is quite natural that tho British board of trade should be making plans to secure se-cure as much of tho patronage of fur-ein fur-ein countries as possible. The German Ger-man L-boats have inflicted great dam-ni'e-upon the Knlish shippint;, and tho vessels lost cannot be replaced befure he end of the war. Seizure of tho German Ger-man merchant vessels would bo a great hel;.. Hut thn I'nite.l States would ! entitled to an equal share with Great liritain if the vessels were to bo divided, di-vided, ami in rae nf sale we certainly would be in position to Imv some of theni in. It is perhaps true that this country is now iu position to build all the ships we need for our foreign trade, and that we shall come out of the war wi 1 h a- great number of mere hunt men. P.ut we, too, expect, to extend our rom-'nercn rom-'nercn in all directions, and wo cannot have too many vessels flying the Ameri-cm Ameri-cm flag at the start. We have mnnv cities along the Atlantic, Pacific and u'ulf roasts, jind nil nf them nro inter-c.led inter-c.led in Hie, rxf.ort of our jTodurU. Tt wil take. a. large numbi'r of American bottoms to mi p ! y thn dtMimnd. We hope and te!ie'n it, will lie flupplied, rind that we shall bo ready for the st rugglo for t rade ujin the return of pence. t When the war broke out. tho big firit-ih firit-ih and (dernruri liners and freighters and the vessels nf the smaller ma ri t i up' j nations trainported nearly all our pas si-ngers, freight arid mailn across the Atlantic, (hie could travel a long time without sighting a v esse I f 1 vi nr the American fla;;, thanks tn the shipping ship-ping laws parsed since the eb.sn of the civil war. Now wo are coming into our own agnin, and if congress is wise mid patriotic, wn shall never again be at the mere v of foreign shipowners. The t rnii bin lie ret of ore lias been t.hn t. more attention has been paid to purely local i 1. 1 crest s than to the el faro of the country as a whole when merchant marine matters have been discusue, ;m! Ic g i-d ji ti on i-nac t ei I. Wo shall have Jo' iil'ii nd on t h;i I. m M em if we are to en gnge e t en mi . c in foreign trade. The (pic t ion id' govern me nt owner hip and control will come up after the war. A U the privately o wued 111 er ' li a 11 1. e ; al -1 be lonpi 11 g to citizens o I the 1.' ni I ed St a t i'i h:i r been roiuiua 11 decred and tlm gernment has pur |
