Show SEEN and HEAR around the NATIONAL CAPITAL By Carter Field FAMOUS WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT No Washington No buyer for the 12 11 standard cargo vessels for which bids bid were to be opened b by the United Unit ed States maritime commission was wa in sight when the bids were called for None is I. in sight Ight no not nON AT And there are those thoe who say la that unless the merchant marine act Is I. amended amend amend- ed materially there is I. doubt that an any experienced American operator will vill buy the new ships The merchant marine act was wu so 0 weighted down b by safeguards b by suspicious legislators that some believe believe be be- lieve it Is I. almost unworkable At Atthe Atthe Atthe the time Ume of its passage June 29 1939 1938 it was wu openly charged that the act had purposely been so 0 bobbled hobbled bob hob bled as to make government operation opera lion flan necessary if America is I. to have havea a merchant marine Public ownership and operation advocates occupy key positions with the tha commission They are alleged to be aggravating the present demoralization de de- moralization in the hope of creating a situation in which public operation oper opera will be the only alternative Whether this is true or not it is II quite apparent that before American Ameri Ameri- can operators put up any money they will wID have to be convinced that the commission wants them to succeed sue suc reed and will operate co-operate wholeheartedly whole whole- heartedly in trying to make private operation successful In this connection It is pointed out that mapy map of the executives executive now associated with the American merchant merchant merchant mer mer- chant marine have op operated rated ships under foreign flags They are fa- fa familiar fa familiar familiar with the respective advantages advantages and drawbacks of that form of operation and will be willing to undertake undertake undertake un un- it If conditions are not created created cre- cre ted promptly to make operation under the American flag more tol tol- arable rable American operators feel that the wa way the they were compelled to sign IllIn on the dotted line In the termination of postal subsidies was a bad start for or a. a operative co effort to esl establish Wah Waha a permanent American merchant marine Nothing is II causing more apprehension than the labor situa lion Ion and the difficulty of ot maintain maintain- Ing ng proper discipline on shipboard Muddle Is Ice Growing American shipping men say that the they hey are anxious to operate under their own flag but as the muddle seems to be growing worse instead of better they are growing lent bent The They point out that all the present act does doe Is to equalize construction and operating costs They would be just Jut as well oft off if the they were to place their construction orders orders orders or or- ders abroad and operate under a amore amore amore more ship-minded ship jurisdiction They then would not have to comply with witha a multitude of restrictions such uch as a. asare asare are imposed b by the merchant marine marine marine ma ma- rine act Some tines lines are unable to comply with the requirements that they have no interest in or stevedoring stevedoring steve teve doring operations This Is essential essential essen essen- at some ome ports porta shipping Interests Interests Inter inter- ests est maintain While troublesome restrictions restriction can be escaped by operating under undera a foreign flag American operators realize that the na navy must have auxiliaries f that this country's commerce commerce commerce com com- I merce must be protected at times when foreign countries have other uses ues for their ships hips and that ships under the American flag are a guarantee guarantee guar guar- antee mire against discriminatory action by foreign governments that handicaps band handi caps cap our trade It is II for these reasons reason they say ay that they have been waiting thus thu long in the h hope pe that the law might be freed of re re- restrictions the they consider unreasonable unreason able and that a disposition be shown bawn on the part of the maritime commission o la encourage rather than hamstring private operation Ambassador Kennedy Joseph Joeph Patrick Kennedy Kenned the silk silk- hat New Dealer whom the President Prell- Prell dent will send end to wear knee pants pant for the United States at the Court of St St. James is 11 one of the most Impressive characters walking the Washington stage tage He lie headed beaded two powerful commissions got himself whispered for President in 1940 Now hell he'll negotiate a trade tariff agreement between America and Great Britain The pact may bind the two countries closer together and make important his history to Mr Kennedy Kenned is 11 Boston BOlton Irish about fifty with Celtic blue eyes eye sandy and hair hair what what's left lef left expanding expanding waistline lies He's dynamic lie He works himself and his employees to jitters jitters jit jit- tern and the they like it ll Mr Kennedys Kennedy's home and his wife and nine children are in swank rank Bronxville ie half an hour or so 10 north of New York At another estate just out of Washington he some times breaks break quiet along Iona the Potomac with rousing parties partie for a mixed company compan of cf hot shots hOts and his worked hard assistants Before Defore the New Deal Mr Kenned Kennedy Ken Ken- ned nedy had bad quite some lome millions in inWall Wall Wail street Then the President appointed him hint to head the securities and exchange commission commission so so nobody nobody no no- body else ebo could clean dean up old dealers deal era ers said uld After SEC came the ship subsidy law whereby the government is II building vessels for private companies companies com com- panle operating to foreign coun coun- b tries so 0 that the na navy can borrow borrow the ships back in time Ume of war Mr Kennedy became chairman of the maritime commission to administer the law Newspapers extolled his walk away away with the sob job They say II his hi survey urve of the United States States' shabby old merchant marine as compared with the nifty fleets of England Japan Italy France is 11 isone isone one of the few businesslike do documents docu docu- u- u meats ments ever to come out of Washing ton His settlement of claims against the United States b by shipping shipping ship ship- ping companies whose ocean mall mail contracts were cancelled b by the new marine law was a model of business sagacity But others othen said that Mr Kennedy used abrupt language to some ome shipping shipping ship ship- pin ping companies who didn't fall InlIne in inline inline line with his plans That when he be leaves leavea for England In February he be will have contracted definitely with operators to build only about 43 new ships The navy na says ay It needs need Maybe the chairman laid the foundation foundation found tion lion on which an adequate merchant marine will be built Those troubles trouble are all behind the new ambassador now but he ma may ay run into more ahead Plain blunt talk may not be so 0 good for tor treaty treaty- makin making and war war dodging Or again it might If It the United States State wants a man to talk turkey It its it's got him Crop Regulation Congress will soon oon enact a farm crop regulation law Since nearly nearly near near- ly 17 all the nations nation's food Is fa produced on farms the new law will really regulate food Under the law the secretary lecreta of will tell the farmers they can sell leU only enough corn corD wheat cotton tobacco and andrice andrice andrice rice to make a normal national sup ply With a third of the population ill-clothed ill and ill fed as a. President Roosevelt said ald his New Deal congress congress con con- gress eress Is passing a scarcity law Must Mut hunger go on in the midst of plenty Why For years lean farmers have been getting get ting ling less and less leu goods in exchange for their labor on farms In pioneer days daYI they produced and consumed their own food and supplied nearby nearby near near- by towns Then came fast transportation trans and factory methods making foods alwa always cheaper And the lower the prices the more the farmers had to grow to make a living The same thing happened as 81 a result of machine production to clothing phonographs furniture automobiles automobile But Dut the manufacturers ers simply stopped m making so 10 many things and prices stayed up In the case of farm produce however there were so many manufacturers manufacturers manufacturers scattered over such vast areas that they never could be organized organized or or reach an understanding to limit production The government t took ok a hand Inthe In Inthe inthe the problem back In war post-war days day Remember all the talk about the McNary McNary-Haugen McNary bill But it didn't pass pas Ever since and before that politicians have been getting farmers farmers farmers' farm ers ers' votes b by promising to do something some thing to increase their purchasing power Great national farm unions tried but without success Nothing of importance was accomplished accomplished ac ac- ac- ac until congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment act during the last administration Under Un der AAA AM the government paid farmers farm arm ers not to grow ow crops crop not to raise pigs pig But Dut the Supreme court declared declared de de- Glared it unconstitutional Then the President got an appropriation for tor soil conservation and arrived at atthe atthe atthe the same ame result In a different way Prevented Disaster But Dut a lot of farmers preferred to raise all aU they could and sell nU it than to plant less and collect the conservation benefits from the gov government Crops Crops' still were so bl big some lome years ears that they could be sold gold only at starvation prices price Last year ear the South raised nearly fifty per cent too much cotton more cotton more than bales bales and and the eov goy eminent prevented disaster only nl with loan and subsidy to keep prices from So most economists and Industry Indus try and labor agree acree that some kind of compulsory crop control is essa essary They hate to see lee farmers In poverty But Dut more important from froma a business point of view Is that the farm population buys a big bli portion portion por por- tion Uon of manufactured goods goods If if It has bas the money If It U It doesn't have havethe havethe havethe the money facto factory production is cut down and labor is unemployed Thus though millions of people lack enough to eat and wear i itis it is I. not because of scarcity it is II because because be be- cause they dont don't have enough income in come to buy it New Deal economists econ econ- say 18 that helping the farmers farm farm- ers era will help belp everybody to a better Income And few good authorities dispute them on that issue Isue They may be right Time will tell telle e C Ben Bell Syndicate Service |