Show AMERICAN ships ARE unprotected SHIPS NOT AFFECTED BY OPER agreements BETWEEN AMERICAN CO AND BRITAIN international marine president tells tell united states shipping board british agreement not unfavorable to U S new york operating agreements between the international mercantile marine company an american corpor atlon und the british government did not affect the companas comp anys american Am oilcan flagships even een before the drafting of 0 a 11 supplementary agreement re by bi tle the shipping board P A S franklin president of tile the international intel national mercantile marine told members of the board at a special hearing here boio tues bues day the homing hearing was called to obtain from mr franklin a recital of details of tile british agreement which was attacked by 1 senator tones jones of washing ton before its amendment its as being in clinical to the foreign commerce comme ice of the united Sta teci junes jones it bound the lie company to pursue no policy injurious to the interests of tile alie Bri britini tili merchant marine or ut of british arale tin de 11 ulie the iw cement originally drafted in wits vas sought lit by 1 the company mr franklin told the board to offset ad anongos ant ngos gained by tle the cunard line when len the british government began to build up that bat line by b loans and ti fit 01 able mail in ill contracts conti acts following acquisition of british tonnage by the international mercantile marine madlne the I 1 lie agreement gave gae the international intel national mercantile can tile marine the benedit of Hiltl li mall mail and other valuable contracts lie ile denied that it had been kept secret as charged by senator jones during nineteen years tears of operating under these agreements he continued we have never neer been interfered with by the british government lu in the management of our ships and no restraint of any kind has ever been placed upon us during this entire period we have had american flagships in competition with british ships and british flagships which we own tn in strong a and ai continuous competition with the cunard and other british companies mr franklin emphasized that the company was an american corporation 93 per cent of its stock being owned by american citizens only on one half of I 1 per cent of the stock Is held by english investors he said and a similar amount by canadians he asserted that recognizing the development of nat national lonal aspirations for an american merchant marine the company began negotiations in 1018 1918 to dispose of its british flagships to a british syndicate but that the sate sale was stopped at the request of preal den tWilson continuing mr air franklin reviewed efforts of the company to buy thirty tour four former german ships from the united states for a total of 28 00 and said the company had offered to agree to keep the ships forever under the american flag |