OCR Text |
Show I OF UNITED STATES OF UNITED STATES. One good thing this country got out of tho war, namely, a new merchant marine. Presumably it is a good thing tor a country to have ships with which to carry its commerce Eer since 1860 our merchant fleet has been declining. When the war broke out there were in the whole country but 61 shipyards containing 234 ways which were capable of con-structlng con-structlng a vessel as large as 35 hun dred tons. In November, 1918, when the armistice was signed wo had in-r in-r reased the number of shipyards from 61 to 2'23 and we had increased he ways from 234 to 1099. each capable H of taking a ship of 35 hundred and I upwards dead weight tons. H In 1910 our total merchant marine tonnage amounted to 11.262.123 In 1917 this tonnace had increased to 13, H 306,556 and at the close of the fiscal j year of 1920 our total merchant ma rine tonnage had grown to 25,027,342 Of this tonnage over three-fifths is engaged in foreign trade. Ten years ago the amount of our merchant ma rinc engaged in foreign trade was ap H proximately a million tons. Today it is approximately 15,600.000 tons. H A survey of cargo vessels of the J United States shipping board engaged H in foreign trade which entered and H cleared in the United States customs H districts covering the first six months ! of the year Just closed indicating th" !j volume of trade carried as follows: H American ships 9550. other ships H 6008, cargo tons carried in American H ships 22.724,217, other ships 15.273.967. H So far as commerce in American H ports is concerned American ships H carried more than foreign ships. There H were 61 per cent American ships en gaged carrying 59 per cent of the dead H weight tonnage and 60 per cent of the |