EJC Cover Page

Early Journal Content on JSTOR, Free to Anyone in the World This article is one of nearly 500,000 scholarly works digitized and made freely available to everyone in the world by JSTOR. Known as the Early Journal Content, this set of works include research articles, news, letters, and other writings published in more than 200 of the oldest leading academic journals. The works date from the mid-seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. We encourage people to read and share the Early Journal Content openly and to tell others that this resource exists. People may post this content online or redistribute in any way for non-commercial purposes. Read more about Early Journal Content at http://about.jstor.org/participate-jstor/individuals/early- journal-content. JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary source objects. JSTOR helps people discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content through a powerful research and teaching platform, and preserves this content for future generations. JSTOR is part of ITHAKA, a not-for-profit organization that also includes Ithaka S+R and Portico. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. 94 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICANACADEMY ShippingServices for AmericanForeign Trade- The Present Situation By WINTHROP L. MARVIN Vice-President and General Manager, American Steamship Owners' Association W ITH a total of 16,324,024 gross vessels. In 1920 we conveyed 42.7 tons of shipping, privately- per cent. owned and government-owned, the It should be remarked, however, in American merchant marine now stands this connection, that while 10,289,317 a close second to the merchant shipping tons of our present shipping are reg- of the United Kingdom, which is only istered for foreign trade, this aggregate about 2,000,000 tons larger at the includes upwards of 600,000 tons of present time. This total of 16,324,024 emergency-built wooden steamers now tons includes our smaller coastwise withdrawn from traffic-and probably vessels and the 2,595,062 tons of ship- withdrawn permanently-as well as ping on the Great Lakes engaged in 1,262,000 tons of steel vessels of the port-to-port commerce. Considering Shipping Board laid up unemployed only the seagoing vessels of upwards of but likely to return to service. Our 500 gross tons, the American merchant active merchant carriers, however, marine has an aggregate tonnage of have not far from four times the capac- 12,264,282, of which privately-owned ity of the total merchant shipping of tonnage represents 4,810,520 gross Norway, or of France, or of Japan, tons, and United States Shipping which rank next after the United States Board tonnage, 7,453,762 gross tons. as commercial maritime powers in This American fleet of seagoing vessels 1921. is somewhat more than twice as large as The new war-built shipping, which the entire German merchant shipping makes up seven-tenths of our total before the outbreak of the Great War. seagoing shipping, is not an ideal Of all of our seagoing American fleet in type and character. If we had merchant ships of upwards of 500 gross been deliberately constructing the tonnage, 1,974,965 tons are enrolled merchant tonnage along our accus- for the coastwise trade and 10,289,317 tomed commercial lines, the ships, of tons are registered for foreign com- course, would have been much more merce. All of the recent notable in- carefully designed. They would have crease in American merchant shipping been as a whole of superior speed and has been in the amount of tonnage average size, and they would have had engaged in carrying overseas-the very many more passenger, mail and coastwise tonnage having remained al- fast freight liners among them. But most unaltered. The 10,289,317 tons the American people have nothing to of seagoing vessels registered for foreign apologize for on this account. They commerce at the end of 1920 show an were suddenly compelled to create a impressive contrast with the 1,076,152 vast "emergency fleet," to hurry sup- tons registered for foreign commerce plies to their anxious Allies in Europe on June 30, 1914. Our tonnage avail- and to send our own boys over to the able for international traffic has in- fields of France. Therefore, waiving creased tenfold in six years. In 1914 all calculations of commercial advan- we were conveying only 9.7 per cent of tage, we constructed the ships that our imports and exports in our own could be most quickly built and made SHIPPING SERVICES FOR AMERICANFOREIGN TRADE 95 ready for service-the conventional chant marine, operated from Puget "tramps" familiar to the ocean high- Sound to the Orient. Five American ways of the world. steamers of the famous old Pacific Mail There were belonging to the Shipping Company were running via Honolulu Board on June 30 last, 1,123 steel to Japan and China. The Oceanic cargo steamers, 15 refrigerator steam- Line had three ships in service from ers and 63 tank steamers, as contrasted San Francisco to New Zealand and with only 27 steel passenger steam- Australia. This was the total of our ers and 3 transports. Even including Pacific liner transportation-and the the considerable number of ocean pas- Minnesota and the five Pacific Mail senger steamers owned by private liners were withdrawn and sold in companies, there is still a very marked 1915 on the enactment of the La Fol- deficiency of passenger tonnage in the lette Seamen's Law. American merchant marine. A branch of the Pacific Mail Com- pany sent small steamships coasting DEVELOPMENTOF NEW CARGOSTEAM- down from San Francisco to Mexico, SHIP SERVICES Central America and the Isthmus of What has chiefly distinguished the Panama, whence the Panama Rail- new merchant shipping era of the road Company's fleet, owned by the United States is the widespread devel- War Department, went northward in opment of new cargo steamship serv- the Atlantic to New York. The New ices-any similar extension of passen- York and Cuba Mail Steamship Com- ger, mail and express freight services pany (Ward Line), the United Fruit was, of course, impossible. Under the Company, the Munson Steamship auspices of the Shipping Board, Line, the Clyde Line and the Red American cargo steamers are now "D" Line maintained services from operating from this country to every North Atlantic and Gulf ports to the important commercial country in the Caribbean region, where alone in all world. Before the war our equipment the world the American merchant of overseas shipping under our own flag was dominant. Our relatively few flag was exceedingly inadequate for its "tramp" steamers and large sail ves- purposes. The half-century-old Amer- sels made occasional voyages to South ican Transatlantic Line was operating America; but, with the exceptions from New York to Great Britain and noted, American merchant shipping France. A few American steamers was confined to the coasts of the United were on the Red Star route to Ant- States and to domestic commerce with werp. These few ships, not more than Alaska, Porto Rico and Hawaii. a half dozen all told, represented the Now, because of the war and its re- entire participation of the American quirements, this condition has quickly flag in regular transatlantic carrying. and completely changed. Private cap- Other American cargo craft made ital and enterprise have established casual transatlantic voyages. There new passenger and cargo services from were no other regular American west- our Atlantic coast to Hamburg and ern ocean services beyond the activi- into the Mediterranean, and private ties already described. capital and enterprise, in cooperation Across the Pacific at the outbreak of with the United States Shipping Board, the world war one American steamer, are operating 202 established general the Great Northern Minnesota, of cargo berths between the United States 20,000 tonnage, largest in our mer- and the ports of various foreign coun- 96 THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY tries. No fewer than 100 of these 202 and maintenanceof the foreignand coast- general cargo berths are from ports of wise trade of the United States and an the North Atlantic, while 27 are from adequatepostal service. ports of the South Atlantic, 54 from the Two wholly new transatlantic pas- Gulf and 21 from ports of the Pacific. senger services have been created for American cargo steamships are for the the Shipping Board in the United first time in regular operation out of the States Mail Steamship Company, Gulf to European and other distant operating former German liners and ports. These are some of the entirely newer ships to the United Kingdom, new American-flag, regular, general Bremen, Danzig and the Mediterra- cargo services: nean, and the United American Lines, New York to South and East Africa Inc. (the Harriman Company), from New York to East Coast of Africa via the North Atlantic to the port of Red Sea Hamburg-the latter carrying only New York to India steerage passengers at the present time. New York to Dutch East Indies and The Shipping Board has also estab- Straits Settlements lished a freight and passenger service San Franciscoto Dutch East Indies and from New York to the east coast of Straits Settlements South America and from New York to New York to Australasia South and East Africa. Of these the New York to Far East Baltimoreto Far East east coast South America line to Jacksonvilleto Far East Brazil and the River Plate, employing New Orleansto Far East large former German passenger steam- New Orleansto India ers, is of very great importance.

Load more