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MERCHANT MARINE ACT, 1935

HEARINGS

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE
UNITED STATES SENATE

SEVENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

ON

S. 2582

A BILL TO DEVELOP A STRONG AMERICAN MERCHANT
MARINE, TO PROMOTE THE COMMERCE OF THE
UNITED STATES, TO AID NATIONAL
DEFENSE, AND FOR OTHER

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COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE

ROYAL S. COPELAND, New York, Chairman

DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, Florida
MORRIS SHEPPARD, Texas

JOSIAH WILLIAM BAILEY, North Carolina
HATTIE W. CARAWAY, Arkansas
BENNETT CHAMP CLARK, Missouri
LOUIS MURPHY, Iowa

JOHN H. OVERTON, Louisiana

NATHAN L. BACHMAN, Tennessee
THEODORE G. BILBO, Mississippi

VIC DONAHEY, Ohio

JOSEPH F. GUFFEY, Pennsylvania
FRANCIS T. MALONEY, Connecticut
GEORGE L. RADCLIFFE, Maryland

CHARLES L. MCNARY, Oregon
HIRAM W. JOHNSON, California
GERALD P. NYE, North Dakota
ARTHUR H. VANDENBERG, Michigan
WALLACE H. WHITE, JR., Maine

ERNEST W. GIBSON, Vermont

GRACE MCELDOWNEY, Clerk
M. C. PARSONS, Jr., Assistant Clerk

CONTENTS

Peacock, J. C., director, Shipping Board Bureau, Department of

Commerce_

Ryons, Lt. Col. Fred B., Military Order of the World War..
Saugstad, J. E., Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce.
Stillman, Charles A., vice president, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co...---

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MERCHANT MARINE ACT, 1935

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24, 1935

UNITED STATES SENATE,
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
Washington, D. C.

The committee met at 10:30 a. m., pursuant to call, in the Caucus Room, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C., Senator Royal S. Copeland (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators Copeland (chairman), Fletcher, Bachman, Donahey, McNary, Johnson, White, and Gibson.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. It will be recalled that there was a time when America had a degree of supremacy on the seas, in the time of the old clipper ships, but for one reason or another American shipping declined, so that at the beginning of the World War we found ourselves almost without shipping, in tonnage sufficient to carry the troops abroad. Just previous to the war there had been an effort made, by amendment of the merchant marine laws, to promote shipping. After the war, the Jones-White Act, and various amendments to it, were passed, and we thought we were on the way toward a more efficient American Merchant Marine. It develops, however, that there has not been quite that activity in replacements and the upbuilding of our shipping that we consider desirable. The chief features of the more recent legislation in the Congress relate to the upbuilding of the merchant marine by means of construction loans and ocean-mail contracts. The ocean-mail contracts provision fell into disfavor for one reason or another. It will be recalled that as an amendment to the Independent Offices Act last year a provision was inserted giving the President power to modify or cancel existing contracts. He had until the 30th of this month to take action. By a joint resolution recently passed the date for modification or cancelation has been advanced to the 31st of October.

A short time ago the President sent forward a message recommending a frank subsidy, both a differential subsidy so far as operation is concerned, and a subsidy to cover the difference in cost of construction of American vessels in American shipyards as against the construction of similar vessels abroad. At this point there will be inserted in the record a copy of the President's message.

(The message of the President of the United States is as follows:)

[H. Doc. No. 118, 74th Cong., 1st sess.]

To the Congress of the United States:

I present to the Congress the question of whether or not the United States should have an adequate merchant marine.

To me there are three reasons for answering this question in the affirmative. The first is that in time of peace, subsidies granted by other nations, shipping combines, and other restrictive or rebating methods may well be used to the

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