imagination. Even a general list will indicate how our Merchant Marine 

 contributes to American living standards: rugs from the Near East and 

 North Africa; etched silver and brass vases, smoking stands and pictures 

 from the same areas; olive oil, olives and olive roots used in soap manu- 

 facture; tomato pressings that ultimately flavor our spaghetti sauce; 

 wines, brandies and liqueurs from many countries (the company main- 

 tains special facilities aboard ship and at its terminals for handling such 

 commodities) ; pumice for toothpaste and industrial uses, marble, silk 

 and rayon, pottery, objets d'art, native handicraft of countless descrip- 

 tions, figs, dates, hides, bristles for paint brushes (very scarce during war 

 years), tea, tobacco, dyestuffs, botanicals and drugs of countless varieties, 

 chrome and other ores, snails from Casablanca, Black Sea caviar, sardines, 

 diamonds, rubies and other precious stones, jewelry, vegetable oils, sau- 

 sage casings, furs, including sable and leopard, animals, spices, talc, red 

 oxide, rubber, almonds, cashew, hazel and pistachio nuts, jute and hemp 

 products, precious metals, cork by the deckload, and countless other items, 

 including mail. 



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