INTRODUCTORY PROCEEDINGS. 45 
acts in exactly the same way, but indirectly; and because a definite sum is not appropriated 
from the Treasury and the people pay their share of the bill individually in their purchases 
they seem to consider it something different, although the principle is the same. 
It is very gratifying to know that earnest effort has been made to educate the people 
of the country, particularly in the interior where the great distance from the ocean and ship- 
ping interests has in the past made them indifferent if not hostile to any effort to assist the 
merchant marine. These educational efforts have resulted in favorable action by Chambers 
of Commerce, Boards of Trade, and other representatives of the citizenship of the interior, 
and these will, of course, have very serious weight with their representatives in Congress. 
The President has shown a strong personal interest in the matter and has gone on record 
as favoring government help for our merchant marine. Under all these circumstances we 
have every reason to hope for favorable action by Congress with the resultant benefit to ship- 
owners, shipbuilders and all who have any connection with the operation or building of ships. 
The passage of this bill will be of great benefit to the country at large by providing an 
outlet for the great amount of idle tonnage under the purview of the Shipping Board. For 
more than a year past it has been heart-breaking to see the great fleets of the vessels built 
during the war laid up in the Hudson, Staten Island Sound, Jamaica Bay, and elsewhere, be- 
cause they could not be operated at a profit. This is due, of course, in part to the general 
stagnation of world trade, but, when it is possible for operators so to utilize these vessels as 
to make money, there is no doubt that they will gradually all get into the service for which 
they are best adapted. 
During the latter part of the war, the class of vessels known as “transports” was 
designed of reasonably high speed and large capacity. The government officials wisely called 
in help from some of the big operating companies in the design of these vessels, with the 
result that they were planned so as to be readily converted into passenger and freight steamers 
of the “liner” type. As a matter of fact the end of the war came before any of them were 
finished, so that they were completed for passenger and freight steamers. All of them are 
now in service and giving a very good account of themselves, being used on the lines to 
Europe and Seuth America from Atlantic ports and to the Orient from Pacific ports. 
It is also very gratifying to note that a considerable number (about 150) of the vessels 
built at the three great fabricating yards have been in service almost continuously since they 
were built and reflect great credit on the yards for the record they have made. I happen 
to be in close touch with the performance of a number of these vessels and therefore am able 
to speak with assurance of the good work which they have done. 
For large powers and high-speed vessels the geared turbine now seems an established 
favorite. In the case of cargo boats, such as the ones spoken of above, a great many instal- 
lations have given complete satisfaction, and there is probably little doubt that with proper 
care and management they are entirely satisfactory. The reduced weight and greater econ: 
omy due to this type of machinery certainly are a strong recommendation. 
The very high thermal economy of the Diesel engine has brought it into very serious 
consideration in these days of the necessity to save at every point. A recent statement gives 
the number of motor ships afloat at about 1,450, with about 180 under construction. Nearly 
all of these are moderate or small power, although the hulls are often of large tonnage. The 
growth in recent years has been from 290 afloat in 1914 to the number above. It can hardly 
be said that any one design has thus far been accepted as the standard, and many able de- 
signers are working along various lines in the effort to bring down weights and initial cost. 
The use of oil as the fuel under boilers seems to increase steadily, notwithstanding the 
