BANQUET. 237 
in all its phases must first of all pass into the hands of experienced and reliable private 
individuals; secondly, it must be reorganized by men of proved ability and experience; 
thirdly, sane shipping laws must be enacted; and fourthly, construction and operation 
costs shall be reduced to a level of comparison with Great Britain.” 
He states four reasons, and I agree with him in all excepting the construction 
cost. My answer to that is the statement of Mr. Harriman, who has been building 
ships at the Chester Shipbuilding Company, near Philadelphia. He thinks we can 
build as cheaply today as the British, and I agree with him. Therefore, let us hope that 
question is removed for the present. 
It is undoubtedly true that, unless we use all the brains and all the ability that we can 
find, we are going to have a hard time when we return to a competitive basis to keep 
these ships operating, but I do believe that with the Jones Bill and its beneficial fea- 
tures we can keep these ships on the sea and gradually remove the obstacles and event- 
ually find that we can compete with other maritime nations. 
I am not so sure that the navigation laws are going to be very troublesome. A com- 
mittee composed of Mr. Franklin, Mr. Taylor and old Captain Dearborn came down 
to Washington, and we asked them to tell us what was the matter with the navigation 
laws. After a long study they returned us a complaint about some regulations in the 
carrying out of the navigation laws, and that is about as far as we could see that there 
was anything wrong with the navigation laws, but if there is anything wrong with 
them, I am certain that the Merchant Marine Committee of the House would be glad 
to know of it. If there is anything that we can do to correct them, anything that is 
unsatisfactory and can be corrected, I know we will be glad to do it. 
But do not forget this—these special privileges we are giving you under the Jones 
Bill are intended to keep up an American standard among the sailors of this nation 
and to make the business of the sea an attractive one to the young men of this country. 
(Applause.) Now if you are going to try to drive the American sailor back to the 
status of the East Indian sailor, the Lascar or the Malay, we will object to it. We 
want our men on the sea to be properly taken care of, properly housed with proper 
rooms. We do not want them to be coddled and we do not want them to be undisci- 
plined. I understand there is a good deal of trouble about the discipline on the ships. 
I think you will find with the passing away of our labor troubles on land that the disci- 
pline on the ships will improve, and that the troubles which are incident to all labor 
matters at the present time will end. 
With all the arrangements which have been perfected to assist, there is no rea- 
son, if you play the game fair—and I am putting it up to you men tonight, that we 
expect you to play the game fair—there is no reason why you should not find the Stars 
and Stripes on every one of the larger seas of this great world. (Applause.) 
THE TOASTMASTER:—We are very much indebted to Mr. Edmonds for his very 
clear statement of the merchant marine bill which was passed in the last Congress. 
I have been asked by a telegram from Admiral Capps, the president of this Soci- 
ety, to express to you his regret at not being here tonight, as he was ordered to the west 
coast on official business by the Navy Department and will be gone for several weeks. 
He asked me to say to you particularly that he was sorry not to be here or at the meetings. 
In connection with our entertainment tonight, I feel that our thanks are partic- 
ularly due to the Entertainment Committee of the Society, headed by Mr. C. A. Mc- 
Allister, chairman—it seems odd to call him anything but ‘‘Mac’’—and associated 
