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264 be placed in doubt. It was at the same time that the Jones act was about to de- come a law. As a consequence, the deal was sealed, not after a thorough survey of the vessels involved, but after a cur- sory examination of the book records on the ships in the possession of the ship- ping board. The charters were based upon a rather high valuation of the ships. It. was later discovered that the vessels had been hard used in the transport.service and the cost of putting them in shape to meet the requirements of the merchant navigation laws was. tremendous. It fol- lows that an application is before the board to revise the original contract. Chairman Benson recognized the merit of that request and signified his willing- ness to concur in such a revision. The plan for modification contem- plates a reduction in the charter hire and, if possible, for the board to relieve the company from a part of the cost of reconditioning. Chairman Benson _point- ed out that under the terms of the con- tract the board would eventually pay this cost, and if necessary funds are available there is no reason why the board should not help the line to this éxtent now. -- Two Liners Being Repaired Bids on the reconditioning of the America and the GrorcE WASHINGTON were submitted but their acceptance was held up for some time. After the ship- ping board agreed to underwrite the cost of reconditioning these two vessels, they were sent to the repair yards. The plans call for their delivery to the U. S. Mail line in time for the summer trade this year. The lowest bid for re- conditioning the Grorce WASHINGTON was $838,000. The merit of some re- vision in the original contract can be appreciated in the case of this ship alone. The charter hire of the GEorcE _ WAsHINGTON will amount to some $645,- 000 a year, to which must be added the interest on the money expended for re- conditioning, which would bring the total - up to approximately $700,000 a year. That is the sum the U. S. Mail line would be compelled to pay under the original contract for the use- of -- this ship. In addition, the line must provis- ion and man the ship, rent terminals, pay for repairs and stand all the over- _head of operating her in trade. "We are attempting to build up a purely American line and if proper sup- port is given us we will afford the traveling. public a typically American service," Captain Mayer pointed out. "We give preference to Americans aboard our ships, but it has been ex- tremely difficult to obtain good American navigators. At least we have demanded sistant: to Capt. "MARINE REVIEW that all men aboard our ships must Have taken out their first citizenship papers.' Captain Mayer's brother, Carlos, is in charge of the European operations of the lime. Capt. Juan Mayer, a younger brother, heads the freight de- partment in the executive offices. Capt. O. W. Koester, formerly of the United States navy, is vice president in charge of construction and repairs. R. J. Smith, the operating manager, was for a long time in the service of the United Fruit Co Cat, «WE. Scott is' the. chief purchasing agent. John Farnham, an experienced railway trafic man, is as- Juan Mayer in the freight department. The first class passenger business is in charge ot RK, A; Graham, an American citizen who was for many years in the service of the Cunard line. H. D.- Lampe, who con- ducted the third class passenger business in the United States for the North Ger- man Lloyd line before the war, has charge of the third class business for the U. S. Mail line. Capt. O. Moeller, another American citizen who was prior to the war in the employ of the North German Lloyd line, is the marine super- intendent of the new company. The U. S. Mail line rented the street floor of the building at 45 Broadway, - New York, from the shipping board for mts 18: its passenger booking offices. the building which once belonged to the Hamburg-American line, but which was seized by the United States government when we entered .the war. The U.S. Mail line has also rented some of the ex-enemy piers at Hoboken, N. J., from the government, and is using them for its home terminal in the harbor of New York. _ Such an undertaking for a new con- cern demanded far more extensive ar- rangements than the mere question of ships. It was necessary to secure suit- able terminals in Europe. At the time the U. S. Mail line entered into the shipping business, it would have been almost impossible to obtain terminals by purchase or lease, so that an agreement was entered into with the old North German Lloyd company for the use of its terminals in Germany. The old German company will act as agents for the U. S. Mail line in the territory formerly included in the Central em- pires. Run for Americans ® "It cannot be too strongly empha- sized, however, that just as the U. S. Mail Steamship Co. is American-owned, so will its policies be 'Made in America', and its operations directed side of the Atlantic." In that brief way Captain Mayer in- dicated the affairs of the U. S. Mail from this June, 192] line will be run at all times exclusively in the interests of the American travel- ing public and American shippers. 250,000 Tons of Ships Laid Up in Japan Approximately 250,000 deadweight tons of Japanese shipping now is laid up in Japanese ports, according to K. Andoh of the Nakamura Steamship Co., Kobe. With the capacity of principal builders estimated at 1,259,000 deadweight tons in 1919, Japan in that year established her highest record of construction with 188 ships of 647,218 tons. In 1920 the totals were 433,265 tons, 93 vessels, These figures follow the successive ton- nages of 85,126 in 1914, 50,104 in 1915, 157,196 in 1916, 403,016 in 1917 and 641,. 056°in 1918. Under construction now are 32 vessels of 158,100 tons. In addition, 37 ships of 322,465 tons are planned. Ac- cording to Mr. Andoh, some cancellation of this tonnage is expected. Charter rates have fallen and inquiry is limited. - Market prices have dropped. Three ves- sels assigned to the Japanese. government by the treaty of Versailles may be sold in Europe. On the whole, shipping in Japan is at low ebb. More Americans in Crews The manning of American ships with American seamen has been the aim of the United States shipping board's sea service bureau which, since 1917 when its work was first begun, has changed the ratio of Americans and aliens placed from 10 per cent and 90 per cent re- spectively to 80 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively. Placements of Ameri- cans in December totaled 67.7 per cent, according to report of the service, and in January 72.7 per cent. This .was increased to 77.2 -per cent in February and in March it touched 80.9 per cent. The sea service of the board is the only agency. through which American seamen are given preference on Ameri- can vessels, ; The navy fuel ship Pxcos, equipped to supply ships while under way at sea, was launched at the Charlestown, Mass., navy yard in April. The Prcos will carry 2,275,000 gallons of fuel oil and 219,400 gallons of gasoline, together with 700 tons of ammunition and general cargo. She will have a speed of 14 knots The Todd Shipyards Corp. has ac- quired the small drydock and repaif plant conducted by William J. Cokey & Co. in New York harbor for the past half century.