The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

November, 1919 of the late Theodore Roosevelt, has accepted the position of secretary of the holding company, and has started out with characteristic Rooseveltian zeal to learn something: of the rudi- ments of shipping. There is speculation as to whether the fortunes of the Harrimans will play as important a part in the de- velopment of American ocean-borne transportation as they did in the growth of railroads. Averill Harri- man, heir to the Harriman millions, is now engaged in the operation and management of. ships. ; His: tree. ine vestments came in shipbuilding when he assumed control of the Merchants Shipbuilding Corp. He is the prin- cipal owner of the two plants of this concern located at Bristol and Ches- ter, Pa. Early in 1919, Mr. Harriman organized the Independent Steamship Corp. for the purpose of operating ships. And forthwith the company, which had Richard H. M. Robinson, formerly a naval constructor and then managing director of the Lake Tor- pedo Boat Co., as its directing genius, inaugurated a unique program. Two jJines were established to the Near 'East, virgin fields which had never been invaded by an American com- 'pany. Later it became known that Mr. Harriman had purchased one-fifth of the control in the American-Hawaiian Steamship Co. Credence is given to the report that Mr. Harriman will use 'the facilities of his shipbuilding plants for the construction of a fleet for the Independent lines. While Mr. Harri- man may be said to be deeply inter- ested in shipping, he has shown no in- 'clination to divorce himself from his Yailroad interests. Growth Under Spur of War The possibilities of the Globe line becoming. an .important factor in American shipping are discussed, in- . asmuch as Gaston, Williams & Wig- more are the owners. During the war, the corporation obtained huge orders from the allies, and, to assist in the movement of tonnage, purchased six cargo carriers, two of which were motor ships and _ three auxiliary schooners. With these ships as a nucleus, Gaston, Williams & Wigmore _created the Globe line. Supplement- ing them with shipping board tonnage, the corporation has inaugurated regu- | lar services to Finland and has _ in- dicated that it would further invade the general shipping field by operat- ing regularly to South America. : Perhaps there is no more spectacu- _lar personality born of the war than Phillip De Ronde, the president of the Oriental Steamship Co. Without _any previous experience in shipping, THE MARINE REVIEW Mr. De Ronde started with a capital said to have been as meager as $10,000 and invaded the field. He had been serving as a consular representative in the. United States for a South Amer- ican country although he was an American. Mr. De Ronde secured con- tracts to be filled for the French gov- ernment. In order to move these commodities, he became interested in the chartering of ships and later pur- chased several. A steamship line to France was the outgrowth of these activities and later, out of his earn- ings, Mr.. De Ronde bought the Donald Steamship Co. The Oriental company directed 170,000 tons of -shipping board tonnage during Sep- tember and had extended its services .to the Black sea ports. The rise of Lawrence Smith in the shipping world was perhaps just as meteoric. When Italy joined the allies in the war, Mr. Smith gained a com- mission to buy horses and cattle for its military forces. It became neces- sary for 'him to obtain bottoms to send the stock to Genoa, and this caused him to delve into the intricacies of charters and ship purchases. A few months later he concluded a deal with the American-Hawaiian for the acquisition' of two of its large cargo carriers, and subsequently added other tonnage to his fleet. For more than a year, Mr. Smith maintained a line to Genoa. When he disposed of his ships at greatly increased figures, this was.' discontinued. However it is understood that Mr. Smith may be re- garded as a permanent personality in maritime affairs. Perhaps no company has enjoyed a more rapid expansion than Moore & McCormack, ...which was. organized in New York in 1913. Directed' by young, enterprising men, the company started in a rather modest way, but developed' fast. Regular services to the Baltic ports, South America, Ire- land, South America and Germany are being maintained at the present, with a fleet of more than 125,000 dead- weight tons. Enjoys Rapid Growth In 1916, Harriss, Magill & Co. was organized with a capitalization of $100,000. J. P. Magill, head of the trafic department of the Union Sul- phur Co. for years and later an in- dependent charterer of ships, was as- sociated with Mr. Harriss, a Texas cotton man. Operating regular serv- ices from Norfolk, Va., Galveston, Tex., New Orleans and Savannah, Ga., the company has grown amazingly -- "since spring. The recent purchase of "an 8-story building in - Broadway. district and the announce- the lower ment that regular lines from New etait | Dy. 515 York are planned have indicated rather plainly that the company will make a bid for a real position. The Cosmopolitan Shipping Co., which grew out of the Federal Ship- ping Co., has advanced steadily since its inception in 1916, with August F. Mack, formerly traffic manager for the United States Steel. Products Corp., as its directing head. Asso- ciated with Mr. Mack were eight men, the majority of whom were interested in financial operations and who knew relatively little of maritime affairs. At the. present'. time, the company operates six regular services and directs nearly 200,000 deadweight tons for the United States shipping board, -- 'In Boston, the growth of the Amer- ican merchant marine has enabled sev- -eral interests, long identified in ship- ping, to expand from operators of small ventures to directors of sub- stantial transoceanic «corporations. The Coastwise Transportation Co. for more than 20 years a factor in the coastwise trades, embraced the oppor- tunity to enter into the transatlantic and South American fields. With Capt. John G. Crowley, a pioneer with years of seagoing experience at the helm, the company has a fleet of 11 ships of its own and has secured the allocation of nearly 100,000 tons of shipping board vessels. From Towboats to Liners C. H. Sprague & Sons, operators of towboats and barges before the war, have enjoyed a_ similar expansion which is attributed in a large measure to Eugene E. O'Donnell, the marine manager. J.-S. Bmety : & Co., with! Ralph C..Emery, a representative of 'the second generation of this old New England family .as. its. head, has branched out into the international sea ventures, Of the new companies, the creation of the wartime period, the Shawmut Steamship Co. stands out prominently. William H..Randall, schooled in the long standing association with the Emerys, has served as its chief executive. The company has a fleet of three cargo carriers and has just contracted for two new ships. In. the south, 'the rise . of the Strachan Shipping Co., Savannah, Ga., and the remarkable growth of the Pacific Steamship Co., Seattle, in the west, have been regarded as mildly sensational. H. F. Alexander, presi- dent of the Pacific line, has risen by his record on the western coast to be regarded as one of the foremost figures in the American shipping world. The wooden ships. built by the Emergency Fleet corporation served as the means of bringing the Brooks