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Is Uncle San Shipping Board Has Faced a Big Job in Taking Charge of All Large American Vessels—What Has Been Done pe. of the United States shipping board to- day are generally talked of in terms of new ship construction. The long delays and the abundance of deserved and wndeserved criticism have focused attention largely ‘upon this phase of the board’s work. As a result, another facet which will shortly outreach in importance the construction end, has engaged little of the public’s interest. This is the operation, of the ships, both older boats taken over and those which are now being built in increasing numbers. Uncle Sam, shipbuilder, is also Uncle Sam, steamship operator. In the accompanying article, Mr. Iden analyzes with the keen insight of a trained Washington observer the work which the shipping board has done and must do in operating the ships efficiently. The problem has By V. G. Iden a direct appeal to every American. Inefficient. manage- ment after the ships are built can do as much to prolong the war and to aggravate the sacrifices made necessary by the war as can delays and failures in the actual construction of ships. A rise or fall of a few per cent in the efficiency of ship management spells the difference between increasing or decreasing the entire shipbuilding program by the same amount, including the pressing problems of supplying engines, auxiliaries, cranes, etc. The accompanying article presents for the first time a comprehensive outline of the way the shipping board has carried out tts big job of managing vessels and points out some of the problems which have been and must be faced and overcome. United States shipping board confessed to the newspaper cor- respondents recently that the United States is able to increase the ocean freight movement 20 per cent through a more efficient use of the tonnage available. This increase has been ef- fected since last fall when the ship- ping board requisitioned all the ves- sels flying the American flag. It was effected through the very capable and self-denying service contributed by P. A. S. Franklin, New York, one of the most noted figures in the mer- chant marine world. Other than making the bare CY caites si HURLEY ‘of. the state- ment of the increased efficiency, the . shipping board head had nothing to say regarding the manner in which the government is operating vessels. Much criticism has been heard in the past regarding the inefficient man- ner in which ships have been handled under government control, and it is understood that much of this criticism was justified. In an address before the members of the National Press Club of Washington, some months ago, Theodore Roosevelt cited a few instances of such inefficiency. He stated that information had come to him of vessels leaving our ports for Europe only partly loaded. In some instances vessels were dispatched to Europe with cargoes which were never unloaded but brought back to the United States after several weeks of delay. It was but natural for the administration to cover up many of these defects. Undue _ publicity would do much more harm than good. But the inefficiency was not entirely covered up because the proper agen- cies of the government were put to work on the problem with the result that a committee on operations was created by the shipping board and Mr. Franklin placed at its head. Inefficiency in the management of our merchant ships under federal control grew out of inexperience en- tirely. Much of it was laid at the doors of the war department. Army officers were said to have started vessels on their voyages without mak- ing out manifests, and, according to report, when some of these officers were asked for a manifest they de- clared they did not know what it was. Out of this experience grew the dispute between the _ shipping board and the navy regarding the manning of the American merchant marine. The navy was the most efficient agency available for operat- ing ships, but the army hesitated relinquishing its jurisdiction. How Ships Are Handled Out of this dispute came the crea- tion of a shipping agency in the navy department to which the army turned over all “bare” vessels which it had. The navy manned these vessels and operated them for the benefit of the army. This is the scheme of opera- tion which has been followed ever since. It is the scheme of operation which is likely to continue for the. remainder of the war. inasmuch as it has proved very efficient, much more so than the old method where inexperienced army officers were al- 272 lowed to take charge of vessels requi- sitioned for waft purposes. But the inefficiency of the old management has been greatly magnified inasmuch as the government has not allowed anything to be published concerning it.. Due to the severity of the sub- marine program and the military ne- cessity of veiling in secrecy the ship- ment of men and supplies to Europe, a strict censorship has been main- tained. That this censorship has pro- tected inefficient management of mer- chant. ships is but an incident and not the intent of the censorship. And it would be unpatriotic today to fail to acknowledge that this ineffi- ciency in the operation of merchant vessels has been - eliminated. The efficiency of the operation to- day is attested to by the number of American troops on the fighting line and the abundant supplies that the army has been able to accumulate in France. Germany took 40 years of the most calculated attention to build up her military machine. Even with this long preparation, forethought and boasted superefficiency, the German military machine has committed blun- ders during the war. The United States shipping board had to impro- vise. a vast organization both to ad- minister and execute the stupendous program set before it. Expert ship architects and_ skilled traffic and operating heads had to be obtained, and this at a time when the pressing demand for their services far exceeded their availability. Steel shipbuilding labor was scarce and