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ready large credits we loaned right and left, and many of the loans were at a high rate of interest, We bought in other peoples’ securities. We aid- ed in developing foreign railroads and power facilities and took their bonds and stocks in payment, Our government continued to stress a favorable balance of trade. Our industrialists still ‘‘hopped’’ all over the globe renewing their exhor- tations to the cheer leaders of Amer-_ ican goods. We all were, and still are, “favorable balance of tradists’’. Now, during all this time (and I claim that sixteen years is a long time in this fast moving world) we were sending our collecting agents around for the interest due us. We didn’t and haven’t given any con- sideration as to what the other fel- low was or is going to use to pay us with. Of course, no one could expect us to change our business outlook in a day, but it is sixteen years since we changed our debit and credit posi- tion and it is time that we change our outlook upon international life. It is time that we adopted a position which will satisfy our own people and at the same time allow our debtors to pay their interest and principal. The days of United States leader- ship in the production of wheat, cot- ton and beef are passed. We are no longer the only land that has coal, iron, petroleum and copper deposits. Ours has been bled and badly deplet- ed. As proof of this you will note our gradual trend to the synthetic. Waste of Natural Resources Our farm lands are also in a sad state of disrepair. Our western plains do not need forestation, they need a rest. They need a recess so that the natural water table will prepare it- self for its battle against the cycles of drought, They need a vacation so that the natural plant foods can be restored without intensive fertiliza- tion. It is not intended or suggest- ed that we should shut down all of our agricultural operations. A sane and scientific zoning of farm lands would help. You cannot graze cat- tle over land that has fattened mut- ton, and sheep will not get fat when there are twice aS many of them as there should be on a section of land. We are spending millions of dollars now repairing the extreme erosions of our western states that was caused by this lack of judgment, What Our Policy Should Be We can always stop this depletion of our natural resources, Iron, while under ground, does not rot away nor is it easily stolen. Coal is safe from all destructive agents when it is still unmined. Petroleum can be neither lost nor pilfered when it still remains in its natural sands. These resources are best protected when left in the uatural beds where they were placed in the past ages. As you may appreciate, it would be a book long article if we attempted to cover all of the raw materials, etc., necessary to correct the trade picture, You, as readers and thinkers, could pick out many examples and could process them handily. If you will al- low me, I will select the simplest for myself and the one to which I have given the most thought. That is pe- troleum, There should be no argument to the fact that we are. well along to- wards bleeding our petroleum sands dry. Pennsylvania, the cradle of the oil industry, and, as you might say, the birthplace of petroleum, is an ex- ample of how we have ruthlessly milked our birthright. The other fields are gradually following Penn- sylvania’s example and if this proc- ess goes on without a scientific check we will be dependent upon others for our fuels, lubricants and their by- products. In time of war we will be out of luck, If the railroads can be regulated, petroleum can be regulated. If banks can be controlled, petroleum can be controlled. If shops and mills can be shut down, petroleum can be shut off. It may have to be a decisive maneu- ver or it can be a gradual operation. It may lead to an absolute shut off or to a regulated release, With whatever gesture you make, you will have to purchase your oil from outside sources. From sources owned by those who owe us, or from sources who trade extensively with those who owe us. No matter how it is arranged the transfer of credits will take care of our creditors. How will this change over in our trading affect our own people? Merchant Marine Will Expand Being the purchaser we can direct the routing of the shipments. We can order our cargoes delivered by our own ships’ bottoms. The oil com- panies now operating their own fleets will have but a small problem. The independents who are already pur- chasing their goods will be taken care of by the independent carriers. Of course, we will have to increase our tanker tonnage. It is necessary that we should increase our tanker tonnage even if we do not purchase our oils from other countries. In time of war the tankers will play one of the most prominent parts. The next war will be fought entirely with motorized arms, and petroleum and its by-products will be needed imme- diately. This change should demand and give us one of the best of tanker fleets, A few orders for real ocean- going oil carriers at this time will not hurt the feelings of our shipyards. Labor employed in our oil fields is small in numbers. With the shut down of the wells this labor would be MARINE REVIEw—February, 1935 released, That is, all except the few needed for watchmen purposes. This labor could be easily absorbed in working sulphur deposits which are associated with worked out wells, or which were discovered in association with gas wells. What few would be left could be used in the operation of the additions to our petroleum fleet. At least, the numbers could be bal- anced off so that unemployment would not be increased, The life and employment at the in- dustrial plants where petroleum is refined would go on just as if no ar- rangement had been made, We would still be in a position to control the price of crude oil, as our unmined oil could always be used as a threat against holdups. Of course, some arrangement or allowance will have to be made to pro- tect the investment of those owning flowing wells. No allowance should be made for anything other than the expense for the actual drilling itself. Oil that has not been mined will al- ways be just as much of an asset as if it had been allowed to flow into surface storage. No damage or loss has been created and no one has suf- fered if no one is allowed to drain adjacent holdings. Strengthen Our Maritime Position You can create other examples for use aS a means for our people to use in the collection of our debts. You can summarize these items into a pic- ture of the whole trade problem. You can see how it was possible for England to develop her large mer- chant marine, It is going to require education and it is going to require a lot of patience for this change in our trade life to be made, but you have to make it, unless you are willing and pre- pared to write off these debts by di- rect action or by the schoolboy meth- od of a bilious currency. If you are going to cancel these debts you will ultimately have to burn up or eat a lot of liberty bonds which were issued to back up these loans. With a little more importation of goods we will have more to say as to who will rule the seven seas; with an increase in imports, and with the business that we can then direct, we can reduce our subsidies and ignore the secre- tary of agriculture. What about it? Matson Not to Build Liner In the January issue of MARINE Rr- view an unconfirmed report was pub- lished to the effect that the Matson Navigation Co. was considering the construction of another 23-knot liner for operation in its California-Austra- lasian trade. Definite word has now been received from W. P. Roth, presi- dent of the Matson Navigation Co., that no additional construction of this char- acter is anticipated at the present time. is