Two major developments important to the U. S. merchant marine were taking shape last week.
Dollars. On the Pacific littoral, that astute, thin-bearded Scotsman, Robert ("Robbie") Dollar, working these last few years through his able son, R. Stanley Dollar, has jibbed and tacked shipping so skillfully that transpacific commerce moves under his virtual control. Some 30 months ago he bought seven "President" steamers from the U. S. Shipping Board. The Board was glad to sell. At the same time the Dollars (as the Admiral-Oriental Line) were operating for the Board five other "President" boats from Seattle to Japan, China, the Philippines and return, and the competitive Pacific Mail Steamship Co. was operating five more. The Dollars did not like that situation. So they offered the Shipping Board six and a quarter million dollars, one-third cash, for the five boats the Pacific Mail was operating.
The Pacific Mail protested vehemently, but the Dollars won. The Pacific Mail broke up.
That left the Dollars as ship owners competing with themselves as ship operators for the Government (the Admiral-Orient Line), another situation which they did not like, even though the operating losses of the Admiral-Orient Line cost them not a cent. Nevertheless the Dollars wanted to own the boats, offered last fall $600,000 for each of the five (they cost $6,000,000 each when built during the War). They were rebuffed. So they raised their offer to $900,000 a ship, a sum pleasing to the Board, which accepted a deposit.
Last week the Senate Committee on Commerce was wrangling talmudically over whether the deposit completed the sale. If not, certain Northwest interests, which fear the Dollars will deflect shipping away from the Columbia River and Puget Sound territory, may still have opportunity to bid on the boats. At any rate, a good proportion of boats on the Pacific will fly the U. S. flag.
On the Atlantic the situation is less satisfactory. U. S. operating costs are so high, that in the face of the merciless European competition the Shipping Board can keep less than a fifth of its ships in operation.* Private capital shies from operating under the U. S. flag.
Nevertheless native operators as well as shippers know the basic need for a national merchant marine. They hope perpetually that operating costs will contract or that some managerial genius will arise to keep national ships moving so efficiently that they can really meet foreign competition.
Last week such hope dawned again. President Philip Albright Small Franklin of the International Mercantile Marine Co. was on the high seas coming home to Manhattan from several weeks of negotiation with British interests for the sale of his White Star Line. He had virtually in his pocket some $36,500,000, and P. A. S. Franklin is not the man to let money lie idle or even to earn puny interest.
Franklin. As high on the seven seas as is Robert Dollar so high, perhaps even higher, on those seas is Mr. Franklin.