Monday, Jun. 18, 1923

The Next Move

Chairman Lasker handed to President Harding his formal resignation from the Shipping Board with a letter stating what he had accomplished and what he recommended for his successor, Edward P. Farley.

He prefaced his recommendation by declaring that the effort to sell the Government fleet to private owners was apparently a failure. "Developments thus far indicate that . . . most of the bids will be inadequate, and in the main the Government will be forced to maintain in some way the routes now being operated at its expense."

He then recommended:

1) That from 12 to 18 subsidiary corporations be created under the Emergency Fleet Corporation, each to operate a route and control the good-will and terminal facilities, assets of increasing value to the Government.

2) That 250 ships be allocated to these corporations, replacing 400 ships now operated in these services,

3) That of the 1,200 ships remaining, the unprofitable ones be scrapped.

4) That 200 of the remainder be set aside as a reserve and that a "given number" of these be equipped with Diesel engines instead of oilburning equipment. This would improve their efficiency by 25% and make it possible soon to repay money borrowed from the Shipping Board's construction loan fund.

5) That the remainder of the ships be sold to any buyers foreign or American "at the best prices obtainable."

6) That thereupon all surplus tonnage still remaining be scrapped because they act as a "depressant upon the merchant marine of the world, and, most of all, upon our own."