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TIHE ZMDBPSNHBft 11 What the U. S. Merchant Marine Act Means HERE is one question on which all Americans arc a unit. There may he differences of opinion as to how the matter should be worked out, but all are agreed that our merchant marine should be at least sufficient to provide for the over-seas transportation of our exports and imports in American-built and American-owned vessels. In 1914, just prior to the World War, the percentage of freight and passenger vessels carrying the American flag reached the lowest point in our history, 90 per cent of our foreign commerce being carried by vessels of other countries 50 per cent by British vessels. The situation was vastly different from that prior to the beginning of the Civil War, when from 50 to 60 per cent of our foreign commerce was carried by American vessels. During the comparatively brief period of our par ticipation in the World War, because of the urgent de mand for ships with which to transport our troops, munitions and other supplies to Europe, shipbuilding in this country was greatly stimulated, more than $3, 000,000,000 being expended by our government for the purpose. As a result, the United States Govern ment now owns nearly 2,000 merchant vessels having a carrying capacity which, together with our coastwise shipping, aggregates approximately 18,000,000 tons, or about the same as that of Great Britain. America s Golden Opportunity THUS America finds herself, at the present moment, in position that, if properly taken advantage of, should forever free her from the necessity of using the ships of other countries to do her foreign marketing, md make available at all times an ample supply of ships of her own people for use in the event of another un fortunate emergency calling for the use of our military forces in foreign lands. Senator Wesley L. Jones, of Washington, chair man of the Senate Commerce Committee, who has been a most earnest and persistent advocate of the Mer chant Marine Act, makes these statements regarding it : "The Merchant Marine Act is, in my opinion, one of the most important laws ever passed by Congress. The American people should know more about it. It is remarkable that a measure of this kind, which so vitally affects the welfare of the whole country, should be given so little publicity. The peoples of other nations have long been awake to the importance of the world's ocean-carrying business. They realize, as the American people do not, the very large extent to which the economic stability and prosperity of a great nation de pend upon the possession of unhampered facilities for foreign trade. "The ownership at this time by the American Gov- SENATOR WESLEY L. JONES eminent of about 2,000 merchant vessels, with ample facilities for dockage, repairs, and so on, as well as for the speedy construction of additional vessels, presents an unexampled opportunity for the establishment and maintenance of a powerful merchant marine and the permanent control of American commerce by Americans. Keep Control of Ships K'THE purpose of this new law is not merely to sell, 1 to the best possible financial advantage, the hun dreds of ships constructed by us to meet the war emergency, but to see to it that such ships are sold to and remain the property of Americans who will operate them to the best interests of the American people. "There is no disposition to claim that the new law is perfect, but it is an AMERICAN act throughout and the framers have had constantly in view the de velopment, on a sound and permanent basis, of a mer chant marine which will ultimately make this country as free commercially throughout the whole world as it is now politically here at home. "The operation of all laws necessarily depends to a large extent upon the efficiency of the human agencies by which they are administered. This is particularly true of the Merchant Marine Act because of the ex tensive powers and the large measure of discretion which it has been found necessary to vest in the Ship ping Board. The law has, however, been so drawn as to point out clearly its general purpose as well as the specific methods by which that purpose is to be at tained, and the provisions relating to the qualifications and methods of selection of the members of the board are such as seem to be calculated to insure, as far as it is possible to do so by legislation, the appointment of competent officials for this important work. Needs Public Support i IX ENACTING this law Congress has taken a long 1 and important step toward the accomplishment of the much-desired end freedom of the seas for Amer ican commerce through the establishment of a great American merchant marine and Congress stands ready to enact promptly at any time such supplementary legis lation as experience may prove to be necessary. "Something more than an act of Congress is needed to insure the complete success of the act. The project must have the active and unswerving support of the American people, American business and American dollars. "Congress by wie legislation can make possible the opening of new trade routes with American ships, and the executive branch of the government can see to it that the legislation is honestly and efficiently admin istered, but whether or not such new avenues of trade are permanently maintained depends ultimately upon the American people themselves. If our people sup port this great enterprise as merchants and manufac turers, and as investors in our new marine securities, the project will undoubtedly prove a great and lasting success, and an important means of preserving inter national peace and the security and stability of our country and its institutions; but if the support of our people is withheld, or given only in limited measure, sooner or later the great fleet of merchant vessels now owned by the United States is likely to pass to other nations whose people realize the advantages of com mercial control of the high seas." 4 0 F ALL our industries so rapidly being rehabili tated there is one that takes precedence over all others; with it we will challenge the world this year; at home and no less abroad. It is our lace." The foregoing are the words of the chairman of the Belgian industrial investicration committee. The challenge he voices has a twofold interest for the United States. On its face it means a renewal of the supply of the matchless Belgian imported laces. But there is a deeper significance. There are 160 schools of lace-making in Belgium; six of these have been selected by Americans interested in the lace industry for placing American advanced student lace-makers, these in turn to become the instructors in the American lace-making industry. This is the largest and most definite effort to culti vate a first-class lace-making industry in this country ever planned. Whether from among these students sufficient genius will be found for the ambitious purpose remains to be seen ; but the ctfort is a prac ticable one, and American hopes arc high. Today, it is said, Belgium is covered with lace makers. While the men arc in the fields or working in the newly-built industries, thousands of women in the cottages' before the doors, in the farmhouses, on the shaded borders of fields, are working tirelessly to reproduce the famed tissues which no machine has been able to equal. It is something of an hereditary art; is handed down from mother to daughter; and certain villages and certain families enjoy traditional repute for a par ticular quality of work or a special variety of lace. These thousands of women are all responsible to the middlemen, who act between them and the manu facturer. The manufacturer knows none of his em ployes as a rule. He determines only what varieties of lace he wants and the quantity. This, and the price he ' willing to pay, he confides to the middleman ; the middleman goes to his groups of workers and gives out the work, making his own bargain and generally a pretty good one with each woman as to the wages h shall receive. The wholesale producers the manu facturers have 150 factories in Belgium, and the worn fJJ employed by the middlemen total 50,000; that means 50,000 women depend on the lace-making industry for their livelihood, wholly or in part. he story of the Belgian laces, the lovely delicate work produced in the rudest homes and shacks, is a ascinating one. Bruges and Venice are competitors "Or the honor of first producing lace. The oldest known record is a panel hanging in the Louvre of Paris, Painted before 1489, showing the Virgin Mary sur rounded by a group of rich Bruges burghers, one of whom wears a cloak trimmed with a clearly shown Passement." This is taken as proof that the lace in- The Belgian Challenge dustry existed in Flanders before that time, and prob ably centered in Bruges, which at that time was the center of the luxurious Court of Burgundy. By the end of the fifteenth century lace-making was a part of the education of the women all through the Low Countries, and Charles V ordered it to be taught in the schools and convents. As a curious persistence of tradition, three-fourths of the loO lace-making schools in Belgium today arc under convent control ; moreover their methods of teaching are considered su perior, and their work carries the equivalent of a guaranty. The art spread rapidly throughout Flanders and as far as Antwerp, and the Flemish women in particular excelled in the new craft. They were aided by the fact that the raw material, always the finest flax, grew on the soil. At first the designs were the geometrical tracings of the Italian school, and Flanders won its distinction primarily through its liberal development of designs, particularly the reproduction in lace of local flora. By the middle of the sixteenth century Belgian lace was world-famous, as far as the world then ran; Spain, Italy, France and England all imported from Flanders and' Brabant, the courts using it as the sign of noble dress. . . In those days all the lace was being made in the convents or by women of the first families. It was Colbert, the sagacious minister of Louis XIV, who perceived in lace-making the opportunity for national wealth; he founded the Manufacture Koyale dc Dentelles, bringing to France 30 Italian and 200 Flem ish women lace-makers. Similarh today America ex pects to bring to this country a group of lace-makers to build up a national industry. The Louis XIV era gave a tremendous impetus to the industry, and the portraits of his time show with what ostentation lace was worn as part of both masculine and feminine at tire Several of the most celebrated "points" appeared in this period. Among them were the "point de Bruxclles," which is made with the needle, and Bmchc. famous pillow lace; from Vpres came in 1605 Val enciennes," and from Flanders gen-rally the several "points de Flanders." especially the "guipures, most of them distinguished by their leaf and flower work. The richest of all Belgian laces, "Malincs. appeared at this time as did "point d'Angletcrre, in which needle and pillow work are blended. The laces of that day were rich and heavy, but supple and consisted chiefly of an irregular background against which flowers and foliage were placed in relief. The next century, the seventeenth, saw each center of lace-making adopting some distinctive patterns. Brussels became famous for rich open lace, Bruges for its "gui pures," and so on. The next cen tury saw the lace-makers produc ing a foundation instead of the irregular background and light, delicate laces ap peared. In Brussels to this day the flowers are made separately and applied by needle; so it is called "ap plication de Bruxclles. " Malines and Valenciennes have their distinctive workmanship also. The Revolution of 1789 almost wrecked the lace industry and several varieties, including "Malines" and "Binche" disappeared altogether. Mechanical industries also absorbed attention and promised quick returns, so that lace-making departed from the cities and became the chosen art of the rural districts. Mechanical laces offered competition; wage-problems arose, and ap prenticeship dropped into disrepute. Flanders also be came desperately poor. And when its misery was greatest, the parish priests of Flanders set about a revival of the art. Their persistence re-created the schools in the convents until scarcely a convent in the country was without its lace-making .school. The nuns did a splendid work for posterity by preserving the tradition of the fineness in lace-making. It has been described how the middleman gives out the work to the women workers. Generally these are young girls and old women, those relieved of house hold duties, who put in the entire day at it. The mar ried woman takes up lace-making as a spare-time oc cupation. Occasionally a very expert lace-maker will continue after marriage as a full time lace-maker, gen erally because her work commands a price which makes her earnings a considerable if not a dominant economic factor in the household. The middleman method is, at best, a bad one ; ob viously the tendency is to "sweat" the women, prac tically all of whom are poor. Between the wage paid the woman who actually makes the lace, and the price paid by the manufacturer to the middleman, the latter is able to range over a happy hunting ground of com promise and browbeating. The middleman is inter ested solely in quantity production at the lowest rates he can get, and has no concern for professional stand ards of workmanship. Laces today arc more beautiful in workmanship than ever before; designs are more delicate. The art has survived wars and revolutions; and in Belgium at least is an important economic asset to the poor. It will be interesting to observe the spread of such a delicate art in this country, and to note how big a place it wins in the homes of women ambitious to increase their living by a dignified and interesting art.