New-York tribune. [volume], May 09, 1919, Page 16, Image 16

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Germany's Plot to Gas the World's Trade
._ ?
Strangling Grip of Teuton
Shipping Octopus Broken
Hold on American Ends
of Ocean Lanes Assumed
Serious Proportions in
Months Prior to the War
"Bunker License"
Safeguards U. S.
-!
Government Has Effective
Weapon for Use Should
Old Tactics Be Revived
The following is the thirteenth of I
a scries of articles describing the
new plot of Germany to achieve
world supremacy.
By Stanley Frost
Two great German shipping com?
panies and five smaller ones had fas?
tened on America when the war broke.
Following the Kaiser's precept that
"the future 'of Germany lies on the
sea," her merchant marine already
had what seemed a secure hold on the
American end of the great ocean lanes,
nid was fast tightening that grip. The
?war showed how powerful her hold
was, and with what utter disregard
ot law and decency she used it. The
worst of the bomb plots, the espionage
and the murder and arson conspiracies
were hatched around the German ship
companies. They broke our neutrality
in every conceivable way, sought to
involve us in the war against the
Allies, furnished supplies to German
raiders, and finally, after we were in
the war, attempted to aid the sea
snakes that were sinking American
t-hips in American waters.
In the German war of exploitation
their power wasnot less great, no?
less. used. Their rates, of course, had
to meej the competition of all other
shipping, and the tribute we paid the?
was the same that America has paid
other maritime nations for decades
rather than carry her own sea ton?
nage. But the German had other
methods.
There was discrimination in freights
from this side. A man favored by the
great German machine found his bills
less. The American exporter wa3 thus
discriminated against.
There was worse discrimination on
the freight rates on goods coming
here. The German government with
its control over shipping as well as
over its railways, used the freight rates
to offset the trade barriers which had
been provided by Congress. If a tariff
vas raised the freight rate dropped,
and the German product came on the
American market at a price which
evaded the protection this country had
tried to give its own producers. When
there was one of the frequent German
"dumping" campaigns on, the shipping
companies were expected to help bat?
ter down the American firms by laying
the dumped goods down cheaply.
Espionage Part of Ship
Companies' Work /
Always there was espionage ? the
German companies, from their mani?
fests, were able to report to the great
central commercial information bureau,
where German exporters could make
use of the information, what Ameri?
cans were shipping, to whom and how
much. Every shipment became a tip
for a German commercial traveller in
some distant part of the world.
The control of shipping, and the use
of it, became a vital part of the Ger?
man commercial army as soon as the
system of overproduction, "dumping"
as a trade weapon, and the drive for a
commercial "Deutschland ?ber Alles"
became established. It was one of the
best of her trade weapons. Through?
out the war she has nursed it care?
fully. Shipbuilding has gone on in
Germany when there was an actual
shortage of men and materials for
munitions. More than that, she has
?old shipbuilding material to the
neighboring neutrals, no matter what
her own straits, on conditions that
gave her the control of their ships
after the war.
. "We shall in^itably draw the con?
clusion that the power of expansion of
the new Germany is in large measure
due to the organization and activity of
her transport system," says Professor
Henri H?user, whoso book, "Germany's
Commercial Grip on the World," la the
standard work en that subject.
"The intervention of the German
?hip by the side of the German rail?
way reveal? to u? another mean? of
German commercial p?n?tration - the
combined rate. It is somewhat difficult
to be exactly informed about these
combined ?ca-aiid-rail rates? which Get
man? consider one of the Secrets of
their power. What is known is that,
by mean? of a ?ingle consignment note,
one is able to ?end good? from certain
German stations to certain stations
abroad, by a determined port, at a
Mngle and very reduced charge which
include? land carriage, ?ea freight and
handling coats."
Immenne Growth
Of Merchant Marine
The German merchant marine grew
from 640,000 ton? a month'? U-boat
sinkings?in 1870 to 6,000,000 tons in
1914. In 1?09, the last year for which
figures are available, there cleared
from German ports, under the German
??g_ nearly 66,000 vessels, totalling 18r
ALIEN PROPERTY CUSTODIAN
Sixteenth and P Streets, N. W., Washington, D. C
April 11, 1919.
To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: I have read with interest the preliminary sketches of Mr.
Frost's stories about the present German menace. I want to say to
you that in my opinion they are a epic fid-id presentation of the
present situation, and, as far as I have gone, accurate and entirely
justified by present conditions.
The situation at this time calls for just such a series of articles
is Mr. Frost has written, and in order to insure their accuracy in
detail I would be very glad to go over i 'iem token he has finished
them and make any small corrections which the records of this office
may justify. The wider publication these articles receive the greater
the public service Mr. Frost has been able to render.
FRANCIS P. GARVAN,
Alien Property Custodian.
000,000 tons. Forty per cent of the
German ships were concentrated under
the Hamburg-American and the North
German Lloyd companies and these
headed a secret cartel which included
many of the secondary companies. The
Hamburg-American Line alone operated
sixty^-eight lines of steamers, touching
all American ports and crossing the
Pacific.
The Germans had a special advan?
tage as regards America, ^hen the
LaFollette law passed it applied to all
ships touching American ports?con?
ditions which improved the lot of the
seamen but were onerous on the own?
ers. The Germans avoided this by a
very simple expedient ? the entire
crews of their -ships were put under
naval law as reserves. Any chance that
they would leave ship in New York or
join any activity for higher wages or
better conditions vanished.
The Germans also, shipping men re?
port, were as quick to break their com?
mercial treaties as their government
was to smash its political ones. They
are credited with the failure of tho
transatlantic pool, a shipping agree?
ment to control rates and sailings,
through their constant attempts to
break tho agreements whenever they
saw any advantago to themselves in
doing so.
Became a Part of
Huns'" War Machine
This was the nature of the tentacle
that had fastened on our ports. When
the war came it showed itself wholly
German. It was put under the direc?
tion of Dr. Albort and Hugo Schmidt,
the Kaiser's agents, and (to consider
only its shipping activities) became
immediately active in attempting to
supply German raiders, contrary to
law. Accounts submitted before the
Overman committee, which investi?
gated German activities, showed that
more than a dozen ships, and several
million dollars, had been used in these
attempts. Few of them succeeded.
Another form of activity was the at?
tempt to get us into war with Britain
over the blockade. This was done
chiefly by the American Transatlantic
Company, a concern carefully camou?
flaged under American names, and run
by Richard Wagner, an American citi?
zen, but.German through and through.
The scheme was to purchase vessels,
put them under American names, get
American registry (the company got
Senator LaFollette to vouch for its
Americanism and so secured this regis?
try) and then to start them out to
raise an international issue by being
caught in the British blockade. 01
course, if they get through with some
cargo it was all ri<rht. They could gel
caught next time.
Trouble for America
The Real Cargo
But trouble for America, rather than
goods for Germany, was their real
freight. There was originally spent
some $2,600,000 in putting this com?
pany on its feet, the money all comin?j
from Germany. An offer of $7.500,00C
for it was recently refused. Some ol
the issues that its astute manager suc?
ceeded in raising are still in diplomatic
dispute between this country anc
Britain.
Wagner admitted to Francis P. Gar
van, then director of the Bureau o
Investigations of the Alien Property
Custodian's office, that for three yean
he had deceived the various depart
ments of the American government, th?
British and French ?>rize courts am
Senators and Congressmen as to th?
real ownership of the stock. He con
fesscd that there was practically no
a cent of American money in the con
cern. Throughout his efforts he main
tained a propaganda to keep the Ameri
can people stirred up over the Britis!
"outrages" against "American" enter?
prise. ?
Helped Keep Alive
Wooden Ship Dispute
A sidelight on the wooden ship con?
troversy, and the 'German interest in
preventing America from building a
permanent merchant marine, shows the
Teutonic hand. During the long con?
troversy between General Goethals and
I Chairman Dcnman practically no cor?
respondence reached the Shipping
Board from indignant or advisory citi?
zens. But the moment that contro?
versy was ended the "country" was
heard from and the board's mail was
filled with demands that the wooden
ships be built. The number of Ger?
man names was amazing, but not one
of the writers pointed out that wooden
ships would be worthless for after-the
war trade purposes.
The work done by the Alien Property
Custodian and the new powers which
have been developed by the Transpor?
tation Bureau of the \V7ar Trade Board,
and will' remain in the American de?
fensive arsenal when that organiza?
tion disbands, have convinced the offi?
cials that the German merchant marine
threat is over for the time being, even
if the Allies permit her to keep any
ships.
The Alien Property Custodian has
seized the great pier? and terminals
of the North German' Lloyd and the
Hamburg-American line in New York
harbor, lie has also seized and sold,
or will sell, the Brynhilda Shipping
Corporation (camouflaged as Scandi?
navian), the Cargo Transportation Cor?
poration, the Lutz Shipping Company,
the Seguranca Steamship Company and
the Vogeman Shipping Company. In
most of these the enemy interest was
100 per cent.
Until new piers are found in New
York the German companies can come
here only on sufferance, and for the
present, at least, the destruction of
the German sea octopus, so far as
America is concerned, is believed to be
complete.
New Weapon Ready
Against German Ships
The War Trade Board has developed,
moreover, a weapon which can bo used
indefinitely to prevent this octopus
getting a new grip. This is the so
called "bunker license," which, under
the law as administered during the
war, includes also every sort of ship
supply. By it any ship can be pre?
vented from carrying from any Ameri?
can port any commodity whatever, even
if that commodity was brought in by
tho same ship. This is, of course, an
extreme power and not likely to be in?
voked, but it remains as a possibility
in case the new German attack be?
comes a serious danger along this line.
There is much talk in England of
putting a bunker license system into
effect, leaving it without teeth until
needed, but handy to use if necessary
in forcing out the Germans. If Amer?
ica and Britain should join to enforce
such a policy no German ship could
get past Suez, Panama? or the Kameruns
and none could touch at, any port in
the United States, Great Britain or a
British colony.
How Germany made a profit on spy?
ing through insurance companies will
be told in to-morrow's Tribune.
Automotives
There was a meeting yesterday af-1
ternoon at the rooms of the Automo
bile Dealers' Association, attended by
leading members of the trade of thi; \
city and Brooklyn, to discuss the motor
vehicle legislation pending before Gov?
ernor Smith and to decide on a course
of action with relation to the bills.
The dealers will send to the Governor
a memorandum relating to the Knight
Wheelock bill, to which they object be?
cause it applies only to the motor car
owner operators of New York City.
They believe it should be made state?
wide in its provisions.
A delegation probably .will go to Al?
bany for the hearing there on May 13
on tho bill that would increase all
registration fees for automobiles in
this state. This measure the dealers
do not particularly approve, either.
Incidentally, the next automobile
show in New York City will not be held
under the management of the Automo*
bile Dealers' Association. At a meeting
of the National Automobile Ghamber of
Commerce, in Detroit, just finished, a
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INSPECTION INVITED
As you judge a man by his clothes, so the
character of a store may be judged by its
appearance.
You are cordially invited when visiting any
Liggett Store, to inspect our orderly Prescription
Departments, welUarranged Stock Rooms and
scrupulously clean Ice Cream and Syrup Rooms
SAFS
?>HUG
? >A
Iffl^^
show committee was appointed to han?
dle national shows, which will restore
the management to the hands of those
who have always had charge of them.
At the same time, provision was made
for allotting a substantion sum of
money to the New York dealers, for the
running expenses of thei rorganization,
which will be rather nearer the amount
of money they cleared on the show last
February, than the sum they have had
heretofore from the N. A. C. C. This
arrangement wil be satisfactory to the
New York dealers, it appears.
Work has begun on the fifteenth an
nual orphans' automobile day outing,
which will be held June 15. Frank G.
Carrie, of the Marmon Automobile
Company, is president of the associa?
tion, and Horace De Lissar, of the Ajax
Rubber Company, is treasurer.
The association depends upon owners
and dealers to supply cars to carry the
orphans to the place where the outing
is held. The children look forward
eagerly to the outing every year and it
is o most worthy charity. Information
can be had by addressing the Orphans'
Automobile Day Association, at 1845
Broadway. C. E. T. S.
Tugboat Captain Is Shot
By an East River Wave
If the East River hadn't beer ?
usually rough yesterday Captain Win'
iam M. McNeil, of the tugboat Fr!B,,.i
H. Rickert, wouldn't be inBeSS
Hospital with a dangerous bi,l< ?
wound in his right side. et
While the tug was breastin. th
whitecaps a heavy swell listed i'
starboard, dislodging a bureau <wt0
in the cabin. A revolver fell 0?t ".
the drawer and was discharged ?.k
it struck the floor, the bullet stHL
the captain. sl"Mn?f
The Flow of Meat ? I
1
Two-thirds of the live stock in the United l\
States has to be raised in the West. K
One-half of the consumers of meat live in \\
the East i\
In other words, most of the live stock is one 18
is\i
or two thousand miles distant from most of the
people who need it in the form of food. j|
Fifty years ago, when live stock was raised If
close to every consuming center, the country |
butcher could handle the job after a fashion. |
But the job got too big. |
Now millions of animals have to be moved
hundreds of miles to millions of people. Some- \\
where on the way they have to be turned
into meat 1
h
The packers solved the problem. They set |
up plants where the "live haul" and the
"meat haul" were in the right balance. They
eliminated waste. They built up distributing
systems?refrigerator cars, refrigerating plants, U
branch houses. They saved time, money and
meat everywhere. The stockraiser benefited
in better markets and higher prices; the con?
sumer, in better meat and lower prices. ffi
I
As the country grew, the packers t had to
grow, or break down. Because of its present
size and efficiency, Swift & Company is able
to perform its part in this service at a fraction If
of a cent per pound profit j|
Swift & Company, U. S. A. I
Seventeen Wholesale Distributing Markets in Greater New York m
Central Office, 32 Tenth Avenue "
G. J. Edwards,'District Manager y RI
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_______________-_B_-_-_-fB
Next Sunday is Mother's Day and The
Tribune pays tribute to the occasion with
three wonderfully appropriate picture sub?
jects, faithfully reproduced in full colors in
The Tribune's Colorgraphic Section.
"The Kiss," by J..Campbell Phillips; "The
First Lesson," by Emit Fuchs; and "Mother's
Day," by John Sloan.
These three splendid paintings, and in
addition a powerful war picture, "The Les?
son," by Captain Harvey Dunn. You'll want
to frame all of them. Order your copy of
The Tribune for next Sunday, to-day,