SHIPPING: 200 Gone

After several months of negotiation, the Shipping Board finally shook hands and said: “It’s a bargain.” Two hundred of its nearly useless vessels tied up here and there along the Eastern waterfront of the U. S. were sold. Those who shook hands (figuratively) and closed the bargain with the Shipping Board were:

1) The Bull Insular Steamship Co., which bought one ship, the Lake Winthrop, for $33,000.

2) W. B. Mayo, who bought 199 ships for $8,530 apiece (total: about $1,700,000) on behalf of Henry Ford—Mr. Mayo being Henry Ford’s chief engineer and negotiator, who previously conducted Mr. Ford’s negotiations for Muscle Shoals.

So closes the history of the Board’s offer of 200 ships for scrapping or operation (TIME, July 20). It began several months ago when the Board asked for bids on 200 ships. It continued when the Board opened some 20 bids and found none from Henry Ford; and Mr. Ford told the Press that he had sent a bid. It continued when the Board reopened the bidding, rejecting the largest bid—$1,370,000. It continued when Mr. Ford submitted a bid for $1,706,000. It concluded when the Board accepted Mr. Ford’s bid last week and gave 199 bills of sale to Mr. Mayo.

Mr. Ford must take possession of the ships within 60 days and scrap them or install Diesel engines and put them into service within 18 months. With a few of the ships he is expected to adopt the latter course. All the rest must be scrapped. He has the privilege of salvaging any machinery he can, for use in his own factories. Following the purchase Mr. Mayo offered $40,000 apiece for seven ocean-going tugs, ISO feet long, with which to tow his purchases to his wrecking yards (probably most of the ships will be scrapped at Detroit). The Shipping Board asked $42,500 apiece for the tugs, and Mr. Mayo agreed—a strange commentary on the value of the ships, that the tugs to tow them should be worth individually —nearly five times as much as they.

The whole proceeding evoked from Clinton W. Gilbert, observer of men and manners at Washington, a tribute, somewhat dubious, to Mr. Ford:

“Only Henry Ford could have gone at buying the ships in the way he did. . . . After the other bids were opened, along comes Mr. Ford’s agent to say that he is now ready to bid, in full confidence that the other offers will be rejected and a new call for bids will be made. One has to be powerful to expect such consideration.

“But then, Mr. Ford is not subject to any rule. He is, judged by results, the greatest business executive in the world; but if any one else attempted to run a business as Mr. Ford does, he would probably wreck it in a month.

“The Ford Motor Co. is a one-man concern, just as much as any little business that you know of which makes $10,000 a year. . . .

“Of course, he always has amazingly clever men under him. You might think he accomplished his wonders through the much-praised devolving of responsibility. But he doesn’t. He is an autocrat.”