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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

George I. Gay, Commissioner, Planning Division, to Professor J. A. Field, Staff of United States Shipping Board

Chronological Copy.                     File No. <42-2-4>

Cablegram Received  <August 16, 1918.>  EWC1

Origin Opnav Washington                      Ser. No. BN 352

     C-3  17 Aug.

31 ARD.             CONFIDENTIAL.

Simsadus.

Boards Navy 352.From Gay to Field Yours 251 2702 American steam tonnage in the service of non contiguous territories exclusive of steamers carrying imports to the United States is apparently too small to provide for the essential trade of these territories. We exhausted all available sources and the data obtained are meager and unsatisfactory. There are no records accessible showing the location of individual U.S. Ships except study of the Division of plans and statistics. These indicate 5 steamers suitable for war zone service consisting one American steamer of 1087 dead weight in Inter-Island trade of Hawaiian Islands two American steamers aggregating 3100 dead weight in Inter-Island trade of the Phillipine Islands and two American steamers aggregating 3600 dead weight operating between the Phillipine Islands and China. These vessels cannot well be spared from the territorial trade.

          We are sending by Embassy pouch our work tables that show FIRST tonnage of the trade of each non contiguous territory with foreign countries SECOND entrance and clearance of vessels for each territory by countries THIRD Table showing name and suitableness between territorial and foreign countries FOURTH Memorandum explaining source, method shortcomings and results of the study.-21016.

Benson.  

11.30AM Aug 17th 1918.

Source Note: Cy, DNA, RG 45, Entry 517B. The handwritten date is confirmed by the time/date stamp at the end of the document.

Footnote 1: Initials of the transcriber.

Footnote 2: Neither of these cables have been found.

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