Under the federal maritime commission the new. merchant marine will be equipped for offense and defense. Of the 95 vessels to be constructed on the new building programme, a number will be equipped with decks upon which can be mounted six-inch naval guns, airplane catapults, "and some will have torpedo tubes.
Designing the merchant vessels to provide these facilities has been delegated to Rear-Admiral Emory S. Land, United States navy, retired. The admiral was formerly chief of the naval construction corps and is regarded as one of the outstanding naval architects of the world, As armed merchantmen these ships' will serve to protect American ocean shipping "and on occasion raid foreign commerce carriers in the event of hostilities. All of the vessels will be equipped with anti-aircraft guns, and in emergency these guns, as well as the airplanes and the six-inch rifles, will be manned by men from the navy, Special construction wilk be required in the new merchant- ships, and the cost of the installation for defense will be paid for by/the navy. During the world war, whet Aferican merchantmen were armed, the boats could not stand the recoil of one That lesson is responsible for the proposed strengthening of decks.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.