Electric auxiliaries on merchant ships

When we discuss the Merchant Marine, or any feature thereof, we must not lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with a commercial undertaking which is probably more highly competitive than any other. From its very nature this must be the case, for while each country can make laws to assist the merchant ship owners of that country, every effort to help them and penalize foreign shipping can and undoubtedly will be neutralized by laws of the countries with which they are trading. The only assistance, therefore, that can be given by legislation, outside of providing good port facilities, is to enact laws that will assure a good standard for ships and at the same time not impose penalties in operation to which owners of other countries are not subject.