There have been many instances when Helen Bentley has worked effectively behind the scenes to help resolve serious disputes, such as maritime strikes, which we all know can be devastating to the already troubled shipping industry.

She has often worked closely with the Department of Labor and the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and those agencies used her unique contacts to help in obtaining valuable meetings and eventual agreements. Helen Bentley did these things-not out of any journalistic fervor, because in many instances there was no story to write-but she did them out of a genuine desire to help.

Helen Bentley has been able to do this because she has a unique ability; she has that rare gift of being able to get on a "first name' basis with just about everyone of importance-whether it be top-level officials of industry, labor, or Government.

This is a talent, I might add, that could be extremely valuable to any Federal Maritime Commission Chairman, especially in dealing with foreign maritime powers.

On many other occasions, it has been Helen Bentley's lucid thinking and writing that helped to clarify situations or problems which had become stagnated or obscured by traditional and even unyielding attitudes.

This is no exaggeration-more than once, when a maritime issue became controversial, I have heard the phrase, "Did you see what Helen Bentley wrote about that!"

From a congressional standpoint, Mr. Chairman, I think it is common knowledge that members of both the Senate and the House often asked Helen Bentley for her views on vexing maritime problems. I know that both Republicans and Democratic members of my committee have benefited from her knowledge; and I am sure that more than one member of your distinguished committee, Mr. Chairman, has had similar contacts.

The recognition this woman has achieved as an authority on maritime matters was very evident when she produced her own TV show known as "The Port That Built a City," in Baltimore. She lined up the sponsors, planned the shows, directed their production, edited the film, wrote the scripts and conducted the various interviews shown live on Baltimore television. The industry sponsored that production for 14 years, and it has continued through the years to recognize and use her abilities.

Many speeches and articles are "ghost written" by Mrs. Bentley, and in a joking way one industry official recently remarked that, dur ing the last Maritime Day observance, half of the speeches presented around the country were written by Mrs. Bentley.

Although that may be an exaggeration, I have no doubt that Helen Bentley's thoughts and written words appeared in many of those speeches just as they have over the years.

On a more personal level, I want to add that over the years Helen Bentley has also become my friend, as well as an ally in our mutual fight to revitalize the American merchant marine.

Everyone talks about how tough she can be, and this is true. But I have also been privileged to know Helen Bentley, the woman. She is married and her husband taught high school for many years at Baltimore City College.

Unlike her professional life, Helen's domestic life is typical of most other married couples. What I am trying to say, Mr. Chairman, is that, in addition to her other qualities, she is a very warm, generous. human being. I could tell a few interesting stories to illustrate that point, but this is something I will leave for the writers.

I think one other fact about Mrs. Bentley is important. No matter how close a friend may be to her, if she thinks he is wrong, or that he is doing something to the detriment of the Nation or the industry, she won't pull her punches. To use a trite but appropriate phrase, "She calls a spade a spade." This is another quality that should be beneficial to her as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission. Mr. Chairman, when I started to put down on paper a few remarks about her, I intended to limit myself to a page or two. But I discovered this is impossible. I will, therefore, conclude by quoting Teddy Gleason, president of the International Longshoremen's Association.

In an article that appeared in the September 20 issue of Business Week magazine, Mr. Gleason referred to the proposed appointment of Mrs. Bentley as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission, and I quote.

Mr. Gleason said, "A finer selection couldn't be made. If anybody knows this business, she does. If anybody has the courage and. excuse the expression, ". . . the guts to straighten out the shipping industry, she does."

Mr. Chairman, I heartily concur with that statement, and I strongly urge that Helen Delich Bentley be confirmed as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission.

Thank you very much.

Senator LONG. Thank you.
Senator Tydings?

STATEMENT OF HON. JOSEPH D. TYDINGS, U.S. SENATOR FROM MARYLAND

Senator TYDINGS. Mr. Chairman, I won't try and emulate Mr. Garmatz, the chairman of the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries.

I will say this-that Mrs. Helen Delich Bentley is unquestionably qualified to be Chairman of the Maritime Commission. She is a very unusual person, a very unusual lady. She perhaps is the premiere maritime writer for any newspaper or any magazine or periodical in the United States.

Her knowledge of the waterfront is second to none. I think any person involved in the maritime industry would second what I have to say.

I would, for the record, like to include a speech that I delivered on the floor of the U.S. Senate on September 12, 1969, on the occasion of Mrs. Bentley's nomination by the President, as well as an article which appeared in the Todd Shipyards Corp., Journal of September 22, entitled "Lady Skipper for the Merchant Fleet."

I might say this, Mr. Chairman: Of my own personal knowledge, Mrs. Bentley has a deep and abiding concern for the development of the merchant marine of the United States. Since the time I have had the privilege of sitting on your subcommittee, she has been very generous of her time with me, not only from her own advice, but in putting

me into contact with leaders of the maritime industry, both shipbuilding and labor leaders, engineers-those persons concerned with building, rebuilding our fleet.

And I think that the nomination of the President does him credit. and certainly will do the Nation a great deal of good.

I thank you.

Senator LONG. Senator Tydings, if you keep making those speeches in favor of the merchant marine, like the last time we had the authorization bill up, your evidence will be very persuasive before this subcommittee chairman.

I appreciate the fine work you did to help the merchant marine, and it proves your sincerity.

(The material referred to follows:)

THE MERCHANT MARINE AND MRS. BENTLEY

Mr. TYDINGS. Mr. President, to be the new Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission the President has nominated Helen Delich Bentley. I can think of no one more qualified.

Mrs. Bentley, the maritime editor of the Baltimore Sun, is one of the premiere writers on maritime affairs in the country. She has covered the waterfront for many years and has gained through hard knocks experience a vast knowledge of maritime affairs.

It should serve her well for the FMC is charged with the important task of regulating services and practices in our waterborne commerce and, equally important, passing on the rates and fares of such traffic. Together with the Maritime Administration, the Commission bears the responsibility of insuring the vitality and prosperity of our maritime position.

Currently this position is not what it should be. Our merchant marine is in a state of alarming decline. The average age of a U.S. ship is 23 years. Our country ranks a poor 11th in world merchant ship construction. Finally, the United States today is carrying only about 5 percent of its foreign commerce on American-flag bottoms.

In her articles and through informal contacts Mrs. Bentley has pointed to this decline and forcefully urged that it be reversed. Knowing full well the significance of a strong merchant marine to the commercial and military posture of the United States, Helen Bentley has called for the national commitment-in terms of money, effort, and desire-necessary for the restoration of our once preeminent maritime position.

I support her call and feel such a commitment has top priority for this country and the present administration. I have written Secretary Stans urging him to submit the new maritime proposals to Congress and pointing out that the delay already experienced has set back the time when the required new ships will hit the waves.

Throughout her career Mrs. Bentley has warned of the threat posed by the buildup of the Soviet merchant fleet. The Russians have embarked on a major ship building program and the Soviet flag is now seen in most ports of call around the world.

I believe Helen Delich Bentley is most qualified and I support her nomination as Chairman of the Federal Maritime Commission.

Mr. President, Mrs. Bentley's reputation as a maritime expert is matched only by her affinity for colorful hats. They have often drawn comments. I know Helen Bentley; I have seen many of her chapeaux. I am willing to state publicly and for the record within the very Chamber of this U.S. Senate that they are, in a word, charming.

In order to give other Senators the favor of Mrs. Bentley's writing, I ask unanimous consent that four of her Sun "Around the Waterfront" columns now be reprinted in the Record. I ask also that the text of my letter to Secretary Stans concerning the delay in submission of the new maritime legislation be reprinted following those articles.

There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:

[From the Baltimore Sun, May 22, 1969]

"NEGLECT IS SINKING NATION'S FLEET

"(By Helen Delich Bentley)

"As National Maritime Day, 1969, is observed today throughout the United States, all facets of the sadly divided, bitterly segmented industry agree on one point-namely, that the U.S. must determine whether its merchant marine is to become an instrument of national policy.

"If it is, a course of rehabilitation and revitalization should be followed.

"COLD WAR WEAPON

"If it is not, then no one should worry any longer whether there are merchant ships on the high seas flying the American flag.

"Among the leading nations who use their merchant marines as instruments of their national policy are: the Soviet Union, Japan, Norway and the United Kingdom.

"There are many others, but these are the nations one can place at a level with the U.S., nations whose merchant fleets are important to the U.S. in one way or another-either from the standpoint of friendly competition, or as weapons in the cold war.

"RUSSIAN POLICY

"The Russians have been very blunt in telling the world that they expect to double their present 12,000,000 deadweight tons of merchant shipping by 1980. As they have built up their present tonnage-80 per cent of which is less than ten years old-they have clearly used their merchant ships as instruments in a drive to win over as many nations as they can and to carry out their national policy. "Their small passenger ships are used to transport students from developing countries to Russia to learn, and to bring to them experts and soldiers offering first-hand aid. Their tankers are still built on a small scale so that they can transport Soviet petroleum products directly into the shallow ports of these nations.

"The Soviets want more freighters and other cargo carrying vessels so they can increase their own trade, and also to enter more third-flag trade routes in order to earn dollars.

"Viktor Bakayev, Minister of Merchantile Marine in the Soviet Union, has stated that his country has taken into consideration the growth of population and the development of world industrial and agricultural production, along with the expansion of trade among the countries of the world. It has reached the conclusion that the scope of international shipping by water will reach 3 to 31⁄2 billion tons by 1980, up from the 2 billion tons in 1968.

"JAPANESE POLICY

"The Russians intend to have enough ships on hand to more than carry their share of that cargo.

"The Japanese have prescribed that their merchant marine should carry 60 per cent of the Japanese exports and 70 per cent of the Japanese imports by 1975. To meet this target, it is planned that 2,050 ships of 29 million gross tons will be built in Japanese shipyards between now and 1975.

"The Japanese reached that determination after the Ministry of Transport and the Shipping and Shipbuilding Rationalization Council called upon a specially created industry advisory group, the Shipping Policy Division, to ‘conduct studies on a policy from the National economic viewpoint for the growth of the Japanese shipping industry.'

"Among the conclusions reached, according to a Tokyo publication, were the following:

"1. It is essential to expand the Japanese merchant marine for improvement of the shipping payments position.

"2. It is necessary to work out measures for having access to funds needed for expansion of the Japanese fleet of ocean going ships, and for the training of

more seamen.

"3. Government subsidies are needed to strengthen the Japanese shipping industry's business standing, and to augment its international competitiveness. "The entire existing Japanese merchant marine is less than 15 years old.

"On this Maritime Day, 1969, this is the position of the U.S.:

"1. The U.S. today is carrying only about 5 per cent of its foreign commerce on American-flag bottoms. This percentage has been dropping sharply every year from a high of 57.6 per cent in 1960.

2. The U.S. ranks a weak 11th in merchant ship construction in the world. "3. The average age of the U.S. fleet is 23 years; in another 2 years more than 2 out of 3 ships in the American fleet will be over 25 years in age and totally uneconomical.

4. The U.S. fleet is plagued with critical inter-union bickering.

5. The U.S. active fleet ranks a weak 6th in status in the world.

"DECISIONS ESSENTIAL

"If the U.S. determines that the American merchant marine is to be an instrument of its national policy, the nation must be sold on the idea that a healthy maritime industry not only provides major employment opportunities, but also greatly aids the balance of payments opportunities, while assuring the economy a steady flow of world trade and the country a necessary defense weapon. "One thing for certain on this National Maritime Day is that the U.S. must soon come to grips with the problem of whether it intends to make the merchant marine an instrument of national policy, or whether it intends to turn over all of its maritime commerce to foreign interests and depend solely on them."

[From the Baltimore Sun, June 16, 1969]

"NAVAL WAR COLLEGE STUDIES SOVIET MERCHANT MARINE

"(By Helen Delich Bentley)

"NEWPORT, R.I.-The United States Naval War College here this week is devoting its Twenty-first Annual Global Strategy Discussions to the rapid expansion of the Soviet merchant marine, its influence in international circles, and the simultaneous continuing decline of the United States merchant fleet.

"Only two weeks ago The Center for Strategic and International Studies of Georgetown University, Washington, published No. 10 of its special report series. The title was 'Soviet Sea Power.'

"It now appears that more responsible people are beginning to recognize the threat of the U.S.S.R. on the seven seas as a result of her expansion of her merchant marine, navy, and fishing and oceanography fleets. Until recently, there was such a tendency to pooh-pooh what the Soviet Union was doing along this line that many persons were ashamed to admit concern.

"The Georgetown report declared in its opening chapter on Policy Findings and Implications for U.S. policy that the Soviet Union embarked on a maritime strategy designed to help her break out of her long history of continental confinement:

"POLICY ENVISIONED

""This policy means, in the first instance, attempts to control the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and ultimately the Mediterranean. The policy also envisions Soviet predominance in the Sea of Japan to the East, the Greenland-Iceland-Faeroe Island gap to the West, and the Indian Ocean to the South. Simultaneously, the Soviet Union is probably striving to become the dominant power in such vital straits as the Bosporus and Dardanelles, through which its fleets must pass to reach the high seas.

"Beyond these goals, the Soviets want to gain dominant influence at several major junctions of the world's seaways. Specifically, they have their sights on the Suez Canal, the Bab al-Mandeb, the Straits of Malacca, and the Straits of Gibraltar. In pursuit of these ends, the Soviets would most likely try systematically to limit and eventually to stop noncommunist naval operations in areas they consider strategically critical to their plans.'

"Admiral John S. McCain, Jr., who now heads up the United States armed forces in the entire Pacific area, tried hard to impress upon the American people the strategy of the Russians of aiming for key points in order to control the movements of ships on a world-wide basis.

"Admiral McCain also included the Panama Canal as being a highly-sought-after site for the Communist world.