Requisition

West from the Virgin Islands toward Haiti stood S.S. America, a thwarted ship in a restricted ocean. Biggest (27,000 gross tons) and fanciest merchantman ever to slide down a U.S. way, she had been conceived by the Maritime Commission for the blue-ribbon North Atlantic passenger trade. But before her birth was complete, World War II and the Neutrality Act closed in her horizons. Since she left her fitting-out dock ten months ago, her life has been a pleasant tedium of Caribbean cruises. Last week adventure crooked an imperious finger to this immaculate loafer of the Antilles. She was drafted into the U.S. Navy.

The summons came in a radiogram from the Navy to her master, young Captain Giles Chester Stedman of U.S. Lines, who is also a commander in the Naval Reserve. He was ordered to cut short the cruise, cancel the stop at Port-au-Prince, cut the stop at Havana from 48 hours to one (presumably to let former King Carol of Rumania and Playmate Lupescu disembark), put in at Newport News, Va. for refitting. The spume under America's forefoot widened and whitened as she picked up her feet and shook herself out of her cruise pace. On radio and telephone Giles Stedman and U.S. Lines got the Navy to agree to let him drop his 250 passengers at New York, promised to have his beauty back in Newport News by Wednesday of this week. There workmen will pull out her luxury trappings, install three-and four-decker bunks in her cabins, paint her Navy grey, perhaps arm her with 5-in. guns for her new life as a transport. Built to carry 1,200 passengers in the North Atlantic trade, she will be able to carry about 3,500 soldiers or Marines.

In four days of the first week of Franklin Roosevelt's unlimited emergency, 18 passenger liners and two modern freighters were drafted for Army and Navy. Grossing better than 200,000 tons, they included American President Lines' brand-new President Jackson and President Adams, its older trans-Pacific liners President Taft, President Pierce, President Coolidge and President Cleveland. American Export Lines lost its new Exporter and Executor, just completed for the India trade. Moore-McCormack, which now has 15 ships in the armed services, gave up Mormacpenn and Mormacwren from the South American run. Total of drafted passenger craft: better than 485,000 tons.

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