SHIPS AND FOOD

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 170, 8 April 1918, Page 6

SHIPS AND FOOD

DIFFICULTIES OF THE NEW CONDITIONS INTERVIEW WITH SIR LEO MONEY Various allegations having appeared in tho Australian Press which seemed to suggest laxity ami inefficiency on the part of the Ministry of Shipping ill the handling of goods—particularly foodstuffs—awaiting shipment in Australian ports, a' "Pali Mall Gazette" representative interviewed Sir Leo. Chiozza Money, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Shipping, and sought an explanation. "We regret as much as tho Australians can possibly do," said Sir Leo at the outset, "our inability to transport to England tho splendid supplies of food, notably wheat and frozen meat, available at the Antipodes. But we have been compelled by very practical considerations to take ships out of the Australasian trade to feed our people with supplies from nearer markets. That is the whole explanation. A ship in the North Atlantic trade can, in a given time, supply the United Kingdam with three times as much food as a ship in the Australian trade. In other words, for the purposes of food supply a ship plying in the North Atlantic is equivalent to three ships plying to the Antipodes. How Supplies arc Maintained, "This touches the whole secret of our success in maintaining—or nearly maintaining—supplies in spite of the cumulativo loss of shipping, and policy of Sir Joseph Maclay has been to get the utmost possible value out of every ton of shipping by economising it in this way. "In carrying out this policy," Sir Leo continued, "Sir Joseph has worked hand-in-hand with the Ministrv of Food and other Government purchasing departments, and it is only fair to the steamship owners to say that they have almost without exception, cordially assisted. "What this policy has meant to oldestablished shipping linos will be realised. Long years of enterprise have built up between the United Kingdom and far-distant ports trading connections of enormous value. The Shipping Controller has been compelled by the urgent exigencies of the case to take the ships off these distant trade routes, and so suddenly disestablish a business of slow growth, without any compensation. The line owners have ungrudgingly placed their foreign establishments and organisations at our disposal, hnd after the war they will have to rebuild businesses which the needs of the war have broken up. Ship Owners and Profits. "Now, with regard to freights," continued Sir Leo. "It is quite untrue lo say, as is alleged in some quarters, that British shipowners are now making profits out of the war. Their remuneration is what are called' tho Blue-book rate—the rates, that is, which _ were arranged by arbitration early in. the war, ,ind which then re- [ presented a margin of profit for the owners. Tins margin,, however, has been continuously reduced by the rises in costs, and shipowners are now representing that in many cases the Blue-book rates involve an actual loss. "The 'whole subject is being investigated. As regards the charge of excessive freights," added Sir Leo, "it is true there are :-hips at the present time which make a fortune by a single voyage, but it should bo clearly understood that thoy are neutral ships outside of our control." Referring to the effects of the submarine warfare, Sir Leo remarked:— "As to losses, nothing is more difficult than to express oneself in such a way as to state the. position without raising too gre;it hopes on the one hand, and unjustifiable alarms on the other. Tho rate of our losses has fallen so greatly since tho spring of 1917 that it is quite certain the. enemy cannot beat us or starve us by a submarine campaign. "On the other hand, the cumulative effect of tho losses of three years of war remains. While it is reassuring to "know that our monthly net losses are now nu more than about what they were even before the sink-at-sight policy was begun, the cumulative losses up to date mean a. big reduction in imports ; _ and that is why the need for exceeding care and economy in consumption remains, in spite of the great improvement which has been effected. "If, therefore, I tell you," added Sir Leo, "that the convoy system has been a magnificent success. I say no moro than the truth; but that success does not put us back in the position we occupied before the serious losses began. Only new building by Britain and America can do that; and it will be some time before that building tells and raises the aggregate tonnage position of the 'Allies." The Convoy System. Sir Leo proceeded to deal t.'ith what the convoy system has actually accomplished in the face of the U-boat ireiiace. "The public," ho said, "hear only of quite exceptional cases of loss, without knowing what excellent results have beon achieved. As regards homeward convoys, I have here a list of 166 homeward convoys concernixl wil'Ji no fewer than 2430 ships, carrying no less than 17,500,000' tons of cargo. And what was the loss on the whole? Almost exactly 1 1J- per cent.! "As to food ships, so well have they been cared for that the recent losses, including the exceptional cases to which public attention has been directed, have been exceedingly small. In the last few months, for example, scarcely any of the wheat homeward bound to the United Kingdom has been lost by enemy action. "But no one," added Sir Leo, "should find excuse for waste in that statement, for, as I have said, the cumulative effect of past losses remains. Further, we have unfortunately had to divert food cargoes from the United Kingdom to France and Italy to compensate them for their poor harvests. And thus we have had to deplete the finest store of wheat ever built up in this, country—built up, remember, in spite of the submarine campaign."