AMBITIOUS PROJECT

Hokitika Guardian, 17 January 1931, Page 6

AMBITIOUS PROJECT

A A IF: RICA’S SHIPBUILDING

BRITAIN CHALLENGED

BID FOR SEA SUPREMACY

Shipowners throughout the world, as well as shippers oi goods, are lace to face with a remarkable movement on tlie part of the United States, which threatens to disorganise ocean transport. About one-third of all the cargoes which enter and leave American ports are carried in British .ships; one third in the ships of twenty nine other nations; and only one-third in American ships (says Sir Archibald Hurd, managing editor of the “ Shipping World ”). At one time the American percentage was much smaller. Alter tlie Great War many Americans rebelled against this state of tilings, which they condemned as of humiliating dependence. They refused to recognise that the seas arc all one, and that slopping is an international industry, cargoes. in the absence of artificial restrictions, being carried by the vessels, irrespective of nationality, which convey them most, cheaply.- most expeditiously, and must safely. The American revolt began among the owners and shipbuilders. For a long time the rest of the people ol the United States took no interest in the matter. But once tli<‘ naval ambitions of American naval officers had been, in some degree, recognised in the A\ asliinglon Naval Treaty, they threw in their lot with the shipowners and shipbuilders, and became missionaries of the movement to restore the prestige by sea of the- United States, for before the Americans became an industrial people, earning high wages and living in groat comfort, they competed with the British in tlie sea transport of the world, owning some of the finest and swiftest- clipper shins. The naval officers claimed that a great merchant- navy was complementary to a war fleet. “ second to none.” and essential to national defence. Then politicians. including ninny Se n a tors and momhors of the House of Representatives, came to the con elusion that votes were to he obtained by supporting the erv for “ a merchant navy second to none.” They, in duo course, became missionaries. The crusade has now enlisted no moan part of the population ol 120.000.000 people. TAN PAY Kites’ .11 Ea V Y .SACRIFICE.

Sacrifices are being made in order to increase Americas prestige oy sea. It is estimated Dial the taxpayers have already spent about .£«!>• »,t>UO,CH)!J on merchant .shipping, ana now lnriher sums are being distributed by way of fclut,. loans lor snipmii.ding, and extravagant mail subsidies for si tip operating. 'file policy which is oeing pursued may be judged from the fa cl that a vessel operating between New York and England will receive a subsidy of upward of £BOOO for each voyage, while the -payment of a ship trading between New York and [Singapore will exceed £”24,000 on each ** run.’’ In. the. next ten years it is intended to .spend £53,600,000 in this way. In order to earn this “easy money.” the various companies concerned have had to agree to build new vessels, and already arrangements have been made for constr.ucting 08 cargo and passenger ships, which will cost upward of £d0,000,000. It is the most ambitious programme of its kind ever undertaken in nnv country.

Already the shipping, situation has undergone a dramatic change, as u result of the- American " sloping drive.’’ Down to the eve of the Great War, the ocean-going tonnage of the Fnited States never exceeded 3.(149,0. <) tons gross, amounting in 1914 to 2.979,284 tons gross. Then, owing to the threat of submarine and mine, t7ie American shipyards were set- to work, and by 1922 no less than 14.735.d00 tons pros were on the American register. Many of these silts, S-ate-imilt and Statrowned. had been so hastily constructed —some of wood and others of coueret * —that, they were uneconomic. Hundreds of them havo since been broken up as useless, but the Americans .-till possess 11.388.367 tons gross, and. apart- from the shipping on the Great Lakes, rank as the second commercial marine Rower of the world. I h rt British proportion of ocean-going tonnage

- -tha tl is vessels of large size and good speed—is 38.47, and the American proportion 19.84, the Germans coming next with 7.93 per cent. In the history of transport, there is no parallel to this expansion, and; in spite ol prophecies to the contrary, officers and men have been secured to man this greatly increased fleet- at rates of pay which are necessarily higher than those paid on British ships, and very much, higher than the rates m other merchant navies. Remarkable as lias been the progress, the people ol the United States are not satisfied. They are determined to porsorvere until they own as much shipping as is under the British flag.

FAILURE OF STATE OWNER SHIR. The first phase in the shioping movement was admittedly a failure. I he State having built and paid for 2.009 ships, it wa-i decided that the State should operate them, thus making, ns was hoped, a handsome profit. So the Shipping Board concerted plans l°r placing as many of the vesels as possible on the trade routes. But the greater number of vessels commissioned either directly by the Fleet- Corporation —a subsidiary of the Shipping Board or indirectly nrivate shipowners, acting as agents, the heavier the loss.

At last the deficit became so heavy that it was decided to abandon thjf> experiment- in State Socialism. The Am ericans, rich as they were, rebelled. Orders were issued that the ships should bo sold to American shipowners at very low prices, and that the unsaleable tonnage should he broken up. This dual operation is nearing completion, and a beginning has been made with the new policy of assisting the private shipowner with State funds to build and operate sloping on all the trade routes of the world.

During the interval which elapsed between the admission of the failure of State ownership and the inauguration of the new policy of subsidising private ownership, little or no shipbuilding took place. Of the sea-going vessels under the American flag only 4.1 per cent are less than five years old, as compared with 22.5 per emit, in the case of the British merchant navy. So though 25 per cent of the ships of the United States-are laid up in idleness because there are insufficient cargoes available, tlie American shipyards, in addition to the many men-of-wnr which are now under construction. are actively engaged in turning out merchant ships. They have on the- slips about 300,000 lons, ranking consequently second to the British yarcte, and many more ve-sels are about to be laid down. This movement in the United States, supported by the lavish expenditure of state funds, is a serious challenge t o other merchant navies, and especially to the British merchant navy, which receives no- assistance in any shape or from the Government.

BURDEN OF AMERICAN DEBT

British shipping, in common with other industries, is burdened with national taxation three times as heavy as American taxation. That disparity is due, in some degrees, to the payment of £32,0'.)0,0(X)\ which is being made each year to the United States on account, of the munitions supplied to the Allies for the defence of the common cause during tlie Great A\ai. •b< Americans did not lend money but supplied munitions, winch were sold at fabulous war prices. The position m this matter was summarised m tie following words by a broad-minded American business man: “We, the Croesus nation, demand of struggling staggeii„„ England, not only the tour thousand million dollars, because she must have time in which to pay. Because she is in trouble we charge her seven thousand million dollars (£1,400,000,000) for time. We have no moral right to a farthing from England.” \s a matter of fact, the debt was incurred on behalf of all the Allies. General Pershing, who commanded the raw American armies raised in 19D. has admitted that American-made munitions were used in avoiding defeat during the time which elapsed before the Americans were in a condition to fight. “AYe gave tlie money knowing it would lie used to hold .the Boohe until we could prepare. Fifteen months! Think of it! We sent our first men in June, and they were not ready to go into the front line until the following year.” Then payment of the sum of £1.984009.000 which the British taxpayers have agreed to pay over a series of years in settlement of the debt can be made only by means of goods or services. the latter including freights oiD American exports and \mports, for half the gold of the world is already stored in the vault*; at Washington. What the outcome of this shinning comnetition will he it is too early to nrophesv. A great deal will depend on, ;lie maintenance of the efficiency of British shipping, which was never higher than to-day: scoondlv. on th< solidarity of the British peoples, who should regard themselves as co-part-ners in the task of supporting the sunremaev of the British merchant na\y. winch is the lifeline of the Empire: and thirdly, on tin 1 ability of the Am-orb-tiis. now confronted with dark (lavs, in spare the vast sum which their shipping plans involve.