BRITISH AND AMERICAN SHIPPING.

Levin Daily Chronicle, 2 October 1917, Page 4

BRITISH AND AMERICAN SHIPPING.

Under recent legislation British

shipping is taxed 80 per cent, of its excess profits, while American shipping will soon come completely under the control of the State to the same extent as that of Great Britain. Under such conditions, consid - ering that so large a proportion of British-owned shipping is engaged in "controlled" trades, who is it that profits most from the high freight rates ruling at present? The answer is, the neutrals. In the South American trade from New York, for instance, the vast majority of the shipping employed at present is of neutral ownership, and while American and British ships are requisitioned for other trades, Norwegian, Swedish and Dutch ships are left free to charge all the traffic will bear. Any agreement between the allied governments having as its object the reduction of freight rates which failed to consider ways and means to curb the appetite of neutrals is therefore bound to result in a fiasco. We have had instances of such a fiasco in the British scheme for the control of coal freights to France and Italy, which has so far succeeded only in reducing the earnings of allied vessels without influencing neutrals, save to drive them away from controlled trades and create a scarcity of tonnage. The key to the problem lies, therefore, in the devising of means to compel neutrals to fall in line with any remedied arrangements proposed by the Allies, instead of permitting them to monopolise every trade not regulated by the allied governments and grow rich while the nations from which they needs must derive the prime necessities of life are squeezing their citizens to prevent "profiteering." The remedy is already in the hands of the United States, thanks to the existing system of export licenses. The neutrals contend that they must obtain supplies from this country or face a famine. But this nation, says "Shipping Illustrated," is equally justified in demanding that neutrals lend a hand if they would escape famine and in their shipping neutrals have the means of affording such help. Let us hope that the nations at war will not be bluffed by neutral threats to side, with Germany, and that henceforth the prosecution of the war will be conduct - ed with the energy that alone can make a speedy end of it.