The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1918. SERIOUSNESS OF SHIPPING SITUATION.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 March 1918, Page 4

The Daily News. THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 1918. SERIOUSNESS OF SHIPPING SITUATION.

A iew days jince a cablegram ga>'e Admiral Tirpitz the credit of statiug that if the" U-boat war wa3 continued unflinchingly Germany would get peace from England ensuring a' nav.il base for Usnntny on the Flemish coast. The remark was one akin to many others coming from the same source, but we cannot ignore the fact that it vva.i probably based on the serious nature of the British shipping situation, concerning which the First Lord of the Admiralty lias promised to make a full statement in the House of Commons. Mr. Bonar Law, wluii replying to the debate on mercantile shipping, stated distinctly that shipbuilding was not being retarded for lack

of men, who were being brought back from France, where necessary. What, t'l*-!], is the reason for the failure of the shipbuilding .programme from which such great results were cxperW? By implication, Mr. Bonar Law leads us to consider that the men at tl.j shipbuilding yard' are not doing all thoy can to er,.edite she work, and this is to some ext.jit borne out 'oy the action of the' livetters in entering upon a "go slow" policy—presumably inferring they are making a well-paid job spin out as long as possible. There is, however, another asp?ct of the question, namely, the action of the Government in establishing national shipyards, instead of taking the utmost advantage of the private yarcN

in the country. That is a question of policy connected with which arc several very important considerations, the main one, probably being the cost. It is possible that the private shipbuilding firms and companies, knowing the seriousness of the position, regard it as being favorable for large profits, though it is sincerely to be hoped that such is not the case. Certainly, after what had been prom : sed, the output for January was most disappointing. According to one | authority it is doubtful whether more than twenty per cent, of the machinery in these private yards is working more ! than one shift, while it is also stated | that the firms are sii art of the number | 01 men required to expedite the output. | There is a screw loose somewhere, and ! >he position demands a speedy remedy. | At the same time it would seem that if ! the Covernent is competing with the private firms for skilled labor the output must inevitably be retarded, for not only is labor needed for shipbuilding, but also for constructing Government yards, and it is tbis complication which may account for the failure to turn out the number of ships which could be produced by concentration on the work of shipbulding

at the yards already in existence. Possibly as regards ordinary labor there would not be insuperable difficulties in arranging for the supply both for prlvato and Government work, but as to the skilled labor the supply is limited. The Government, however, persists in going on with its scheme, and by taking that course it is not likely that the private yards will be stimulated to their utn-ost efforts. "It will be remembered that at the inter-Allied conference held at Paris a resolution was adopted for . the maximum utilisation of tonnage, and the creation of an Inter-Allied organisaticn for the purpose of co-ordinating 1 act "on and establishing a common pror gramme to restrict importations so as tn 'liberate the greatest amount of ton--1 nage for the transportation of American troops America stands pledged to supply a large number of new shipj, but it is important to note that she, too, has failed to carry out her programme; also that America decide on «onstructing

enormous shipbuilding yards, but utilising private iik nts fur supplying the various parts o ' Ihe new shijis. Tlii.s naturally will cause delay for it time, but when the scheme is ill full operation may speedilj make up for the time lost. "Whether the same result can be achc-ved in the Motherland appeal's to be open to question. In January anil February the American output amount - to 190,000 tons, and it is expected 220,000 , tons will be launched during the current raoi.th, but this is far below what was .■xpei ted, for the output of .">00,1)00 a moßih was the quantity assigned by the Brit'th Shipping Controller. It is the posi'/on of all'airs in Britain that causes most concern, consequent on the Govminimi's shipyard scheme and the opposition that lies 'been evinced thereto, the strength of which may he estimated ■by the appeal that was recently made in Boi.se of Commons, by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, not to support the idea of taking shipbuilding out ol the Admiralty's hands. The shipbuilding employers and workers realise the seriousness of the position, but they have a grievance against the Government inasmuch as after the l'remier had slated to their deputation that the various shipbuilding departments would be co-ordinated, they sent a reply asking that ihe .joint committee of masters and men should be consulted before action "as taken all'eeting ihe industry generally, but that, request has not been heeded. Such treatment is resented and is capable of creating a retarding influence, while co-operating action would have proved a stimulus. The one great aim should he the output of the greatest volume of tonnage possible in the shortest period so that there may ho available sufficient ships for securing the require.l imports and for the transport of Amwiciii troop.-. The one gleam of satisfaction is that contained in the statement of the Secretary to the United States Navy—that the world's shipping construction now exceeds the ravages of tin- submarines. At the same time the urgency of the shipping problem is exemplified in the drastic measures taken in relation to Dutch vessels in consequence of German opposition to the Anglo-Dutch agreement. Probably there was a certain amount of hlulf on both sices, hut Britain and the United States recall to ha\c these Dutch ships even if it becomes a question of seizure. The "!ans for utilising neutral shipping were agreed to at the filter-Allied Conference, hut the real remedy for the present STave crisis is in both Britain and America pressing forward with the utmost possible speed the output of tonnage suftle;e;ii for their requirements and to meet the wastage caused by Hun piracy. A Council is now sitting in London to ,'cnvard that object, hut it is also necessary to perfect anti-submarine devices so as to reduce the losses as much as possible.