SHIPPING AND ITS TROUBLES.

Taranaki Daily News, 25 June 1918, Page 6

SHIPPING AND ITS TROUBLES.

To the Editor. Sir,—ln your issue of to-day Mr. A. Morton, president of the National Dairy Association, speaking at their meeting, refers to the shipping difficulties. He says that while spa«c could not be found for dairy machinery, space could be found for large quantities of liquor. Ho had been approached by a firm ia New Zealand, who complained that it was aJbsolutely impossible to obtain space for machinery from one end of New Zealand to the other, as the large space was required for the shipment of barrels of beer. Does Mr. Morton want people to believe that only beer was shipped The beer drinkers have British rights the same as sealskin coats, silks and satins, musical machinery, pianos, motor-car& for pleasure, high-class goods of all kinds for highclass people and tea drinkers. Poor Paddy gets Warned for all funny things said, and the beer drinkers get blamed for shortage in shipping space. This me of a statement which was made by a prohibitionist who saw a truckload of ibcer barrels going to a port. He said it was a trainload. The following is what the Christchurch Sun (Apri) 27, 181S) has to say about shipping difficulties:— STORAGE DIPFICSOI/riES. Coastal shipping and truokinji troubles have been a disturbing factor to trade this season, and, in tact, have never loomed more darkly on the business horizon. Now come 3 a fresh difficulty to cap the merchants' troubles. Briefly, storage space is now at a premium; it is neJcE to impossible to procure in Lyttelton, and the position is little better in the city. This is no exaggerated or alarmist statement, for, as far as Lyttelton is concerned, there is really a total closing down, the Railway Department 'having taken a hand. It refuses now to truck produce to the port unless to fill allotted shipping space. In this it is acting within its rights, for all sheds there are said to be filled, whether owned by private concerns, Harbor Board, or Railway Department. In 'act, potatoes are said to be stacked lu the shipping yards and protected only by tarpaulins. Both here and at the port the difficulty in securing storage is accentuated by the fact that so much wool has accumulated and has encroached largely on the available space. For various reasons, apart from the question of the effect on the insurance, few lines of produce can be stored where there is wool. The shortage in coastal, not to mention overseas, shipping, which was stated to have reached an acute stage last week, is as bad, with as hopeless a prospect of relief as ever. The small amount of North'lsland freight available is not even coping with the weekly needs, let alone reducing the arrears. The immediate result is that most of. the markets are depressed. Auckland and other customers are "screaming" for produce, whilst here many merchants are practically holding off purchasing fresh supplies from the fanner. The present position, as ca n be realised, is bad, aad even the most optimistic are entertaining doubts as to possible eventualities. A danger is that there may be a tumble in values- It is recognised that the season opened with extremely high prices ruling for many lines. The trouble now should test whether or not they were unduly inflated. Fortunately, there is as yet an absence of panic, as merchants are dealing with caution, so that with luck the trouble should not develop. One thing is apparent, and that is, with the small amount of shipping in sight, the question of storage offers little chance of improvement in the near future. Mr. Morton is not the only person who has complained about beer barrels causing all this trouble- It has been frequently referred to by extreme prohibitionists, but the honest-thinking people will see by the above that 'beer is not the trouble. Will the New Zealand Alliance think over the words of the two greatest statesmen of the present ageLloyd George and President Wilson. The words are. Be united, be loyal, be just to all. Can the alliance claim these words? No; they are striving to cause trouble by asking for an election and expect to gain an advantage -while our men ».ra away fighting an unscrupulous enemy for our freedom and peace and justice.—l am, etc., ' ■ D. GOODWIN. Hawera, June 21.