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NEW YORK > No. 4 VOL. 37. BRITISH SHIP BUILDING DUR- ING 1907. The New Year number of the Ship- ping World, London, is brimful of in- teresting and very readable informa- tion regarding the ship building in- dustry of the United Kingdom. The ship building year of 1907, this jour- nal says, has surprised the prophets and produced results which--in Ste- vensonian phrase--have met with "the astonished consideration of men and angels. lt has mot beem a «year ot big ships like its predecessor. The Lusitania, the Mauretania, the Adri- atic and the Dreadnought belong to 1906, although 1907 reaps the benefit. Neither has it been a record year in total output. That distinction also be- longs to 1906, and 1907 must be con- tent to take second place. And yet it has its own records, its own features, its exclusive characteristics. Never before has the Clyde produced so large a tonnage, nor so many units.- Seldom if ever has the Tyne launched so important a number and type of warships-as in the 12 months just end- ed) Again, as in. 100s) thee Vea. can- ries off the blue riband of these ship building islands) The Tees has been remarkable for the production of rec- ord cantilever-framed topside tank steamers, and the introduction of a new system of ship building. The Hartlepools have turned out some noteworthy craft for foreign owners. The Isle of Wight and Southampton have given the fastest warships afloat, and Birkenhead a vessel which has been built to -eclipse everything in speed. Ireland, too, has not been be- hind. From Belfast has come the largest ocean-going oil-carrying barge in the world, and the largest passen- ger steamer for the South American trade. In many respects, therefore, 1907 has proved itself to be a mem- CLEVELAND, JANUARY 23, 1908. orable year, and not the least surpris- ing' feature of it has been the unex- pected output. oe To understand how all this has come about, we have to go back to the au- tumn of 1905. At that period things generally were believed. to have touched bottom... Labor..in. the ship yards was relatively cheap, while the prices of ship building materials, both raw and finished, had seldom been so low. The hour, from the ship own- er's point of view, was never so pro- pitious, and as a direct. consequence we witnessed the sudden development in the placing of orders for new ton- nage which distinguished September and October of 1905, and which was repeated with somewhat more caution in the early weeks of 1906. The re- sult we already know in the record ship building output of the last-named year. But even the enormous totals reached during 1906 did not clear off all the orders on the books of the builders, and as a result 1907 bene- fited from the "boom" of 1905 and 1906. Indeed, although the slackness now so keenly felt has been long pre- dicted and anticipated, it was averted until about three or four months ago; and it is almost certain that its full effect has not yet been- experienced. So that, notwithstanding the depres- sion of the last quarter, the year gen- erally has achieved wonderfully good results; and though it owes its suc- cess in large measure to the full-pres- ' sure activities of 1906, it is none the less real on that account. It has' fal- sified pessimistic feports and con- founded the prophets of evil, and while it remains true that the depres- sion appears likely to be accentuated in the current year, the figures for 1907 indicate a prosperity which one does not usually associate with a lean year. 'called here. Many causes operating together have contributed to the existing de- pression. They are well known to most observers of our industrial ac- tivities, but they may be profitably re- Briefly they are these: (a) The existing glut of tonnage: fol- lowing upon the record output from our ship yards during the past two years; (b) the continued lowness of freights,, partly, if not wholly, to be accounted for by the excess in avail- able tonnage; (c) the new load lines, which have added so. materially to the carrying capacity of vessels now afloat; (d) the high bank rate--7 per cent since Nov. 7 last--and dearness of money; .(e) the dearness of labor and material in ship construction; (f) dear bunker coal, high-working costs for the ship owner on board his ship at sea and in harbor, and port deten- tion; and (g) competition from the large liners in general cargo carry- ing. All these -militate- against the placing of new orders, and although some of the causes named are tem- poraty in effect, others are likely to remain and will have to. be accepted in the future. It is satisfactory to note, for example, that the long-continued dearness in ship material shows signs of weakening. Steel ship plates for over three-quarters of the year ruled £7 10s per ton, and only in Novem- ber last were they reduced to £7. Even at this figure the price is too high in the existing circumstances, and indications are not wanting that in a few weeks they will be sold gen- erally at £6 10s "per. ton; sand yeu, probably at a lower figure still. Wages, too, are about to be reduced in prac- tically all the ship yards of the coun- try, and consequently two of the most important causes we have enumerated will be removed at no distant date. But improvement will have to be ef-