The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

390 THE MARINE REVIEW DEVOTED TO MARINE ENGINEERING, SHIP BUILDING AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES Published Monthly by The Penton Publishing Company Penton Building, Cleveland. - CHICAGO - - - - - 1521-23 Lytton Bldg. CINCINNATI - - 503 Mercantile Library Bldg. NEW YORK - - - - - - 507 West Street Bldg. PITTSBURGH - - - - - 2148-49 Oliver Bldg. MW ASHINGLON, Di Ci oh) ieee BIRMINGHAM, ENG. - 44 Home Life Bldg. Prince's Chambers Subscription, $2 delivered free anywhere in the world. Single copies, 20 cents. Back numbers over three months, 50 cents. Change of advertising copy must reach this office on or before the first of each month. The Cleveland News Co. will supply the trade with THE MARINE REVIEW through the regular channels of the American News Co. European Agents, The International News Co., Breams Building, Chancery Lane, London, E. C., England. Entered at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio, as Second Class Matter. (Copyright 1914, by Penton Publishing Company) October, 1914 Going After Germany's Trade There is published elsewhere in this issue an article dealing with the organized efforts that the British government is making to secure for British manufac- turers the oversea trade which was largely in the hands of Germany and Austria Hungary prior to the break- ing out of present hostilities. The promptitude with which Great Britain has set about this business is very characteristic and is one which it would be well tor the United States government to heed. In fact, the United States should lose no time in furthering the example set by Great Britain. The field is an open one and will be won by that nation which exhibits the greatest diligence and intelligence. ered, the advantage lies with the United States in capturing this trade because it is not hampered with shortage of labor, congestion of railways and the with- drawal of ships from which the belligerent nations, notably England, are now suffering. Notwithstanding the strain of war, the British people are going after trade as though nothing was happening in the world at all. The board of trade is systematically arranging into groups all the articles that it has hitherto imported from Germany and Aus- tria and is making a systematic inquiry to determine which of these articles it can manufacture itself to advantage and which can better be supplied by neutral nations. There is nothing haphazard about it. The government is apparently going to the length of sup- plying individual firms with useful information con- cerning trade openings through the mail. An immense amount of information of a practical nature is being collected from consular offices and other government officials and is being arranged for the use of British THE MARINE REVIEW All things consid-. October, 1914 manufacturers. A document is being devoted to each trade and they are being issued at the rate of three a day, which is, all things considered, a very remarkable performance. Germany's export trade throughout the British em- pire has been thoroughly dissected and has undergone almost microscopic scrutiny. There is no.such co- ordination in this country between government and business, but there should be. The United States can well afford to take a lesson from Great Britain on the subject of trade development through the employment of government agencies. We should drop these sense- less investigations of our internal affairs and devote our energies to the exploitation of foreign markets. An institution in this country similar to the British board of trade would be a very good thing to have. Admitting Ships to American Register President Wilson has by virtue of the authority granted him by the bill recently passed by Congress admitting certain foreign-built ships to American regis- ter, suspended two sections of the navigation act. The first of these sections is the provision that watch of- ficers of vessels of the United States registered for foreign trade shall be citizens of the United States. This section was suspended and it is ruled that all foreign-built ships which shall be admitted to United States registry under the act may retain the officers employed thereon for a period of seven years without regard to"citizenship. Any vacancy among such watch officers within two years may be filled without regard to citizenship but any vacancy thereafter must be filled by watch officers who are American citizens. The other provision suspended is that requiring survey, in- spection and measurement by officers of the United States of foreign-built ships. That provision is sus- pended for two years. About 200 ships which are owned by American citizens but are now flying foreign flags may come un- der American register at once and resume business without a change of watch officers. Several companies will take immediate advantage of the act and there is. no reason as far as anyone can foresee why our export trade should not again begin to move. Nearly all these vessels have heretofore been flying either British or Belgian flags and it is presumed, of course, that their officers have been getting the common rate of wages that are paid for their respective positions un- der these flags. It is not expected that their pay will be advanced to the scale usually paid on American ves- sels and it would seem as though the gate had been opened to them to see what they can do in open com- petition in oversea trade. They should possess, for the time being at least, many advantages. They are sail- ing under the neutral flag of a powerful nation and can safely engage in commerce to neutral ports. They will also be able to do a considerable business with the belligerent nations as a number of the ships of the fighting nations have been withdrawn for auxiliary