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_ poor September, 1921 of depression, to which the business is peculiarly liable. No non-operating owner can hope for anything but loss, save perhaps in war time, unless he entrusts his ships only to managers of experience and integrity and gives them all necessary authority to act without hesitation or delay. Efficiency of type is fundamental. Un- less a ship is suitable for the trade in which she is to be used, the best economy in operation, and the most ex- perienced and diligent management can obtain only a poor result. And _ this means that, whenever rivalry is keen, and rates closely cut, the poorer types must inevitably give way in the process of economic selection. Wooden Ships Were Failures An extreme example of selective ex- tinction of this kind may be seen in the war-built wooden steamers now laid up all along the shore. Without reviving the controversy which pre- ceded the adoption of the "wooden- ship" program; admitting for the sake of argument, the decision to build, as a war expedient, was wise, the com- mercial unsuitability of this type was demonstrated by its quick disappear- ance even while steel steamers of a class were still making large profits. The wooden hulls had about every commercial. fault: that). al ship «can possess. They were of uneconomical size, say about 3500 tons, and of their deadweight capacity nearly 30 per cent was used for fuel and stores. Hence their cargo capacity was relatively small and their operating cost, per cargo ton, high. With low speed and a relatively high fuel consumption it would not have required a very hard fought market to put them out of busi- ness, everi though they -had been "strong and staunch'. But they were neither. They were built mostly of unseasoned timber and planking which would not stand still after it was in frame, and their seams could throw oakum nearly as fast as they could be calked. Consequently they were leaky and having been built in great haste, by labor often contemptuously described as "cow-shed carpenters", they had in- herent structural weaknesses which the thrust of powerful engines designed for Steel hulls did not help at all. This re- sulted in enormous repair bills, en- hanced insurance, and great loss of time. Some of these ships were idle for repairs, etc., fully half the time. They were a fine example of how a vicious plan and poor construction may make a ship commercially worthless. Expert selection of plans; low con- Sumption, relative to speed and capac- ity; large cubic capacity and low repair have been satisfactory. MARINE REVIEW costs, which mean thorough and _skill- ful builders, these are the first requi- sites of an economical and competi- tive ship. It is the experience of the last few years that for ordinary all round cargo steamers, the reciprocating engine, with Scotch boilers, and in a model which can achieve 10 knots under average conditions on a consumption of about 3% tons' of Oil: or 5 tons of 'coal per 1000 tons per day, is a good competi- tive proposition. For size, 5000 to 6000 tons cargo capacity will be more eco- nomical to operate than smaller sizes; and easier to provide with employment than the larger types, say 7500 to 10,- 000 tons, For ships of this type neither the turbine engine nor the water-tube boiler The old type of engine is more familiar to the av- erage engineer while the turbine, a more delicate machine, requires a spe- cially trained engine room staff' which is not always obtainable. As the regu- lar lines get the preference from either deck or engine room officers, and are constantly recruiting the best men from the tramp service, the personnel of the latter is rather migratory and the up- building of a trained force by selection and promotion becomes very difficult. Consequently, the lines tend toward greater efficiency in this respect, while the irregular service, as a whole, re- mains at a constant disadvantage when equipped with mechanisms which re- quire a picked personnel. : Will Get Best Results Since, then, the tramp owner or agent must merely do the best he can under these unfavorable conditions, the motive power most familiar to the average officer and most nearly '"fool-proof" is apt to attain the best results. So far as the engine is concerned the recip- rocating type comes nearest to this description. As to boilers, a compe- tent engineer remarks that while a water tube boiler will produce 8 to 12 kilograms of steam per square meter of heating surface, the Scotch boiler can produce from 25 to 35 kilograms per square meter with practically the same amount of fuel. The greater speed in raising steam with the tubu- lar type of boiler is fully offset, under tramp conditions, by the greater care required, greater liability to steam leak- age and rapid deterioration under ne- glect. Whatever the causes, most op- erators will assert from experience that the reciprocating, Scotch boiler type is the one to select for the catch-as-catch- can business of the ordinary irregular freighter. : Briefly summarizing these conclusions America, if she is to compete in the ward, = it°7is 409 general foreign carrying trade, must get rid of the deadwood in her present fleet, reduce the active units to the needs of the market and place them un- © der the care of experienced and eco- nomical operators clothed with author- ity to meet competition amid conditions changing always daily and often hour- ly. The latter is essential. Bureau- cratic machinery is too cumbrous and dilatory to compete with the spur of selfish interest in a worldwide compe- tition. This is irrespective of person- nel. The best care and attention of the best men cannot beat a locomotive with .an ox-team. . In addition our maritime laws should be so revised as to relieve us of arti- ficial restrictions which now accentuate the inherent disadvantages. Tariff Will Be a Factor The impending tariff legislation will have a possibly decisive influence on the future of our carrying trade. To broadly discuss the relative merits of high or low tariff, in the past, in the present, or under the developing condi- tions of the future, is not within the scope .of 'this' paper, but so far as shipping is concerned, it would surely | be absurd to maintain a fleet of car- riers and then enact statutes which would reduce their employment to a minimum. Since the profitable opera- tion of ships is dependent upon the carriage of cargoes inward and out- obvious. that tax laws framed to exclude imports may pre- clude the profitable operation of our merchant fleet. Concerning the rela- tive merits of "free trade" 'and "pro- tection" upon our general prosperity there have been three generations of controversy arid the end is not yet. But concerning the influence of high protection upon foreign trade there can be no legitimate controversy at all. The history of that trade is conclusive on this point. Germany, a highly protected coun- try, "went after' England's' trade with government aid, subsidies, discriminat- ing rates, and every commercial weapon at her command. But she made no secret of the fact that she needed a victorious war to achieve lasting suc- cess. It is often assumed, and sometimes definitely asserted that England's for- eign trade is the result of her mer- chant fleet. There could be no greater fallacy. Her fleet is the result of her trade. For 70 years she has had ports open to the products of the world, which provided her homeward cargoes, and cheap, high quality coal which, combined with her manufactures, filled her outbound tonnage. Americans are thoroughly familiar with the import-