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wn Ne od Sai She Bing a MC" OS ie a Nine ee PETAR Oe te 64 THE MARINE REVIEW Much of this is being manufactured even now, more than 60,000 women and ‘mefi being engaged in these industries. Despite the havoc wrought by the Ger- mans, enough has been saved to enable these people to keep at work and pro- duce marketable goods. Glassware is one of Belgium’s specialties and _ its manufacture will be resumed on a large scale just aS soom as a proper survey can be taken of what has remained intact of the country’s industrial facil- ities and what is in need of recon- struction. “Belgium will get back into the com- mercial race without delay,” .said Mr. Nash. “The speed with which she does: this will depend upon two factors: the amount of industrial rehabilitation to be accomplished at home and the num- ber of vessels she will have at her dis- posal to export and import. ‘There is one thing Americans must bear clearly in mind when thinking of their own future relations with Belgium: Belgium is not a poor country., Far from it, She is one of Europe’s richest. She is like a man who has been in jail with plenty of resources but unable to utilize them. She has never been like a pauper and is not now. The war is over and her leading men are eager to put their great wealth to work. "You can best judge of Belgium’s courage when you consider her shipping plans. Prior to the war, only a few of her ships plied under the Belgian flag between Antwerp and New York and these under the management of the Red Star Line. King Albert is the most enthusiastic of all Belgian supporters of commercial expansion and in reaching - out for a fair share of the world’s ‘trade his country is looking to the United States for the same opportunities which we are according to other na- tions.” HIPPING to Belgian ports was dis- continued in October, 1914. Re- sumption of trading with those ports, now that the enemy has left the coun- try, cannot be expected until the dam- aged ports are repaired. The port of Zeebrugge suffered extensive damage as a result of the war, and it is difficult of access owing to the presence of ves- sels sunk in its approaches both by the British navy and by the Germans _ be- fore evacuation. A similar situation prevails at the port of Ostend. At both ports discharging plant, port equipmenr and railway facilities have been injured or destroyed by the enemy, and many bridges and roads have been wrecked. Some time must necessarily elapse be- fore either port is available for ordinary traffic. The port of Ghent is approached by the sea canal from Terneuzen, in Holland. The portion of this canal in Belgian territory was the scene of severe fighting between Belgian and German armies, and it is understood that cer- tain of the bridges spanning it have been destroyed and vessels have been sunk by Germans in the fairway. Until technical examination is made it is impossible to say whether the port of Ghent may soon be ready to receive merchant shipping. So far as is known the great port of Antwerp has not been extensively damaged, and it is possible for traffic via Antwerp to be resumed in the near future. The Lloyd Royal Belge will relocate its main headquarters in Antwerp. French ports being con- gested, only goods of prime necessity for Belgium may be shipped that way. Therefore Belgium will be dependent upon the facilities at Antwerp until her other ports are restored. In addition the whole Belgian rail- way transport system has been dis- organized by the war. Large num- bers of cars and many locomotives were lost at the time of the German invasion of Belgium, and the Belgian -Swedis! ~JEN company with those of other nations, Swedish shipbuilders have their attention focused on recon- structing the world’s tonnage. They are preparing to develop the indus~ try in their country to the greatest possible extent. While Sweden has skilled workmen, a scarcity of raw material was in evi- dence until recently, owing partly to the fact that Swedish steel works were not in a position to supply plates and shapes for large vessels. This difficulty is being overcome, however, as the mills are pre- paring to supply these products and Sweden hopes soon to be independent of outside sources for steel. Great improvement has also been made in the manufacture of auxiliary ma- chinery for ships, such as’ winches, cargo engines, etc. The principal Swedish — shipyards, which are located at Stockholm, Gothen- burg, Landskrona, Malmo and Gavle, have facilities for building several types of vessels ranging from small craft up to cargo carriers of 8000 tons. Most of the vessels under construction, how- ever, range from 1500 to 3000 tons. From the progress made it is evident that the northern kingdom is making plans to secure a share of the world’s shipbuilding and to play an important part in- the commerce carrying of the future. The Speedway shipyard of the Gas Engine & Power Co., and Charles L. gium it would be physically impossible Yards Ex pand She is of the large seagoing tug type, February, 1 rolling stock saved from the inva has been in continuous use on th French railways for military purposes throughout the war. Many railway bridges, viaducts, switches, crossings — and rails have been damaged by the — retreating enemy, and a normal sery- ice of inland transport must take time for re-establishment, particularly as many of the Belgian canals, which — form an important network of inland — communication, will be out of use until the barges formerly using them are again available. But even the — canals themselves have suffered ex- — tensive damage in many parts of the — country and must be repaired. Some shipping authorities declare that in view of these conditions, were there no restrictions whatever on the free export of all goods to Bel- for ordinary traffic to Belgium to be begun at once. Even if shipping facil- ities were provided, it would be useless to send large quantities of goods to Belgium until means of discharging and distributing them are available. Seabury & Co., Consolidated, Morris Heights, N. Y., recently launched its fourth mine sweeper for the government. The vessel was named the Sra GULL. 187 feet long, 35 feet beam and 7 feet draft. She is built of steel. Death of B. N. Baker Bernard N. Baker, shipping expert of nation-wide fame, died recently at Santa Barbara, Cal. His first work of prominence was to organize the Atlantic Transport Co., which he started with one steamer. He brought this line into a commanding position in ocean transportation service and at the time it was absorbed by the Inter- national Mercantile Marine Co., in 1902, it boasted a fleet of 17 fine vessels. As president of the national conser- vation congress, Mr. Baker took a leading part in building up and strengthening the merchant marine of the United States. It was he who supplied much of the important data for the shipping board bill which was presented to congress in 1915. He was one of the four men selected by Secretary McAdoo for the national subcommittee on transportation prob- — lems. President Wilson appointed Mr. Baker a member of the shipping board but he retired soon after the board was formed. He was born in Balti- more 65 years ago.