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

February, 1919 Here the government invested $14,- Tribute from England Vy Bar W. R. Gray and Edward F. Clarke, of the North of Ireland Shipbuilding Co., think of American shipbuilding practice: “If British methods and appliances had been less traditional and more modern, the vexed ques- tion of the dilution of labor in the steel working departments in the old country would have offered less difficulty and would probably have been found as easy of solution, comparatively speaking, as was the case in the engineering trades when the over- whelming demands for munitions of war opened the eyes of all to the possibilities of the case. “Every shipbuilder in the United States appears to have made it his rule to launch three vessels per year from each berth and some are actually doing it at the present time. “To the question, what will America do with the large mercantile fleet she is building when the necessities of the great war have been overcome? the reply of the American is that a great carrying trade is being planned between North American ports to the east and west coasts of South America, Central America, Russia, China, Japan and Aus- tralia. Doubtless the enormous expansion of the world’s trade which must -take place when the last and greatest of the world’s wars has ended, will provide ample scope for American enterprise, and at the same time leave our own shipbuilding and carrying trades in a stronger position, than they enjoyed before the war. “It might be as well if shipbuilders, and also the shipbuilding trade unions in Great Britain, were to pay very close attention to what is being done on the other side of the Atlantic, and not to be chary in ruthlessly scrapping old practices, hoary traditions, and out-of-date methods and machinery where the advantages to be gained are obvious. British manufacturers in other fields of industry have found it to their advantage (some times after long hesitation that nearly cost them their best markets) to learn something from the American manufacturer and why not the British shipbuilder?” lan plant of the THE MARINE REVIEW Ocean Rates Reduced HAT is thought of the order issued by the shipping board early in January reducing ocean freight rates? The American Exporters & Importers’ associa- tion telegraphed J. H. Rosseter, director of opera- tions: ; “You state rates are effective immediately, but we would remind you that at our interviews we pointed out that all reductions made must become effective on all shipments since Dec. 1, in order to cover freight loaded on steamers recently dis- patched or which have not yet left port. Otherwise the relief will not be what the situation demands, as shippers must be placed on an equal footing with their foreign competitors who have enjoyed reduced rates for weeks past. Unless a reduction is made in rates covering goods recently dispatched from New York, as pointed out to you, all ship- ments subject to rejection on account of the present disturbed condition of markets abroad will be refused because of similar goods being enroute from foreign markets at lower rates of freight.” A prominent New York slfip broker said: “Nothing is so bewildering as to try and study out the aims of our government officials at Wash- ington. Are they bent on destroying whatever re- mains of commerce by the exercise of inexorable and arbitrary powers? It now looks as though the thousands of tons of merchandise that have been held in this port for weeks in the hope of securing tonnage for South America, will have to remain .here all winter, unless something takes place to change the position of vessel owners. A few months more of government rule will drive every vessel owner out of business. “It is easy to understand why there has been a reduction in freights on the Pacific coast, where the Japanese are coming into keen competition with the American shipping interests, but over on this side where such a condition does not exist, the action of the United States shipping board is hard to divine.” Bethlehem Ship- equipped to undertake the contract 000,000, approximately, for the pur- pose of building extensions in order to accommodate the construction of large merchant ships for the Emer- gency Fleet corporation. The invest- ment made in extending the yard of the Seattle Construction & Drydock Co., Seattle, Wash., was estimated by officials of the Fleet corporation at $6,000,000, while $3,100,000 was invest- ed in extensions to the Sparrows Point yard of the Bethlehem Ship- building Corp., $1,500,000 being in- vested in extensions to the Union yard of the same corporation, and $1,000,000 each in the five concrete shipbuilding yards. The operating agents and locations of the concrete yards are: the Scofield Engineering Co., San Diego, Cal.: San Francisco Shipbuilding Co. Oakland, Cal.; Lib- erty Shipbuilding Co., Wilmington, N. €.; Fred T. Ley & Co., Mobile, Ala., and A. Bentley & Sons, Jack- sonville,° Fla. Smaller sums were similarly invested in extensions to the yards of the Newport News Ship- building & Drydock Co. Newport “News, Va.; the Newburgh Shipyards, Inc., Newburgh, N. Y., and the Har- Tre a Pe yas ae SR PT OE TT CE ERD erat, tone tet building ‘Corp. The Emergency Fleet corporation expects to realize upon the ultimate liquidation of all the investments made in extensions to private yards. In every case it is provided that when the ships contracted for are completed the yard owners may ex- ercise an option to purchase the ex- tensions, made with government money, at a fair valuation. If this option is not exercised the govern- ment has authority to scrap the ex- tension and realize upon it in this manner. The concrete shipyards are being built upon a plan similar to that followed in the building of the fabricated steel yards. The agents may exercise an option to purchase the plants upon a fair valuation when the ship construction contracts have been concluded. NVESTMENTS made in steel fab- ricating factories are protected in the same manner as are the invest- ments made in private shipyard ex- tensions. When a fabricating shop, which is to make material for the steel fabricating shipyards, was not upon the scale demanded by the government and was unable to raise the capital to build extensions, the Emergency Fleet corporation ad- vanced the money to build such exten- sions. Approximately $3,000,000 was invested in this manner, the largest. single investment, $900,000, being made in the construction of shop ex- tensions to the factory of the Stand- ard Steel Car Co., Pittsburgh.- A total of $750,000 was invested at the Baltimore Car & Foundry Co. Had the war lasted six months longer the government’s investments in shipyards, steel fabricating shops and equipment machinery factories would probably bave been twice the amount they are today. The rapid- ity with which the Emergency Fleet corporation is disposing of these in- vestments seems to indicate clearly the desire of the officials in charge of the shipbuilding program not to commit the government to a_ policy of owning and operating shipbuilding yards whatever may be the ultimate policy adopted in regard to the own- ership and operation of American merchant ships. sf LOR aes Meee ere