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Experts in This Cou rate reduction came without warning, but the in- teresting part was that the shipping board at Wash- ington met it on the same day with equal reductions in rates. These reductions in rates are not misjudged in the steamship world. While it may look as though the United States is at last beginning to engage in a gigantic rate cutting fight with England, such a thing is not as yet established. The reduction made in rates on shipping board vessels may have been made without taking due account of the investment in those ships. Chairman Hurley has announced from France that the govern- ment would write off about one-third of the building cost in order to make it possible to operate these _.ships on rates more nearly equal to the low rates which might be quoted by American privately owned ships built at lower costs. ' In France, some arrangement is being worked out for the employ- May Use ment of German tonnage which has rg Pear e te been tied up in German ports dur- ing the war. It has been pro- Tonnage posed that the United States take about 450,000 tons of the German passenger boats and use them to bring troops home. England would acquire a like amount of tonnage for the same purpose. This would undoubtedly work some relief to private owners. If a standing army is to be maintained in Europe by all, the allies for one year, and this German tonnage is to be released by the peace conference, the re- quirements for transports by our navy would undoubted ly. dwindle consid- Revise Brokerage Fee HILE: the shipbrokers have not succeeded in getting all they desire from the shipping board, they have at least been successful in persuading the board to increase - the shipbroker’s commission from 3% of 1 per cent, as provided for in the agreement of May, 1918, to 1 per cent in the recently issued shipping agreement. There are ’ hopes that in due course a com- mission of 1% per cent will be granted. The lower percentage, it is understood, was fixed in view of the high charter rates which have prevailed during the war. All charters made between neutral owners and American firms must be approved by the shipping board. The policy of the board has been to fix a maximum rate, and this is still 35s. In other respects, there is now a free chartering market, and several charters have been made below the figure of 35s. There is much uncertainty in the market and many shippers and shipping firms are inclined to play a wait- ing game. erably by spring. The work of tran's porting troops and car- rying supplies to the standing army in Europe would be so re- duced as to make it possible to return to the private Amer- ican lines most of their larger ships which have been com- mandeered by the government during the war. W hen this is being worked out some slight reduction, gen- erally, in freight rates may be expected. But that reduction will not be so great if the ex- various manifestations of public appreciation. 119 ntry awa Abroad MARKET UPSET High Oriental Rate Affects Pacific Market—Insurance Rates Up—Plan Use of Hun Ships port trade of the United States develops in the mean-— time. Some measure of hope of a better popular under- standing of the marine situation is held out in the Most of the powerful commercial organizations have under- taken either to appoint special committees to deal with shipping subjects or have announced their intention of dealing specifically with the problem at their gen- eral meetings. The American Bankers’ association has appointed a committee of 15 prominent bankers to serve as a committee on commerce and marine. Robert F. Maddox, Atlanta, Ga., heads the “committee. The National Foreign Trade council has announced the marine question to be the main subject for discussion at its next general meeting in Chicago. The shipping board has called in a committee of experts to advisé with it upon the best plans for altering the design of the cargo vessels built during : the war emergency and to change the plans ofthe ships now under construction or contract in order to make them better adapted to peace-time usage. The committee consists of J. A. Farrell, president of the, United “States: Steel: Corps: Py AS.) Peanklin, president of the International Mercantile Marine Co.; | George S. Dearborn, president of the American- Hawaiian Steamship Co.; H. H. Raymond, of the © Clyde and Mallory lines, and F. D. M. Strachan, president of the Strachan Shipping Corp. Insurance underwriters have a growing business and, in view of Insurance the losses sustained this winter and Bois the rough weather now reported, ; reports have been heard of ad- Advance vancing the rates. The larger amount of business, however, it S would seem has distributed the : risks more generally and the removal of mines and other dangers to navigation may pave the way to lower rates. Lower insurance rates, however, are not = immediately expected. In the new federal tax bill it is proposed to levy a special tax of 5 per cent on’ a marine insurance business written by cable transfer in : the United States with a foreign insurance company. : The effect of this, it would seem, would be to pen- alize any vessel which desired to take out insurance in a foreign country, and make it possible for the domestic insurance companies to advance their rates in proportion to the 5 per cent tax. The legislators ‘ in Washington, undoubtedly, aim to give encourage- ment to the building up of American maritime busi- ness and the tax was subscribed to on that account. : The position of the underwriter is becoming one of more independence every day. Business is devel- 3 oping with such rapidity that the time has now come ~ 2