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70 speed of seven knots. Recently Messrs. Stephen drydocked the ex-German lin- er Kicoma, which has been acquired by the Anchor line for its eastern trade. Many alterations will be required be- fore this vessel is adapted for the trade of her new owners. Extensive repairs are being carried out by the same firm on the steamer SHERBURN, which came to Glasgow with a_ badly damaged stem. At both the establish- ments of Barclay, Curle & Co. there is a large amount of work on_ hand. Among -the vessels undergoing repairs at the Clydeside Works, Govan, is the Anchor liner CastTaLiA, which is now almost ready for sea after extensive bottom damage made good. The large yacht Beryt is being con- verted into a cable-laying steamer. At the Elderslie dockyard of the same firm another interesting conversion job is in progress. This is the changing of a cargo steamer into an oil-tank vessel on the circular tank principle. Another big job is the repair of the CANADIAN Warrior, a Great Lakes built steamer, which has involved the re- newal of about 60 plates on the bot- tom of the steamer and 85 floors. Other vessels in the hands of Scotch dockyards are the Cyar and the Kursx and the ex-German steamer BRANDEN- BURG. kk oe REPORT issued. by Messrs. =o Workman, Clark. & Co.,.-ship- builders; Belfast, of the work in their yards during the year, states that six new vessels of a total gross tonnage of 34,433 were launched and seven ships reconditioned. (The vessels launched dur- ing 1920 included two large meat car- rying steamers, fitted for burning and carrying oil fuel; three large fruit steamers, and one general cargo steam- er. Of the seven vessels reconditioned the largest was the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co.’s twin screw steamer ARA- GUAYA, which had served as a military hospital ship. Ship Orders Canceled Many shipbuilding orders have been canceled on the Clyde, owing to the high cost of production. These include a 14,000-ton steamer for an Antwerp firm. The Lloyd Belge shipyard will practically suspend building early next year as it is found exenemy ships on the market can be purchased at about £8 ($40) per ton less than the net cost of construction. With the pound sterling equal to 55 francs in. Belgium it is equivalent to the pavment of double prices for Clyde built tonnage A num- ber of cargo vessel contracts for Scan- dinavian owners have also been can- celed. Sir Alfred Yarrow, writing in Yarrow’s THE having. magazine, a journal circulated among his firm’s workmen on the Clyde, deals with high prices and emphasizes the danger of a ca’canny system. He points out that ihe position is hopeless unless there is an increase in the quantity of goods sal- able in exchange for those wanted. The checking of industries through strikes, limitation of output and otherwise tends inevitably to keep up high prices and still further reduce the rate of exchange. The ca’canny practice is a fatal cause of the diminution of output and the re- duction of exports, he declares. More- over, it deteriorates the character of every man, who does intentionally less than he can. People who spin out the work to make it last sacrific: future prosperity for the sake of a temporary gain; be- catise to obtain orders they must produce -at least as cheaply as their competitors, and if possible, more cheaply. Trade was going to the countries where pro- duction costs were low. With regard to shipbuildirg, he said few orders would con:e to Great Britain because purchasers could not afford the present. high prices. In Belgium, for example, the working day on an average was twelve hours aud everywhere was found. a combination of thrift with in- dustry. ‘Fhe energy of the Belgians is resulting in their being able to under- sell England. os Strikes in British Yards One of the first effects of the slump in British trade has been a ‘strike of joiners in shipyards. In the Clyde district about 5000 joiners went on strike against a proposed withdrawal of thé bonus of 12 shillings a week. Workers in other districts have since joined them, including Tyneside, Bar- row, Hull Wearside; and about 20,000 carpenters, cabinet-makers and joiners in different districts now are affected. The bonus was granted last spring in consequence of the high rates prevail- ing in the building trade, which threat- ened to attract labor from the yards. There is so much activity in the building trade that a large number of the strikers already have obtained em- ployment in building activity. A. G. Cameron, general secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners says the increase was granted on account of the rising cost of living and because the joiner was the lowest paid craftsman in the ship- building industry. Built -at the yards of R. L. Bean, Camden, Me., at a cost of approximately $225,000, the 4-mast schooner T. N. BARNSDELL, was launched recently. The new craft will engage in the coal trade between South American and Eu- ropean ports. MARINE REVIEW February, 1921]: Dutch Competition Keen English shipbuilders of the north of Enyland are disturbed by loss of con- tracts to ship repairing firms at Rot- terdam. A second ship repairing con- tract within a few weeks has been di- verted from the Tyne to Rotterdam. The steamer NIGERIA, being converted into jan oil carrier, has been ordered to go to a Dutch yard for the neces- sary alteration, at a contract price of £100,000. She had been undergoing repairs at Smith’s Dock, on the Tyne, and her diversion is regarded as a serious blow to the trade of the port, Lancelot Smith, managing director, states the chicf cause is the Dutch firm’s ability to guarantee quicker de- livery, owing to the 3-shift system. In Great Britain there are drastic restric- tions against overtime. Arrangements liave been made for a deputation of British shipbuilding employers. and workmen to visit the Dutch yards, - Some inquiries already have been made with regard to this Rotterdam competition, and it has been found that, ‘while in the English yards no more than six hours’ overtime a weck may be worked, in Rotterdam there is . no limit. The 3-shift system, however, is considered more important. This is not permitted in British shipyards, where the limit is one shift. As a consequence, Dutch firms are able to offer ship owners a guarantee that 20 © hours a day will be worked on their ships. Shipowners, who cannot afford to have their ships laid up for long periods, are giving their repair work to firnis, which can complete it in half or one-third the time of British yards. In one etendered yard for estimated big repair job, a Dutch yard for £15,000, and a British £23,000. On that job, it is that the British workmen lost - between £20,000 and £25,000 in wages, because of extra work contemplated. As showing the effect of trade union action, it is stated that some time ago Messrs. Gray & Co., West Hartlepool, were engaged on an emigrant ship, on which about £40,000 had been paid in wages. When, for the firs: time ,per- mission was asked for some of. the men to work overtime on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday to get the ship away to sea, the firm met with a pointblank refusal. Messrs. Gray sent a letter to the trade union representa- tive who, after discussing the matter with his committee, replied, “Seeing that we Lave a number of our mem- bers idle at the present time, my com- mittee felt that they were not in a position to grant your request.” The firm declares there was no pos- sibility of putting on strange men, the work being of a. special kind required to be done by men accustomed to it.