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July, 1925 tances a minute and as compared with the old methods the time saving is about 500 per cent. Besides an agreed upon uniform accuracy is ob- tained. This device can be worked for any harbor in the world where towing is done on the nautical mile or any zone basis. Where a great deal of towing and lighterage is done the saving in time of clerk hire in making out and checking towing bills quickly pays for the investment. It eliminates errors and arguments and can be made a basis for making agreements and con- tracts. A most valuable piece of work of this kind should really be undertaken by some one of the public bodies that have to do with the planning, control and operation of a port. Thousands of dollars are spent to obtain statis- tics of far less interest and impor- tance. For the harbor of New York this work probably did not exceed $4000 in cost. The cost for other ports would be correspondingly less, very much less in fact. Perhaps this work for each port could most readily be carried out under the direction of the board of engineers for rivers and harbors of the war department. Increase in Passengers Handled at Cherbourg More trans-Atlantic passengers were handled at Cherbourg during the first quarter of 1924 by the Cunard Steam- ship Co. than by any of the other 10 companies using that port, and more than the combined total of the two nearest competitors, namely, the White Star and United States lines. The to- tals for the three companies were re- spectively 8586, 4098 and 3846. The United States lines led, how- ever, in the movement of mails dur- ing the same period, having embarked 10,422 sacks of French mail and dis- embarked 23,988 sacks of American mail, a total of 34,410, as compared to 33,669 sacks for the Cunard line and 27,846 for the White Star line. From the following table it would seem that competition from the United States lines has apparently affected the White Star more than the Cunard line. Name of 1st quarter 1st quarter 1st quarter company 1923 1924 1925 Cunard) siicciscscsc 4,640 7,020 8,586 White Star ............ 5,357 4,391 4,098 United States .... 1,584 2,185 8,846 The Hooven, Owens, Rentschler Co., Hamilton, O., announce the removal of their New York offices from 39 Cortlandt street to the Bowling Green building, No. 11 Broadway. MARINE REVIEW Why Manila Makes Rope Strength and durability render the fiber known as manila hemp the pre- mier material for cordage. For mar- ine use its unique advantage is that it resists deterioration from salt water. The culture of this valuable product remains practically a monopoly in the Philippine Islands although nu- merous efforts have been made to pro- duce it in other tropical regions. Only in the Dutch East Indies has any ex- portable quantity been produced. Long usage is the only justification for the name hemp as applied to this fiber. In the Philippines the name “abaca” is used almost exclusively. The abaca tree resembles the banana plant to which it is closely related. Fiber is obtained from the leaf stems. Labor for separating and cleaning fiber is the great:problem in increas- . ing the supply of abaca. “Stripping,” to separate the fibers from the pulpy matter, requires care and patience. One man’s labor in careful stripping will yield on an average about 13 pounds of high grade fiber per day. Even skilled strippers find the work exhausting. Machines devised for stripping hemp have never proved en- tirely satisfactory under all conditions. Recently there has been a report of the successful operation of a strip- ping machine in certain localities but a long time is needed to prove its worth. Abaca is as a rule second only to rice in acreage and total value of the crop and was for many years the lead- ing export product of the islands. In 1922 exports of the fiber were valued at almost $20,000,000 and were ex- ceeded in value by only one commodity, sugar. The bulk of the exports come to the United States. The United Kingdom is also a large buyer and London is second to New York as a market for manila hemp. A conspicu- ous feature of the trade in the past few years has been the marked in- crease in purchases by Japan. Rope and cordage are the chief uses of abaca in the United States. In this country abaca scarcely competes with sisal as a material for binder twine, but in the United Kingdom low-grade manila fiber is widely used for that purpose. Wornout manila rope continues in use either as oakum for caulking the seams of vessels or as one of the materials for the manu- facture of paper. The value of abaca in the agricul- tural system of the Philippines is ines- timable because its culture is well adapted to the methods of small farm- ing. Most of the export business of 275 the islands is in the hands of Amer- icans and foreigners. International trade in manila hemp thus far remains a free market exempt from the efforts of commission and monopoly control. Owing to the alleged inefficient han- dling of steamers and cargoes at Buenos Aires, a committee represent- ing the principal organizations of im- porters, exporters and shipping com- panies has petitioned the minister of finance to re-establish the Harbor Control board created by law No. &389. This law provided for concen: trating in a single division of techni- cal management of the port of Buenos Aires, including the operation of the wharves, warehouses, and railways. Handling Cargo-Shanghai Commerce Reports quotes the fol- lowing interesting outline by the British department of overseas trade in regard to the procedure for han- dling cargo at Shanghai. “All landing charges are paid by the steamship company. “The consignee is given 10 days free storage by the ‘Steamship company, from the arrival date of steamer. “If not delivered by consignee within 10 days, storage is charged at pre- scribed rates, according to the = size of the package, etc. This charge in- cludes coolie hire for storing the car- = go; “Transportation charges for pbring- ing the cargo from the Pootung water front are borne by the shipping com- pany, but are debited to the consignee. “Coolie hire from the Shanghai water front to the consignee’s own door is borne by the consignee. “Marine insurance (including fire) is covered by consignor and expires 10 days after the arrival date of steamer. On the expiration of the marine policy, fire insurance is cov- ered by the consignee. “Tf the cargo is landed at Pootung and not delivered within 10 days, con- signee must cover lighterage insur- ance at the time of taking delivery.” It is stated on good authority that the inquiries made on account of the Eastern Steamship Corp. Ltd., of Bos- ton, for the construction of two 5500 tons 180 passenger vessels for the Boston Yarmouth run, show that the British quotations are only about 18 per cent below the prices received through American shipyards. It was thought that the British prices would be at least 40 per cent lower.