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IRA AA A Review of the Charter Market on Coasts and Lakes—Pointers for the Men Who Get the Business cil 0000000 clic Pdf every: “American: ship yard working to capacity; with the list of foreign ships seeking United States registry increas- ing; with the augmentation of the na- tion’s already large coastwise traffic and the growth of amicable relations between us and our excellent neigh- bors to the southward, it is impossible _ for the American shipping world to be pessimistic. There is, however, a big difference between unreasoning pessimism and a healthy, legitimate disgust at condi- tions which, though no doubt tem- porary, are mighty irritating. It is difficult for men in maritime circles, as well as large exporters and importers whose interests are bound up with ocean traffic, to view Pacific ocean developments of recent weeks with equanimity. With the Dollar ‘boats under the British flag and the Pacific Mail out of business, with the suspicious willingness of certain other lines to suspend operations under the American flag, and corresponding ac- tivity on the part of Japanese and Chinese shipping interests, the’ pros- pects for our transpacific trade are scarcely cheery just now. When mat- ters come to the pass that we cannot even get accommodation for our goods on Nipponese liners on account of their preference for the subsidy- favored goods of their own people, the situation may only be described in the words of W. S. Gilbert— “Fere’s a howdydo!” “General prospects for increasing our trade with the orient,” says Wil- lard Straight, president of the Amer- ican Asiatic Association, “seem more promising than at any time in recent years. But, notwithstanding this fact, we are confronted by a situation which may make it almost impossible for us to take advantage of present opportunities. The Pacific Mail Steam- ship Co. and the Robert Dollar Co., which have been long among the principal carriers of our export trade to and our import trade from the l'rade is orient, are no longer operated under the American flag. “The Pacific Mail steamers, for years run at a considerable loss, have now been sold because the provisions of the La Follette seamen’s bill im- posed an increased cost of operation which was absolutely prohibitive. Cap- tain Dollar has placed his steamers under the British flag. Practically no vessel flying the American flag will, as. far as I can learn, be engaged in the transpacific trade. “This situation occurs “at a. time when there is little British or tramp shipping available, and American mer- chants are, therefore, obliged to rely upon Japanese carriers. The Japanese lines are heavily subsidized, and, there- fore, must necessarily prefer their cargo to our own. They would in any case be unable to provide us with the facilities which we require.” Ne ae: MERICAN exporters and im- porters who deal with the far east declare that the actual advances in rates, on the transpacific lines with- in a few. months, in many instances have been as high as 50 and 75 per cent. Japanese steamship line officials are credited with the admission that they have all they can do to handle strictly Japanese freight going to or from Japanese ports, and therefore must leave behind all other shipments coming to or going to Chinese ports. Trade factors report that their sit- uation rests entirely with the ability of tramp steamers to take up their shipments to China or bring them for- ward from Chinese ports. In other words, the shippers explain, as the result of the withdrawal of the Pacific Mail and other steamship lines from the transpacific routes, while Japanese freight is coming forward for Japanese shippers, shipments either to or from Chinese ports and the United States at the present time are being handled in only the smallest degree. Importers of tea, matting, rice and other oriental products are complain- 437 ing that their importations have been practically tied up as the immediate result of an order issued a short time ago by the Japanese government, reserving for Japanese shippers all space on vessels operated by the subsidized Japanese transpacific lines. At the same time, it is said, while American importers are suffering from these conditions, the Japanese import- ing houses on the Pacific coast have been able to obtain almost unlimited quantities of competitive merchandise. The result has been, according to the American importers, that they have experienced serious financial losses, their usual customers turning to the Japanese import houses for supplies. ee * HE Toyo Kisen Kaisha Steam- ship Co: has obtained from the California board of state harbor com- missioners an additional. amount of dock space at San Francisco, the ap- plication being accompanied by the explanation that as the company has added five vessels to its transpacific fleet operating to San Francisco, its present pier, already congested, would prove entirely inadequate. In addition to the steamers men- tioned in these proceedings, the com- pany has made arrangements for a sixth, with the result that it will be able to operate a total of 10 vessels on the run between San Francisco and the orient. This company now has in this ser- vice the steamers SHiINYo, CHIYO, Tenyo and Nippon Maru, and_ has added PANAMA, SEATTLE, DARIEN, SHinyo Maru II and the former Pa- cific Mail liner Prrsta. The Osaka Shosen Kaisha has opened a transpacific service between Japan, Honolulu and San Francisco. There are now three Japanese passen- ger steamer lines calling at Honolulu. Of 44 ship arrivals from Sept. 1 to 22, inclusive, 10 were Japanese. “What the ultimate level of freight rates on the Pacific will be, as a direct result of the recent