Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-12-16
SCOTS FEAR FOR SHIP YARDS
Growth Of Business in Other Lands Gives
Cause for Alarm.
GERMANS CUT IN WITH LOWER PRICES
Prospect of BOuntieS in United states
on Top of other Misfortunes is
Not at All Pleasing to
Glasgow.

GLASGOW, Dec. 15-(Special.) 1.-THE heav-
lily capitalized Scotch ship building indus
try is experiencing the truth of the saying
that misfortunes never come singly. Fol-
lowing the labor troubles on the Clyde and
Tees comes the shadow Of foreign com
petition and the greatest fear is being eN-
pressed in the Scotch local newspapers lest
the Sulzer ship bounty or subsidy bill pass
the American congress in some form,
thereby raising up another powerful COM
petitor.
This country has made a practice OF
building ships for every maritime nation
in the world, the secret of the Scotch sue
cess being, 1t is said, excellence of work
manship and cheapness of production.
Time was when every stage of the manu-
facture, from the raw ore to the finished
product, was carried out within the bound
aries of England and Scotland. Then the
foreigners, Germany more particularly,
organized capital and laid down plants for
the manufacture of plates and castings,
which, under the dumping principle, were
sold at rates cheaper than It was possible
for the local manufa cturers TO produce. As
a result of the hold secured by Germany
on the ship plate market many OF the local
manufacturers have been compelled to close
down their works. The advantage which
! lay in the supply OF cheap plates, however
has enabled Scotch builders to keep the
/ lead in the building output.
FOreIgners' Prices Lower.
! Now has come the Inevitable rise in the
price of plates and castings. which of neces-
sity rests upon the quotations for the
building of complete vessels. This has
been anticipated by continental builders.
who during the last few years have been
! investing largely in ship building plants
Of the most modern types. One foreign
yard alone at the present time holds con-
tracts for at least ten large ships. some
! of which are well advanced toward COM
! pletion All the orders were secured in
competition with local manufacturers,
whose tenders were far higher than those
of their foreign competitors.
The manager of a large Scotch yard
whose specially is the large cargo steamer
said only the other day that this growth
of the foreign ship building is causing the
| gravest concern among the local builders
and everywhere the hope is being expressed
that the sulzer ship building bill will not
be passed by the American congress and
a new rival thus created in a year OF two,
"Of course. orders for new vessels are
being placed right along to a limited de-
gree" he said during the course Of ar
| interview, but so far as can hear these
tenders are limited to local builders the
customers being so well satisfied with the
execution OF previous orders that they are
prepared to pay a high figure for Scotch
built vessels. But it is needless to add that
this is hardly an economic proposition and
that we cannot long exist in competition
with others simply on the strength of oul
regulations.
1.-THE foreign builder has simply got Il
be considered. In contracts open to firms
on both sides of the water the forelgr
tenders have averaged fully 10 per cen
below our figures Advices from the cont
nent are to the effect that the yards there
are full of work"