The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-31
BRITISH SHIP BUILDERS
 WORRIED OVER SITUATION

be gradual but steady Improvement
 in all the industries on which the
 West of Scotland chiefly depends. Thia
 belief may to some extent be the re
 suit simly of the view that the pend
 ulum of trade is now due to swing
 the other way. but such an imprsssion
 will itself help to bring about the i'm.
 proyement in SO far as 1t win encour- age the investment of capital and so assist in the realization of the posltion to which 1t looks forward. A good deal of the optimism which undoubtedly pre- vails may. however. be traced. to more
 tangible sources. The harvests of the world have more influence than any thing else on industrial conditions generally, and that an improvement in trade is at present anticipated may
 be traced largely to the wheat crops of the various countries.
 Reproductive Capital
 Another fact which cannot be over looked Is that there Is an unusually large amount of capital lying unpro- ductive, and the this capital Is avail able for all kinds of industrial in- yestments. It Is indeed probable that the present apparently upward move fnent In trade and market condition is largely the result of this capital seek Ing for outlets, in the firm belief that
 money invested now in industrial con- cerns wnl bring in good returns in the near future. Tn the shipping trade Is true that general cargo freights re- main at level much too low to be remunerative. but the fact that com- paratively few tramp steamers are laid up On the West Coast of Scotland shows that owners do not despair of an eafly revival
 On the Tyne there have been for some time great many idle vessels, but the contract for supplying the Russian marine authorities with steam coal over the Baltic season has been piaced on the northeast coast, and with -this and the opening of the Baltic season generally. and of the spring and sum mer trade with continental ports, the list will be reduced considerably.
 It must also be noted that the export trade in coal from the Clyde kept up remarkably all through 1908. and proin- ises well for this year. and that there are signs of an improvement in the im- ports of ore. These latter are no doubt the result of prospects of increased ac- tivity in the iron and steel works of which again are looking to increased orders from the who in turn are looking towards the shipowners.
 nepressfon Hnafm@.
 During the past few weeks there have been quite a number Of fndica- tions that the leading owners of steam ship lines--as distinguished from tramp .owners--are coming to the conclusion that the period of depression | Is nearing an end.
 Sir Christopher Furness's contracts l Tor a score of steamers were looked on | ls to a certain extent a sacrifice on the f altar of this industrial copartnery | scheme, but 1t is admitted all around | that he Is much too shrewd a man to | order new tonndge simply because the | contracts are necessary to ensure fair | rial for this scheme and without fair | that there will be profitable | for the vessels when they | are built. Sir Alfred Jones. another [ man who has his finger on the pulse of f the worlds trade. has also been place Ing orders recently. and Sir Donald | -urrie has ordered two vessels from the | Clyde and one from Belfast.
 It was stated some time ago unoffl- | .ially that the Union Castle Line would | order new vessels just as soon as pros- | poets on the South African service be-1 gan to improve, and now that the or- | iers have been placed 1t Is fair to as- ,uma that the managers of the com. | pany consider that the dull times aha away. Tn the service to Auss \ tralia and the Far East trade has all 1 along been maintained very we'll, and | shows no signs of falling of, but on the | North Atlantic, although the ernigrant I, season is likely to be much better than | that of 1908. there are no signs of that | general improvement which would JuB-