The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-07
BETTER THINGS
ARE in SIGHT
British Trade Optimist Gives
Rehefs.
SHIPBUILDNC GOOD INDICATION
All English Yards Are Active and
Pushing Their Work.
outlook FOR an Ezceedinsiy Busy
Series Of Months for The Industry
Are Brighter Than They Have
bee. for several Years
Past.
sHIpBUILDINC GOOD INDICATION

| London Nov s.--Sir Walter Runci-
man thinks what trade has got
round the corner" and that we are
going to see better things. Certain
" there Is some support for this view
In the shipbuilding returns for the
past quarter. According to Lloyd's
Register, the merchant shipping under
construction on September 80 last tot
allied 77s.oss tons. compared with
745,705 tons on June 80.
There Is an increase. consequent
iy. Of over $4,000 tons. 1t is an In
dication Of gradually returning acti-
witty. which is not unwelcome after
the long spell OF relative idleness
which some Of the shipyards have ex-
perienced. It 10 satisfactory. too. to
note that the figures betoken no over
wheiming anxiety to acquire new
tonnage. except. possibly, for special
trades. Freights have q somewhat
improving tendency. but the supply Of
tramp shipping is still In excess Of
the demand. Moreover, steamers
which have been laid up for lack OF
employment, and are now leaving
their moorings. have to be reckoned
in the total.
Pretty general is the Improvement
which the returns indicate. ALI the
nd work. Middlesbrough and Sunder-
land more especially. On balance
there 10 considerably more shipbuild-
ing work in progress in Scotland. but
Belfast does not quite maintain the
position 1t held at the end OF the June
quarter. Taken as whole. the pros
poets Of the shipbuilding industry for
the Forthcoming winter are fairly sat
isfactory.
1t Is significant Of the interest
which the new White star liners
evoke that although they will not
be completed at the earliest till the
end OF next year. they are already the
subject of approving comment They
are to enbody. It is clear. all the best
features OF the most noteworthy liners
at present under British or foreign
flags, and. In addition. are to intro
duce some novelties Of their own.
The grtll-room. the verandah cafe,
the roof garden, the ocean flat, the
swimming bath. the passenger lift
these are already among the gifts
which steamship companies have
showered upon the Atlantic voyager.
But the great size of the new White
Star baots-- at present II IL Impossible
to say by exactly how many thou
sand tons they viii exceed the dimen-
olOub OF the AuBitauta ana the muro~
tania--should enable these other ac-
cessories to be developed upon wider
scale than heretofore pc
The Olympic and the Titanic are to
have one of their upper decks practi-
caiiy set aside as q ballroom or skat-
ing rink. The decision Is no doubt a
wise one. for "rinking'' has long
ceased to be confined to the shore. In
the Royal navy the smooth. holy
stoned decks have been found, to Of
fer an admirable surface. The same
discovery has been made on liners.
Concetvably in very bad weather, the
movements OF the ship may add some
what to the difiicuity Of maintaining
| ones equipoise. but this form of re-
creation seems. nevertheless. to have
a great future before II at sea. There
will be much to wonder at and ad-
unire In the new liners. but from the
point OF view of ocean recreation they
will be particularly noteworthy.
The Olympic and the Titanic are NOT
designed to compete with the big
Cunarders in point OF speed Twenty
five or 26-knots does not represent an
economic pace. In the Judgment of the
white Star Line. SO the new ieviathans
will take day or two longer over
the Atlantic voyage. The luxurious
conditions under which the trip will
be made will. 1t is held. compensate
for the additional time spent at sea,
The White Star Is applying to the
propulsion of these leviathans a COM
bination of reciprocating engines and
turbines.