The Washington times., 1915-01-19
CAN SAIL ANY VESSEL.

cannot De more tnan q meager DC
maritime country.
CAN SAIL A
The author Of this statement holds q
certificate that qualities him to sail any
vessel under the merchant nag OF Brit
ain. from q fishing smack to the Lusi|
tania; he has sailed all the oceans. he
knows the intimate relationship between
commerce and shipping: he understands.
from the viewpoints of the investor. the
manager. and the seaman. the prob
statement Of the case which is believed
to be of very real use to students of
this question.
interview has been an American citizen.
He has had. since he became an Ameri-
can. a business career Of distinguished
success; and in recent yeaxs has given
much time and attention to study Of the
maritime problem and needs Of this
I'm the beginning he said, "how
has succeeded the wooden vessel? That
needs to be understood, because tho
steel vessel IL fundamental. 1t made the
worlds maritime conditions what they
"A steel vessel is lighter than a
wooden one. Strange a. II may seem, a
steel ship of 2.OO0 tons registry will
carry from 200 to 300 tons more cargo
than a wooden ship. Also. q steel yes
cheapest. Time was when wooden ships
were built. that would last for wonder
full periods: there are such vessels yet
In service that were built before the
oldest metal vessel was launched. But
they date back to the time when they
built wooden ships in a different way.
They would set up the skeleton of such
q vessel and they let 1t lie and season
for two or three years before complet-
sci must be thrown together as quickly
| as possible. and 1t does not stand.
| The steel ship is the basis. France
builds practically aal her ships in
Great Britain. 1t is important to know
why. for that why concerns our
American problem.
Registered As "A'1'lOO."
when a new ship Is turned ou,
from a British yard 1t Is registered a
the Lloyds as 'A'l'100.'. which Is the
highest index designation. It sails un
der that designation for ten years
and 1t Is insured. with its cargo. at the
most favorable terms.
| BY the end OF ten years it begin.
| " Oe oIu anu Olu-ldSulOHtus SHCiC vii
have been improvements meanwhile. &
| It gets a new rating Of 'A'l0O,' ant
must pay higher insurance rates.
| This classification of vessels ha!
which, because OF a lower rating can
not get as good insurance rates. goe
on the market. and Is likely shorty 4
be sold to some minor maritime flag
to France. Denmark. Norway. Sweden
or Belgium. for instance. Why? Be
| those Countries 0nRrQta II n
a little less cost than 1t can be sale,
under the British flag; the crews$ mr.
not so expensive In wages or mainten
ance.
so the older vessels are sold a
greatly reduced prices to other coun
tries. and the British flag Is succeeds
by some other.
Yet this system does not take mari
ain. Instead. it insures the BIRTHS
shifouilders the business of construct
ing most of the ships OF the world:
keeps the newest and best vessels un
der the British nag: it gives them tn
important: and, finally, 1t makes pos
sible to pay British seamen and OF
ncers more than the other countrte
pa,.
60 Per Cent Built In Britain.
Without having looked up the figure
recently. l would not attempt to sa
how large a proportion of the ships use
in high seas commerce Is built in Gres
Britain; but 1t is very much larger tina
the proportion that Is sailed under tn
British fiag. 1t Is probable above
possibly as high as 80 per cent. Thu
britain holds domination in one Of th
greatest manufacturing businesses In tn
world.
"By reason Of the great volume Of tn
business, the British can build vesse
! cheaper than others; they have such q
immense demand that their plants al
keyed up to the most economical produ'
ton. A great British shipbuilding firn
running out of immediate orders. dot
not let its plant stand idle; it lays dow
some new ships. on such lines that
buyers come along they can be accon
, want. In short. they build ships Il
the shelf. as a shoe manufacturer do'
shoes, knowing the demand will mai
/; itself felt. This Is a leading factor
BBrss tss sSips eheap despte
: fact, that. compared with all the 9TH
shipbuilding countries except Aaieric
8 British wages are high.
Now. IT must be explained , no
British ships are owned. When Bri
: value is divided into sixty-four equ
parts, SO that the ownership OF thirt,
three of these shares absolutely col
troll her. =,
"The managing owners hold tt
! thirty-three shares which represel
ontrol; the rest are distributed amor
investors and the method OF this di
n 4 ribution Is of the greatest impor
= 9lnce. For the investor, though
:, may not want to buy the shares.
;. nevertheless practically compelled
u do 1t, as l will explain.
n No Very High Returns.
!: "For the ordinary investment
u British shipping does not earn mu'
return. The managing owner gets
y contract under which. for his ma
y agerial services. he gets 2 per ce
u Of the gross freight earnings. Tn
y is his perquisite. under a system
u long established in England that
don't know where 1t began. This
~ per cent, plus the dividends on
% thirty-t shares in the ship: Civ
70 him comfortable return; perhaps
10 very large one; which explains wi
10 many of the great shipping nous
- have built up immense fortunes viii
the outside investor In shares get
~ low a rate Of return.
~ "For it Is doubtful II the avera
% q minority shareholder gets over