New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-07-21
Reap
Golden Harvest
In Sea Trade
Merchant Marine in Pacific
Now Proving a Verita-
BILE Bonanza

On July the NIChiyo 'iNiN 49,
tons gross), of the japanese line Togo
Kisen Kaisha, steamed into San Fran
cisco. The steamer did not make
record trip. What made the record
and one Of the most sensational rec
ords ever made in the history OF the
merchant marine-in the freight she
carried. Rather the price, the freight
rate. IL commanded. She had cargo OF
rio. at the rate Of s45 a ton!-yes,
forty-five American dollars ton from
Japanese port to San Francisco
Such thing had never been known
since Balboa glimpsed the splendor OF
the Pacific. The highest freight rate
ever paid before was s35 ton. That
rate was paid to an Outside" or nom
subsidized line steamer. The rates on
all the subsidized Japanese lines are
lower-held down by law, so that the
shining companies now look upon the
governmental subsidy IN the llght OF
a rather sadly mixed blessing.
regular subsidized steamer Is
compelled to carry rice to-day, as IN
the past. at the rate OF So ton. The
government is slow at everything; but
never quite so slow as in letting the
subsidized lines raise the freight tariff.
Had to Have the Rice
or course, the famous $40 ton
was paid on comparatively smaii
quantity of rice which some OF the
japanese importers in San Francisco
had TO have at any price. with all
that. neither her owner nor the loyo
Kisen Kaisha, which has her under char
tor loses much on her recent trip. The
freight rate is kting up, not because
of the decrease of bottoms. On the
contrary. the merchant tonnage on the
Pacific is constantly increasing-in-
creasing at a tremendous rate, in fact.
According to Mr. 0ta, Of the Togo
Kisen Kaisha, the non-subsldized
Japanese steamers coming into San
Francisco have increased in tonnage
this wear about 100 per cent over the
corresponding period in 1916. At that
he was not taking into account the
ships his own company put into ser
vice since January. In January the
Korea, the Siberia (these two steamers
used to run under the American flag
in the Pacific service before the
Pacific Mail sold them to the Inter
national Mercantile Marine. which IN
turn sold them to the Japanese COM
pany. the Togo Kisen, at profit OF
couple of million dollars), the Tango
and the Anyo and other Japanese ships
of a total tonnage of 49,607 entered
and cleared from San Francisco from
and to Japanese ports. In February
the tonnage amounted to 24,255; in
March. 36,S97 tons; in April, 1880
tons; in May, 46,357 tons; in June
1922.
Big Tonnage 'ncrease
In the first half of this year more
than $4,000 tons entered and cleared.
In the same period last year Japanese
tonnage entered and cleared at San
Francisco was l7s,967, therefore there
is more than $4,000 tons increase this
year over the figures of 1916. These
figures represent Japanese bottoms
alone. When one adds almost an
equally large increase in the tramp
ships in the trans-Pacifc service, the
figure is still more sensational.
Read in the light of all this increase
OF bottoms in the trans-Pacific SER
vice, the rise of the freight rate
sounds like the July 4th submarine at
tack elaboration"
The charter rate Is keeping pace
with the rise Of the freight rate. The
Osaki "Asahi" declares that it is max
ing a new record every day. The Mitsui
Bussan chartered the Some -dono Maru
of s,400 tons not long since for two
round trips between Japan and Amer
lea. And the Mtsui Bussan paid 80
yen, or SIS. ton a month charter. On
June 6 the prevailing charter rate
for similar vessels and for trans-Pa-
cfic trips was two or three yen a ton
higher even than the above rate. In
the spring Of 1916, when everybody in
Japan was amazed at the unheard of
rise in charter rates, the top record
price paid was $3.50 ton q month
for the trans-Pacifc service. In other
words, the rate has been doubled with
in one year. To appreciate the full
flavor of the y-rocketing Of the rate.
the reader should remember that the
usual charter rate before the war even
in a brisk season was about 81 to $3.50
a ton a month.
Expect Further Increase
What is more extraordinary even
than the rate Is that the shipping
circles are confidently looking for the
coming Of q still higher rate. The
Of freight is getting worse
every day. To-day there seems to be
no end 70 the goods to be shipped.
Nothing speaks more eloqucntly Of
the measure Of growth Of the japanese
trade for the United States under war
conditions.
Naturally the Japanese shipping
companies are coming money at = rate
which makes the Pittsburgh million
aires look ike lot Of dwarfcd Japan
csc pines. One company, the Nippon |
Yusen Kaishs, earned $9.75S,5o gold
IN the half year period ending with |
March 81, 1917. In the same period |
in 1916 the same company earned net
$3.50, 900. and that was considered at |
the time absolutely unprecedented. At
the last meeting the company declared |
a dividend at the rate OF 30 per cent |
a year regular and special dividend |
OF 40 per cent year. making 70 per |
cent in all. And it did that after |
carrying s6,750,o00 to the special re-
serve funds for the purchase Of ships
and new construction