The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-03-09
MANAGEMENT BY
STATE FAILURE,
SAY SHIP OWNERS
All Measures by English Gov
eminent insufficient,
Is Protest.

All Measures by EnglSn UOV-
eminent insufficient,
Is Protest.
Liverpool, March Sine annual
report of the Liverpool Steamship
Owners association, which lncluoeS
practically all the important snip
owners in England, emphasizes the
seriousness of the shipping s1tuatloh'
and declares squarely that all the
measures thus far taken by the gov
eminent are insufficient. me report
insists that state management OF SNIP
ping has failed and must Iall, anu eA-
presses the opinion that only the most
radical curtailment of imports ana d
similar : radical limitation or the
amount of tonnage used for mlhrary
purposes can save the nation from TIC
most serious shortages of food ana Vi
tai raw materials.
Commenting on the appointment Q.
q Shipping Minister as a member OF
the Lloyd George Cabinet, the report
saws: 1.-THE association welcomes the
!, anpointment Of a Minister charged
with the duty Of seeing that the mer-
camille marine is used to the best ao-
vantage of the nation, and it will rem
der every assistance in it's power TO
that Minister. But the problem or
providing the nation with it's essen
tial supplies Of food AND raw mater
ial is only a part of the shipping PROB
lem. The essential factors the Hml-
tation of imports, the amount or TON
mage to be devoted to purely military
purposes, and the labor shortage, can
be dealt with by no one. department.
They must be faced and dealt with by
the whole War Cabinet"
Direct state management OF ship
ping is Impossible, says the report. The
state is so bad a manager that state
control of the nations tonnage would
mean quick starvation. "The associa-
ton views with grave concern the
growing number Of British ships
placed under state management The
experience Of two and a half years OF
war has shown that under state man
agement there is constant and serious
wastage. The conditions under which
our overseas supplies are obtained,
the voyages made, and cargoes loaded
and discharged, are so varying that
waste in carrying power can only be
checked through the compelling pow
er of commercial pressure-indlv1du-
al profit and loss acting directly on
all those concerned whether as trad
ers. shipowners or transport workers.
The inevitable results Of state
manasement have been waste Of time,
loss OF ocean carrying power, and
therefore the Imports II these be re-
duced under state management by
only ten per cent-and judging by all
mast experience it might well be re-
duced by Is per cent, and upwards,
the nation would be faced with I'M
mediate shortage of essential supplies,
privation and panic prices. Weighed
against such perils, the saving OF
freights, even IL cargoee were carried
for nothing, is negdble factor.
ITO satisfy military demands since
the outbreak Of tho war, about one
third OF tho British mercantile marine
has been devoted to purely war pur-
poses. One-third Of the British mer-
camille marine has a carrying capacity
In ocean trade. In the course OF q year,
OF upwards Of IS million tons weight
of imports and exports It is manifest
that If the remaining tWo-thirds had
been utilized only in proportion to the
one-third under military control. the
nation must have starved long ago.
OAA&AA0kASS
of the state that they have been un-
able to build up an effective organiza-
ton. Their task has been an impos-
sible one. They have obtained and
welcomed the advice and assistance
Of business men, but 1t Is Idle to
imagine that department manage
1nent, either with or without such
help, can ever exercise over hundreds
Of ships the kind Of control which this
shipping companies. with their highly
trained and specialized staffs, must
exercise over tens OF ships II the maxi
mum Of carrying power II to be OBJ
tanned
Under average conditions a ship
spends half her fine In port loading
and diactarE1ng. and thus there is on
every voyage the risk OF heavy delay.
The avoidance Of undue waste in
these operations Is at the root OF the
effective use of all ship carrying pow
er. To secure this the energy and en-
terpr1se of the s7aipowners and their
staffs at home and abroad are taxed
to the utmost There is only one Bri-
fish steamship company that has I'M
der fts control more than 100 vessels.
and among the big British lines the
average number OF veHge7s under a
single management is about twenty
Among the -tramps' there are few
companies or firms having more than
twelve vessels. With this form Of
management the s1,ip~Wner is kept In
the closest possible touch with each
vessel on every voyage. and also with
the requirements Of the shippers and
receivers OF the cargo
Touching on the subject OF shipping
under neutral faAZx the reD0rt says.