New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-13
Charges Figures
On Shipbuilding
Are Misleading
Patriotic Education Society
Decries Efforts to Dis
count U-Boat Menace

WASHINGTON. Nov. 12.-"Ameri-
cans are led to believe that our effort
to discount the submarine holds out
greater promise of success than is actu-
ally the case" says a statement issued
tonight by the Patriotic Education So
ciety. The statement points out that
Britain announces shipping losses IN
terms of gross tonnage" while the
United States announces ship construc-
ton in "deadweight tons" The state
ment says:
There is great confusion in the pub
lie mind over the term ships tonnage
We're there a general world usage oil
the term ships tonnage this confusion
would not exist.
THE average man. reading the BRIT
ish announcement of the tonnage lost
Immediately compares the tonnage LOST
with the tonnage under construction ~ ~
the United States. AS mater VI
fact. the British Admiralty announce,
ment refers either TO gross or heI
tonnage, while the announcement y.
our United States Emergency Iee'
CORPORATION refers 70 'deadweignt ca 5if
rying capacity tonnage, greater az
ference even than exists between ';'o
so-called long ton and the snort 'o"'
How Tonnage Is Figured
"Tbe English gross ton is the entire
- contents Of the vessel, divided by
iG0 The met ton is the cubic contents
80 vessel after deductng space forr
engines, boilers, coal puhkeiS on" ~.
100. The lightweight carrying ton, ,' Vr'
the other hand, means the naAI,,i III .
&c. and all weight, including pasSen,
80 and crew. SO. when the Fleet
Cornoration announces the construction
80 g OOO-ton vessel, the actual net
tornace NAV be less than one-half that
weight. .t ;,+or.
HoraiI,, or not. has adopted the clstom
of Including in its announcements o.
rou, tonnage all those vessels tnst
,yera building on the ways wnen the
f-n;tod states went to war. and wnlch
Save since been Communicated ~ tne
SHINING Board. This gives the I'M
nression that all of these ships are ne
inc produced as the result OF govern.
ment effort. All of these vessels OF
course. were being built for TIE &C
count of England. of France or OF Nor
wav In the ordinary course. theV
would have been engaged in the trans
atlaIMjc service. and the fact that tney
have been commandeered by the Unlted
states has not added a single ton 10
beat Germany.
No knowledge of World tonnage
at will. no doubt, surprise the aver
age man 20 learn that no one in Wash >.
ii,rton can state, with any degree Of
accuracy, the present world tonnage.
The United States government has de-
pended upon Lloyd's Register OF ship
pin@ for it's annual figures.
Late last year Lloyd's announced
that il would not make public anv
more statistics, during the war. at
least. German shippers and steamship
owners, suffering from this depriva
ton, have organized bureau OF their
own, and have received government
aid, both moral and financial. So that
Germany hopes. within a short period.
10 be independent of the british
monopoly.
The United States, on the other
hand. has only gotten its statistics
through the courtesy of Great Britain.
Our government departments. in some
instances. have been compelled 20 RELY
upon newspaper and other unofficial