The Sentinel=record., 1918-07-31
SHIPPING EASY
 SAYS SIR GEDDEs
SHOWS HOW PRoGRES SS HAS BEEN MADE AGAINST THE
 SUBMARINE ATTACKS.

gave the house of commons today a review of the naval situation and particularly defended the policy of starting national shipbuilding yards, in discussing the shipbufding pro- gram in connection with the navy estimates. The first lord compared the situation today regarding tonnage with that of year ago
 Then the net loss in tonnage. he said. was 550,OG0 gross tons monthly. Submarines then were not being de- stroyed as fast as the Germans were building them. while the merchant shipyards were short of men and material. Four hundred thousand tons net loss monthly was the Brit ish deficit
 Every yard that could take naval work had been put on naval building. Gradually during the past year, Sir bric continued the position had changed in many directions. Instead of losing tonnage, the worlds net re- suit in the last quarter had been a gain. roughly of 100000 tons a month The allied and neutral world was as well off on June 30 as on January l, 1918. This result, he de- clared, had been obtained by reduced Sinkings and increased buildings.
 The reduced sinkings had been ar rived at, said the first lord of the admiralty, by greater productive effort devoted to warships and small craft of an submarine character. Nothing was included of com mandeered or acquired tonnage in this result.
 'The problem of a year ago was considered by many almost incon- ceivable, and insoluble," Sir Erie con tinued Mercantile carrying power was being sunk at the rate which soon would have meant an inability to continue the war, and there was no recognized means of combating the campaign. It was necessary to provide building program and anti submarine craft, mines, other appli- ances and merchant ships on a greatly increased scale.
 r'The total increase in labor last year in shipbuilding yards and mar inc engineering works was 35 900. The original demand of a year ago was for SO,00O additional part of them skilled Owing to events on the western front, and the great de- mands for technical men for the air force and the army, it was impossible to obtain the proper quota of skilled men by their withdrawal from the army. Unskilled men were offered freely but they could not be absorbed because of the lack of skilled men"
 The first lord declared that skilled men could not be obtained in sufficient numbers to man the existing yards. This situation had been feared, al- though the ship building advisory committee had just adopted a stand ard ship, which should be built the old way with the proportion of one skilled to four or six unskilled men in it's construction.
 The government had decided to go ahead at once with a scheme for building simple ship which could be constructed with minimum of skilled labor. That ship was designed by the admiralty.
 'lt is interesting added the first lord that the very same problem con fronted America and America met it in practically the same way--the same class of yard and the same type of construction and with excellent re suits"
 Merchant ship repairs, said Sir Eric are today engaging nearly two thirds as many workmen as are engaged on new construction of merchantmen.
 But" he continued, the subma- rines have found it too dangerous to work inshore and are going far out. The number of ships damaged. as we'll as sunk, is decreasing and the transference of men from repairs 10 new construction is possible. The number of men employed on new con- struction of warships or auXilliaries Is roughly l50O00 men and on merchant men 120,000."
 'fBritain has borne the preponder- ating burden to a preponderating ex- tent of fighting the submarines. The new output of anti-submarine ships, mines and implements has been pre- ponderatingly ours, and the respon- sibility for combating the menace has been ours. Even today the increased assistance brought about by the new construction of the allies is small in deed. but times are changing.
 Americas program is now begin ming to come along and I have had the pleasure of considering 1t with Mir. Roosevelt My conferences with hin have confirmed what have relied up on namely that when the flow of de- stroyers and anti-submarine craft starts from the United States it will become a formidable torrent"