Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-06-30
WHAT SHIPS MEAN
TO The CONSUMER
Lack Of Enough to Carry Prod
ucts Causes Higher
Prices.
MANY VESSELS NOW BUILDING
United States, Shipping Board
Striving to Meet Sit
uation.
MANY VESSELS NOW BUILDING
ny GUSTAvUs MYERS.

Tho raw sugar crop n Cuba and
other cane countries is the largest ever
known. In Cuba alone 1t is estimated
at 3,25o, 600 tons. Porto Ricos prob-
able sugar crop ranges from 100000 to
! 100000 tons, and Hawaiis from 100000
to 700. 900 tons.
In normal times such a prospect
would insure generous supply of
sugar at low prices to every consumer
in the United states. But so few are
! the ships availa BILE to bring in the raw
| sugar that the bip crop will not affect
tho price much. The fleet of sugar
carrying ships was still further re-
| duced recently when 10000 or $4,000
tons of shipping formerly engaged in
| the sugar trade were taken over and
used for Belgian relief. These ships
alone would have hauled 100000 or
more tons of raw sugar in season.
The sugar economy that we shall all,
therefore. have to practice. is not. how
ever. nearly as severe as that in Euro
pean countries. In Britain the public
has been held to a strict sugar ration
| OF twenty-siX pounds per person year.
and in France and italy each to thir-
teen ponds per person a year. Com
! pared to that rigid rationing. our
| sugar allowance has been exceedingly
| liberal. our consumption of sugar in
| the United States, for the year ending
April last. was eighty pounds per
person.
Although we are not feeling the
pinch nearly as much as other people,
! We shall have TO be very careful of
how we Sc sugar. This is one Of the
inevitable results of the great world
scarcity OF ships. 1t is just such
| situation as this that brings home to
| the consumer. no matter how far re.
moved from the water. the vital im-
| portance of ships to every householder.
AS with sugar. so with many other
necessities. The Hun submarine MUIR
der campaign has utterly failed of it's
chief purposes. II hasn't starved out
the British Isles. and it certainly
hasn't prevented our landing large
force in France. But it has destroyed
more than 10000. 900 tons of world ship
! ping This loss has obviously left a
rrrat world shortage. Besides, great
numbers of other vessels have had to
to iafen from commercial routes for
| military and naval needs.
| Instead of intimidating the people of
the Cniied states, the Hun campaign
laS only ;he more aroused them to
| giant eXertions. The United States
Shipping Board. with Chairman Edward
| y. Hurley at it's head. has within less
than year already created prodi-
si?Ls shipbuilding industry. Before
! the "ar we were rather insignificant
AS a shiphu' lding nation. On July /.
1917. We hal less than $4,000 men work.
| ing in American shipyards. To-day
we have force of 100000 men in the
| Shipyards and 100000 as busy in allied
| trades. 3
MILLION TONS OF NEW
SHIPPING IN TEN MONTHS
! In the last ten months the United
States Shipping Board has constructed
| about 100000 tons of new shipping
built i'll American shipyards. II has
also added To cur American merchant
leat about 3,500.000 lightweight tons
OF shipping, comprising German and
Austrian vessels seized and taken over
Dutch ships requisitioned and neutral
vessels chartered. Including coastw!se
and Great Lakes vessels. there are to-
day under the control of the United
States Shipping Board moro than 1,4oO
ships OF about 100000 deadweight
tons.
AS fast, however. as ships are turned
out at present they are needed for
urgent war purposes. Not only must
IL vast army be conveyed quickly to
Europe. but it must be adequa ,ely sup
piled and fed. This alone calls for an
immense ship program. Populations OF
our allies must also be fed and sup
piled. This. too. demands huge fleets
or merchant ships.
While THIS remains so and until our
ship program goes further. commercial
lack OF enough ships. Recently many
people wondered why the price Of the
ever-popular banana shot up so high
In former years bananas sold on fruit
stands throughout the Eastern half OF
the United States at 20 cents Dozen.
y few weeks ago in some Eastern cities
IS much as 80 cents a dozen was asked.
The ship famine was largely respon-
s!ble Half of the banana carrying
'ieet had TO he diverted TO transatlantic
service for army transport. leaving the
carGoing of bananas to smaller and
fewer craft.
II is because of the greac existing
shortage in the worlds supply Of ships
that freight rates on sea have been
greatly increased These Increases be-
came especially acute last year. and
have caused sharp rise In the prices
or many necessities.
MO INCREASE IN
RICE SHIPPING RATES
Much OF our rice comes from China
Ocean freight rates on rice which in
1919 were only "a of n cent a hound
rose TO l-2 cents a pound in 1911
/ On tea from India and China the
ocean freight rate increased in those
two years from / cent TO 5 cents
pound.
The tapioca we use is imported
largely from the Straits Settlements.
In 1919 ocean freight rates on tapioca
were cent a pound; they are now s
cents pound TO San Francisco
The ocean freight rate on Brazilian
coffee advanced from cont pound
Continued on Thirteenth Page.) "A