The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1918-02-06
WILL PROBABLY CUT
IMPORTS AS TO
MOVE TROOPS SOON
Overseas Transportation Recognized
as the Real Problem Now
Facing Uncle Sam
ALLIES TO LOAN TONNAGE
In Cutting Down Imports the Coy
ernmcnt Would Select Nom
Essential fist

Washington, Feb. 4.---A fifty Der
cent rcdrc:ic, in The volume of i'm
port; - OH, of the measures under
c>hSldcr"tlon by the administration 20
yak, 'vAll&bl2 slips f.r trnn:3crt;nr
troops 30 France.
oNET2Has trnnSportatio2 is rccop-
niZcd the coal problem facing the
G"vcrnm1 in It's effort 70 put on
IN" tirlng iinc big fighting force and
keep 1t III supplies. Estin.tcs Of the
ah''un' O! tonnage necessary to keep
an army supplied vary III! the way
from ipur to seven tons IN continuous
service for each man onts ,rcd, Thr
UNITED States now has in ail services
a1out tour mililon tons Of shipping, Of
wren probably onc-fourth is engaged
III bringing in materials heretofore re-
Eardcd as essential to the national in
dustrial life.
Neutral Tonnage
II negotiations now under way with
neutral countries are concluded sue
tonnage will be used to suDplant
American ships engaged i'm the non
hazardous trades. 1t is regarded as
entirely likely that the entire one
million tons of American ships en-
gagged Will be put into the trans
Atiantlc service, leaving the neutral
SnlpS to supply in SO far as possible
the gaps made. The general opinion
Is that about 80 per cent of the short
age Will not be supplied.
In addition to its efforts to obtain
neutral tonnage the government ey-
pectS soon to take over all American
SSalllhG ships and large number of
french sailing ships, all Of which will
be put in the non-haZardous tr,des
This move will add some tonnage to
That available for bringing in imports.
NOn-essentials
If cut in imports is made the gov
Grnment will select for elimination q
list OF articles which it regards as
non-eSsentlal in the prosecution of the
war. imports of certain materials, in
cludlng ntlratcs and manganese, must
DC kept up to maximum. The coun
Try Will need this year about | 500 900
IONS OF nltratcs from Chile and fully
zil. '''' 'i"-
OFFICIALS working out details of tbo
transportation of troops have not dis
closed to what extent the allies are
ready to assist with loan of TONNAGE
put many American soldiers will po
abroad in allied vessels. This wos
arranged for in the intcr-allied con-
ference at Paris.
Shipping board officials estimate
Amerlca's Shipping output during 1918
at from 100000 to 100000 tons,
much of which they expect to become
available in the summer. Officials saw
the Shipping situation will grow
steadily more favorable as the wear
advances '"'
Shipping Congested
Supplies for the allies and for tho
American army abroad still are piljnp
up faster than they can be TRANSPORT
ea, and it is estimated that more than
a million tons of cargo are awaiting
SShlpmcnt along the Atlantic scaboard
fven had the country's production of
n'atrrials come up to expectations and
had the railroads been able to trans
P"ft u: net more goods officials saw.
could have been transported across
the seas.
The Shipping board, realizing the
S''lit '"n, is Rebuilding its efforts to
"pccd up the oIilding of ships. With
Il" assistance OF labor department
they alc creating a rescrv of shin
N'rd lablr. which thy expect to place
in th yards as fast as ii can be alb