Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-01-03
NO SHORTAGE WILL BE FELT IN CARG0
 TONNAGE SHORTLY {

LOndOn, Jan. 2.-C0rrespOndence of The Associated Press. )-There will be no shortage of cargo tonnage for supplying world needs during the first half of 1919 in the opinion of Edward N. Hurley, chairman of the United States Shipping Board. It is passenger space for transporting troops home that Is occupying attention of the Allied shipping controllers. No na- tiOn can have as much of that as it wants now.
 After conferring with industrial and shipping heads in England and France and viewing large part of the battle areas of France and Bel gium, MT. Hurley stated that it would take at least six months, possibly more for Trance and England to re- habilitate their industries to the point where large amounts of raw material would be needed.
 It is pointed out that it would be useless to send industrial machinery and raw materials to France until her destroyed factory buildings are made ready to receive them
 Almost, the entire British industrial system now is a huge munitions pro duction machine virtually idle Until 1t is transformed to it's pre-war state raw materials would be burden. IL will be necessary to import some ma ohinery for the transformation but not enough seriously to tax cargo space for the next seven months. Mir. Hurley believes.
 The thirty-two German passenger vessels in German ports have been the center of most of the allied shipping discussions on this side foi weeks. Americans want all of them they can get to send home roughly 100000 men as soon as possible. England must send home to Canada about 300. 900, to Australia about 200,00 to New Zealand 75,000 or more and bring 10 England thousands from Mesopotamia Palestine, and other places. Obviously the American problem is the great est and it is understood, that. in press ing for ships, Americans generally have insisted that the United States, with less than two years of war, is in better positions to assimilate it re- turning troops than is England whose industrial conditions have been more disrupted.
 With the rapid increase in Ameri- can tonnage it is expected that more than 40 percent of the American for ces will go home in American ships. It is me desire of American army off cers and shipping interests that as many as possible of the balance be carried home in German passenger vnsaalS thuS releasing a large number of British bottoms.
 If the demands of Americans, heard here, that the troops be sent home as rapidly as they were brought over becomes insistent it will take more ships to send them back than to bring them over. They were brought over under the stress of necessity and in some instances ships were loaded "a the extent of discomfort. Loss of ton mage caused by lighter loading how ever will partially be made up by greatest speed. Fast vessels will not be compelled to conform to convey speed and the elimination of zig tagging will save much time.
 While a great many men are being sent home now and the number will constantly increase it is not believed the real homeward movement, will be inaugurated before February l. Whether then it will be on the ,sug- gested basis of 300,00O month de- bends almost entirely upon decisions Of the allied shipping conferences which began soon after the armistice was signed.