Evening star., 1932-09-04

One Of the biggest businesses In the
world Is the work Of moving persons
and property from place to place. and
when production and trade are de-
pressed and people have nowhere to
go or money to pay their fare that
business suffers along with the rest.
In depressions affecting only a few
countries the shipping business is able
to keep employed in the trades where
activity Is sustained, but when an en-
tire world goes into q slump, as has
the vessels which ply the seas find
little demand for their services.
A ship Is not built in day nor a
merchant marine in a year. The task
Of establishing shipping facilities re-
quires long and patient effort and the
investment of vast resources. The
value of a merchant marine to a ma
ton is great and it has become a mat
ter of national concern all over the
world to keep the shipping business
alive, even though it be dormant.
The most desperate efforts nav, been
made by the shipping and sh.pbuilding
companies themselves. They have re-
sorted to mergers, have gone into ra-
tionalization schemes and otherwise eff
fected economies to keep them afioat.
Even In peace times and times of pros
perity it has been the policy Of some
nations to grant ship subsidies to in
sure the upbuilding of merchant fleets
1t is traditional policy Of Great Brit
ain, the greatest maritime nation, and
the United States in later years has
followed the practice. Through the
United States Shipping Board, our own
merchant fleet receives subsidies in the
form OF loans at low interest, profitable
mail contracts and similar aids. In
this world emergency more nations
have adopted the policy and many i'm
portant trading nations now are as
sisting their shipping through the hard
times
Germany already has made loans OF
| public funds to the total Of 10000 0OC
reichsmarks to her shipping COM
panies While the great lines, such q,
! the North German Lloyd and the
Hamburg American, have received most
| OF 1t, the tramps have had share
| OF this emergency relief. The money
is to be repaid ultimately and Is con.
| ditioned further on the renewal of prt-
/ vate loans which had been made Il
the companies. Count Roedern. who
for years has been head of the Ger
man Shipowners' Association, has beer
appointed commissioner Of navigation
in an effort to coordinate shipping
activities.
Many Economies Effected.
The Compagnie Generate Transatlan-
tique is one of the most famous ship
ping lines in the world and yet it il
operating at a deficit The French
Chamber of Deputies has voted 10000.
600 francs to assist in meeting ths
deficit as temporary measure pendine
some deflnitive subsidizing action. Ir
addition to this the government has al.
lowed another loan Of nearly 10000.
600 francs to the French line to enable
It to complete construction Of the super
lie de France, now on the ways.
| Private French shipping interests have
not been slow to conserve their position
Fourteen shipyards have Joined In .
consortium which is buying materials
comparatively. Standardization wori
also is being done. 1t does not appear
that any arrangement has been made
for public financing as yet. The French
shlpyards believe that If they strengthen
their position and institute economic.
OF operation in these times their credit
will be sufficiently enhanced to enable
them and the lines commissioning then,
to build ships to borrow readily in the