Evening star., 1934-09-30

trade for years and no visible chal-
lenger was in sight. One of the chief
sources Of the national income was
the invisible exports" represented by
the enormous trade Of the multitude
nous tramp" steamers which traf-
ficked from post to post the world
over.
That this commercial pre- eminence
on the sea could be wrested from us
seemed as unlikely as that Britain
would cease to be an island. But the
experience of the postwar years has
shattered this confidence. Competi-
ton that was undreamed of has
sprung up far and near and the re-
suits are visible in the desolating
spectacle of ports choked with idle
ships, shipbuilding yards which have
been closed down, tens Of thousands
of idle seamen, the failure Of vast
shipping organizations. the loss of
millions invested in the mercantile
marine and the melting away of those
invisible exports" which helped to
keep the balance of trade on the
right side. With the shrinkage of
world trade the competition for the
remainder has become more clamor-
GUS, and fields which we're once the
monopoly of British shipping are in
vaded by American, Italian, French
and japanese rivals.
In all this story Of misfortune the
fact which has most struck the imag-
ination Of the British people has been,
perhaps, the least important-the loss
of supremacy in the luxury Atlantic
trade. Germany, with the Bremen,
first snatched the laurels of the At
lantic from the Mauretania, and was
followed by France with the lie de
France and by Italy with the Rex.
The descent of Britain from first to
! fourth or fifth place shocked public
opinion, and the Cunard Line set
about the construction of vessel
which would put Britain first on the
Atlantic map again.
y X X X
But then came the great depres-
sion, and when the ship was half
built the company found that it had
bitten off more than it could chew
and the work came to sudden stop
for lack of resources. 1t was only
when the government, urged on by
public clamor, intervened with treas
ury backing for the scheme, based on
the practical absorption Of the White
Star Line by the Cunard Line, that
the construction was resumed and
the launching of the ship by the King
assumed the character Of a great ma
tional demonstration Of the vitality
of British shipping.
This, however, is only the prologue.
It is significant, because it marks a
new departure in British policy. The
chief cause of the decline of the Brit
ish shipping industry-apart from the
slump in world trade and travels
the adoption by the chief competitors
of Britain of the practice OF subsidizing
the mercantile marine.
Against this rivalry of State sub
sidized shipping it was obvious that
British shipping, run on strictly COM
mercial and economic lines, could not
fail to suffer. But the opposition to
State interference with the industry
| was so strong that It was only the
spectacle of an Atlantic struggle in
which Britain was merely rank out
slider that convinced Parliament and
public that action had to be taken.
What is to be the issue of the strug-
gle? A war of subsidies and war of
rates would mean disaster all around,
with incalculable aggravation Of in
ternational Ill feeling. This can only
be avoided by businesslike under
standing between the powers con-
cerned, and it is of good omen that an
international shipping conference is
in contemplation.
1t is fully recognized that other
countries, and especially America, are
justified in building an adequate ner-
camille marine, but it is argued in
shipping circles here that this condi.
ton can be fulfilled by a reasonable
understanding which will prevent q
cut-throat competition that in the
long run will penalize all and benefit
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