SHIPPING.
Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 2879, 25 February 1916, Page 1
About this newspaper
SHIPPING.
'I'HE JAPAN USU HAVE IMMENSE INCRIUSKS. Tokm, December 'J<>. In no was lias lilic wuv in I'Jurojie bad ,so y;r.'al. an cflVci on -lapan as in I'lit- expansioii of her ,s|ii|»pin;,;, uliiith. lias Uii.lues.Scd phenomenal expansion iii a'lnioNli every diiretMion, m> llia.l. to-day she commands l.lle pas- WMi-er and" fremiti trallic, of I lie I'ncilic. (writes )v- -I ■ lii«r;i.m Hi.van). Since Mie onlil)|-eak of .Mio war .Jiii-pa.n has opened mnv fines or provided .i'icicased s'li/ipjii-nti I'iK'il.Hies to theWoulli Sett. Isla.iKls, to. Hlmibay, a round-thewurld Line, via- Panama, ami the tijmv Onakii. SI lose 11 line, to I'/iirope. 'I , lie merchant' marine of tin , nations VANISIIKI) ALMOST WHOLIA' I'i-oin the l'ac;itl<; during dlus early days of (lie war; and then came the Seamen's Hill. ;i.t. Va,shiuo;loii,_w'hieih at mm fell swoop wiped America.)! «h'i-p--pirifi from Ori(>ntal waters, giving .lapan, just the oppoi'tnnity she nenled to conwolidaile her .shipping lines and • rfv|, eiMitrol of the roiit<-s, Iwiving Her in a> bellt'i , ]Misi;bioii 1o nieol. t;ho enormoiisl.v inoreawHl <lemand for liotioin,s. '.In addition, .lapa.n Inns reeeiveil iiumlMNrs of orders for Hie coiislrui'luni of new sihi))s; au<l all her yanls will lie working to the full Imiml of (heir cai>acify for more than a year to conic.
Mil rope, aim I especially America . aiv almost, wholly <!e[)eiHlenl. on Japanese ships to carry their lar-je annual iinporl.s from tile. Orient, as well as to carry t-heir still lander exports to the Far Knst. As has akendy been, ssv.d, at. one strike Mie American Government, swept fiO.OOO tons of
A.MKRTOAN STTIPPINC from t.be .Paeiiie; ainl wliat would exporters 'Ji-iive done had not Japan tteeji rea<ly t<> step into the breach - :' Japan has" miw utmost a monopoly of San l'Yam<Vcn freights eastward. 'me arious lines formerl.v ojic.ra liny; from as a base .have also way l<). .Jaiun. To have thus suddenly inheriled l-he ri<"h patronage f'lrmerlv bestowed on wre-ai line.s like the North fierinan l.yl.oyd. llu> llain- the I'lench Mail, and the Pacific Mail, i.s an imnieasnraMi , advantage to Japan's merehan.t marine. The situation now Ls Iha-t (lie Japanese are the only lines thai can bo depended upon to «ivp a regular freioht ami passenger service from t-he F: Ka.sl ; aiul Mie ell'ect upon Ihe nation's .shipping ' companies may he imagined. . IMPETUS TO PMOSPEFMTY and expansion canie m> oliliei - ways. Loo. I'Yir a. Long (.imp Iheiv Jiad been, ruinous comiielri.tioii between Ihe N.(j-pon Yusen .Kai.siiia and Ihe British India Company in India-n waters, hwl at. the of lllie. war the hoa.(s of the ltrlt.-i.sli compa.uy were witlidrawn for war purposes, leaving I h< , Japrtiieso ii. free field, while .s-imilar conipotiMoii. sutferod from Italian and Austrian, line.s nJso disapjieareil. ndce<l, l-he various sbqipniK eompaii'ies of Japan have been hard put to it. to command a siifiicieiil, nuni'lier of ships to moot the increased di-ma.nd. They havo bwll dome; i.h fairly well, however, eiHnplaints a»s to fre.ijiii.t- l<'f(, behind are ma.iiy. Thmo | years a-go the ships running on Wie Smith Sea routes numbered only 17. whereas lo~day they ii umber 87. Th> u-i(lidrawal of (iermau ships from Orienl-dJ waters increased Japanese bdtiloins on ihe .wunp .roiii('<eK from 20 lo -If). These fiyures give pract.ioat illuslration of t-he rale of increase experienced. The La l''ollette law'does not. affi-ei. the Japanese lines, since on them ofliecrs a.ud men sneak (lie same la in'uago. TffE JAPANESE LIMES to America are d.oiuv; tihe most prolitaibkv busiiie.ss; and lihe Toyo Jvisi-u Kaiisha., wh-icli could not pay a divid-oml before the w«r, now pays J" ni-r (joiiiti. NaiuraUy, Mie prosperity of the s'lupping eoiiipan'ie.s i,s slwired iby Uie, dockyards, llriti.sk yaixis, l>e-
iiijj; now fully occupied witli war orders, ea.n.not buiJd for foreign countries, a.ud consequently Japan has
been, throwji conipletely tni her own
resources. During; the year 1014 Japanese yards launched G-30 steaiiiers, representing a total tonnage, of !).'i,7(i(), iuchuluig So steamers of over ."illOO tons; aiiid tlie cost of tojnsl.ruction is said to be less tjha.n in linttsh yards, despite, the luighor cost of iinjxirted materials in Japa.n. The pres(Mii. tonnage, of Japanese mereilisuif filvippuig i.s something over 1,593,'J(i0, representing 2L.'JO ships, w'it,h a proportionate increase of s<!auien. .TlUi EOREIGxN OEFICEKS l'ur-merl.y used on alt the Japauese .stea.iuuis have now all yiven way to uativo otiieer.s. Thus the yroyi«.-> ot btnppiug industries in Ja>puii JUas> In.in (jU'Ue plieiwmeual; a.uit I he Ji a - lion is determined not only lo do all wjt-ljui its pouer to keop up tlii.s ral<: of |;ivgre.xs., bub to ouUloJiy li»-r anyfiiiiig aji'tiidy accomplished. And the ell'eob on Ja-xiaJieso Lrtide has bee.v nioro tihan proportionate; for while the ships of western counitrie.s ikul.iiradly favour tlioir own .nattiouaJs aim carry for the most part 't-ly; goods of their respecttive, Wjuntries,' the Japanese slaps carry chiefly the pro-due is of Ja.pan. Tims, wilih -Mio sli.ippi.ng roud.'s so la-rgely in f-lieir own haulds, there has beem <i- natural decrease- in I'luropoa-ii Mind Ajinci-iean trade, vviith a- corresponding liicretiso in. J apji-noso expo'il-s. Yot Japanese exportej's aii't , EJi-KLING- ME RESULTS of lihe iraibioiiial monopoly a.s to some oxte.n(, d<i(iri,mon(.a.l ; for tliey arc nieinorialising' the (Jovernineat a,s to the inconvenience a.ud loss suffered from the lack of sutficieiiit whipping accommodation, while freiglil rales a.re increasing l.cyoml what is reasonable. l*'roiu March next Mie rates to Europe will go up still furliher, according to aniiouiieeiuenlis by the Nippon Yuseu Kai.sha. reee.nl. loss of one of the largest, of :lhat eoinpa.uy'.s new ships by beiny torpedoed in. the Mcdiitcirrainea.n. uiith. a milTloii in gold on fioii.nl au<l 2,200,000 yon guaramteed by tin; Oovernnioni. lo dlnv eompa.uy ag;»-iii«|, lya-i- risk, will st.il| furtiher affeut. freiglvl, ratey, it is expected.
