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Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16962, 11 October 1920, Page 6

Sir Auckland Geddes, speaking at Washington last week, found it necessary to deny the reports that tho British Government had re-sold to Germany a number of Gorman ships, with tho objer-t, thereby, of hindering the development of the American mercantile marine. As a matter of fact, tho Amurican mercantile* marine appears to bo suffering fr;>in paralysis, 6r dry rot; it is at least making far less use of its opportunities than might be expected. Many of the largest of the German ships seized by tho American Government 1 nftor Congress declared war on Germany in , 191.7 arc being returned to tho German trade, though under American ownership. Among the sh\ps so Tβturned are tho Agamemnon, formerly the North-German Lloyd liner Kaiser WiJhelm II.; the Mount Vernon, formerly the Kronprinzessin Ceeile, also a North-German Lloyd eliip, and the George Washington and President Grant, two of the finest ships in the old Hamburg-America fleet. The Shipping Board seems, indeed, to have more shipping under its control than il knows what to do with. It is admitted that more than 300 vessels are lying idle in Eastern waters, and not improving by their enforced idleness. Among them is tho gigantic liner Leviathan, once tho Vaterland, the prido of tho Hamburg-America fleet. Tho Leviathan, which has been lying on the mud at Hoboken since September last year, was nearly sold in January last to the International Mercantilo Marine for | three and a half million dollars. If the j deal had- been completed, sho would j now liavo been tho flagship of the In- j ternational Mercantile fleet in the transAtlantic service, but the Hearst papers objected so violently to tho sale, that it was stopped, and the great ship continues to rust into decay. It is said | it wonld take £1,600,000 to put her !

into a seaworthy state, this being no j doubt tho reason why, when she was ! offered for tale a few weeks ago* not a single bid was offered. If the Americans cannot make botter iiso than ihW of one of tho finest ships in the world, it seems futile for t ! hem to accuse England of trying to check their maritime development. A cuiiotis in?if]ont happened at a ineetina of tho ATapo Cornmi-iion in Melbourne the. ether day. Among tire various far-tors in tho wage question that tho Commission investigated was the amount of food rc-tjuired for an average workman, and among the witnesses who gave evidence on this point Inst March xvas a professor in Melbourne University. He then said that -ID3I calories of food wore required for a man performing average work. In April he published a text-book in which '"instated that the number of calories required by a man dring mr.dcrato muscular work wns USOO r. day. Someone noticed thfs discrepancy, -and t'he professor was recalled a few days ago to

explain i-o the Commission the apparent contradiction. Apparently the only excuse. }v> could make was that.

"tho statement slipped into the book," which, he :tdded, contained worso errors. He discarded t;he B-itish standards as not being applicable to Australia. The chairman, in the course ot r. somewhat severe criticism of the witness's attitude, 'declared that his original evidence had not been prepared With tho care to be expected from an expert. Tie pointed out that if tflie Commission had reported the cost of living in Australia on the witness's standard the amount of wages necessary for the difference between the new standard and .3500 (the generally accepted standard) would be £40.000,000 to £50,000,00!) a year, assuming iSiafc their finding was made effective for all workers in tho Commonwealth, both as to the basic wage and as to margins, and applying present prices. He regarded the witness's evidence as having no special scientific value. The legal authority who onco summed up -the degrees of mendacity as lies, • lies, and expert evidence, would no doubt welcome this incident as proof of the accuracy of his version of the superlative.

An unofficial estimate in Auptist of the population of tho United States, put it at 100 millions. TJic official*roporfc shows that it is rather more than half a million above tho estimate. On iCius basis, the number of "millionaires" in the States, which was unofficially .«aloulated to bo approximately 50,000, may, in fact, be greater. A millionaire in America does not mean quite the same thing as in the Old Country, where to earn the title a man must bo worth a million sterling. In the States they count by the dollar, so t'hat a millionaire need be worth ' only £200,000 sterling—if the rate of exchange "ivero normal. Tho "millionaire group" even includes peaplo not -worth a million dollars, for it admits highealarietl officials of great corporations who aro receiving 50,000 dollars a year, which represents Jow interest on j a million. Ninety people enjoy annual incomes of between 750,000 to i,000,000 dollars (roughly £150,000 to £200,000), whilo no fewer than IG2 have incomes of more than tho latter amount. The effect of the war is seen in the statement that in 1917 there were only some 16,000 reputed millionaires in the States, less than one-tfiurd the present number.

There seems to be serious need in London for some legislation to prevent profiteering in" rents by owners of city properties. Some statements made at a recent meeting cf tenants of city offices < and business premises disclosed some amazing instances of greed on the part of landlords. An advance to £900 of tho rent of £300 paid for. many years for premises in Mincing lane was the mildest case cited. In another, the lessee of offices for which he had hitherto paid £800, was invited to pay £2000, and not unnaturally "protested rather violently." His remarks, no doubt, relieved his feelings, but subsequently he

had cause to regret them, for his landlorda informed him that as he had instated their agent his rent would bo £2500, and that if he did not care to pay it, a Japanese firm was waiting: for liis place. A rise from £800 to £2000, Ito be accepted vor declined in - ten minutes, was the experience of a finn which had occupied certain offices for I forty years. In a fourth case the lessee of a suito of 24 rooms, in -which he employed 80 clerks, was confronted on the expiry of his lease with the prbpo*sition> that ho should pay a premium of £35,000 for a renewal. He refused, and offered to buy the promises, but somebody else secured them at a higher figure than he had offered. Tho meeting, of tenants passed resolutions urging the Government to give tenants security of tenure for threo yeare and to limit to 50 per cent, any increase in rent.