WAR ON GERMANY'S TRADE

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 12, 15 January 1915, Page 4

WAR ON GERMANY'S TRADE

SOME THREATENED INDUSTRIES ENGLAND'S ECONOMIC PRESSURE (FJIOU OUR OWN CORRBBPONDBNT.) LONDON, Bth December. There is no tioubt that the silent pressure of the British Navy is beginning to be felt in the industrial life of Germany, which finds it more and more difficult to obtain supplies of necessary commodities even from neutral countries. Rubber and oil are becoming increasingly scarce. There is no possibility of replenishing the gradually dwindling resources of petrol and lubricant, and every care is being taken to economise the use of so precious an adjunct of motor transport. The Galician wells are no longer available, and other more remote sources of supply have been entirely cut off. The authorities a* Potsdam, who have been storing oil steadily for years past, thought they had prepared against all eventualities, but they utterly miscalculated the colossal drainage imposed upon petrol supplies by an army moved by motors. They counted upon adding to their resources 1 the immense tankage at Antwerp, but this their own shells fired, so that once more their plan of campaign has gone all awry. With regard to rubber, the position is worse, for the supplies in Germany available at the outbreak of war have been almost used up, and aD that can be done now is to " re-make" tyres and other forms of the manufactured article which are suffering from wear. This process cannot be continued indefinitely, and the time is approaching when there will be a complete breakdown of that portion of the German transport service which depends upon pneumatic tyres. The absence of fresh supplies of raw rubber will be greatly felt in Germany. THE DRUG TRADE. Tho shortage of many drugs and chemicals has. made British manufacturers realise the necessity for gaining control of the chemical industry. Germany's pre-eminence in the past has been due to: 1. The characteristic British attitude of inattention to the warnings and lessons in the past. 2. Our use of out-of-date machinery. 3. A customary lack of national forethought, such as ' allowing our waterways to be controlled by the railway companies.' 4. Failure to realise that all industrial development ' tends to become more and more scientific, and that the adequate utilisation of by-products from an industry may settle the survival of the industry itaelf.' i 5. Absence of Governmental assiitance or interest in the Occupation of the British people. i Lord Moulton hopes that our manufacturers will now be up and doing. He points out that by far the most glorious moment in Prussia's history was not one of military success, but that ono when, after being prostrated by Napoleon, the whole Prussian people responded to the exhortations of Fichte and others, who told them it was only by self-discipline and by seeing in disaster the consequences of their national faults that they could obtain the strength to place the nation in the position it ought to occupy The fact that our chemical industries were in such a backward state, with the exception of those which needed the least thought, study, and knowledge, though not so grave a matter as that of which Fichte spoke, was grave enough to make it necessary for us to rouse ourselves as the Prussians did. He was certain that if we did that we should regain 6ur position, and with even more glory than we possessed before There was a time when in no industry could England regard other nations as its superior, but now in the chemical industry, mainly that of organic chemistry, its position was all but insignificant. If we did not take the lesson to heart during the war and resolve that when we had saved ourselves from the military domination of Germany we would also save ourselves from her industrial domination, the victory of Germany, if not in the form she could 6 wish? be guib ° aS gl ' eat as She SYNTHETIC DYE SCHEME. The Government is tackling in earnest the scheme for the promotion' of the aniline dye industry in this country, which, so far, has been totally in the hands of Germans. Official estimates show that at present something less than 'i per cent, of the synthetic dyes' used by British manufacturers, and particularly m the textile industry, are made in this country. It i s anticipated, however, that this figure can be raised by o per cent, to 12£ per cent, without much difficulty, while there is no reason why a still larger ratio should not be achieved at an early date. The intention is to endeavour to obtain from consumers of such dyes the whole of the capital required for the creation of an organisation which would be in the nature of a holding concern, and capital00 a basis of something like £3,000,000. This sum is to be put up privately, and, therefore, the Government would be prepared to guarantee the interest on £1,500,000 of debentures. Ine incursion of the Government into commercial matters is almost without precedent, but there is no criticism in view of the circumstances of the case. GERMAN SHIPS SOLD. Several captured German ships have now been disposed of under the hammer at an average price of about £6 10s per ton (dead weight), which is regarded as a satisfactory figure. Trading schooners have predominated among the slups so far offered and the demand for this class of vessel appears to be keen and insistent. At any rate, the sales have been well attended, and considerable animation has been shown. AH the sales have been to English purchasers. It has been urged in some quarters that the disposal of German tonnage at this juncture may tend to depress the price of new English shipping, but so far nothing has happened to justify this view. THE CIGAR TRADE. Openings for the extension of the sale of British-made cigars exist in many markets, and it is computed that the aggregate value of the export trade in cigars which might be diverted to British manufacturers from their German and Austrian rivals amounts to £190,000. During 1912 the cigar export* were:— From Germany, £174,500; from Austria and Hungary, £6090; from the United Kingdom, £21,200. The distribution of these exports is among 46 markets. German exports in these markets are more than eight times as largo' as those of the United Kingdom. Austrian exports are quite small, and are confined almost entirely to Switzerland and the Balkan States. British exports are practically confined to British possessions, mainly British South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. In each of these markets there is a certain amount of German competition, more particularly in Australia. Elswhere the British share of the trade is insignificant.