NOTES AND COMMENTS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13286, 19 September 1906, Page 6

NOTES AND COMMENTS.

JAPANESE COMPETITION.

Sojib remarkable disclosures with reference to Japanese competition, with British shipping companies have just been made by the director of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha, the largest of the State-subsidised steam shipping companies of Japan. The originating cause of this publication is the keen competition between this company and an English firni of shipowners, Messrs. Buttertfeld. and Swire, who conduct a regular service of steamers between Yokohama and London, Liverpool, Shanghai, and the x American ports. From this' statement it appears that the English firm made a proposal to the Japanese line not to take part in the Swatau trade, and upon the refusal of the latter to agree to any restriction a bitter waa 1 of rates ensued. The line from Yokohama ■to Shanghai was purchased by the Japanese for. £16,000 from the Pacific Mail Company, and by this- mean's the entire service fell into their hands, but during the war the service was suspended, and was replaced by a line of steamers organised by the English firm. " Now that the foreign company," so runs this document, "has forced its way into the sphere of the Nippon Yusen Kaisha., it is necessary to deal it such a blow that it will be incapable of further competition." The freight war is now so keen that fcoth lines are carrying goods for nothing. In order to deal a blow at tlhe English firm the Japanese have arranged a 14 days' service from Shanghai in the American trade. Six vessels are to be put on the Bombay service, and a. service of quick steamers will be created for the line from Kobe to Shanghai. On the Australian service during the war the North German Lloyd, the China, Navigation Company, and tlie Eastern Australian Navigation Company secured between them the whole of the trade with Japan.. The statement goes on to say that it is a duty of the Japanese company, at all costs, to drive out the foreigners, nob only from the before-men-tioned routes, but from tine' whole carrying trade east of Suez. AMERICAN WOMEN WRITERS. ; Women writers appear to be gaining more and more ground in New York magazines. A glance at four of the leading publications shows that of the 30 short stories in the August editions women have' written 17. In Harper's five of the nine stories were written by women; in Scribner's, three out of seven ; in McClure's, four out of eight; and in the Century, five out of six. Men fare better with verse. They wrote the four poems in Scribner's, two of the four in the Century, and two out of four in Harper's, but the only poem in McClure's came from the pen of a woman. In verse, consequently, the men won 'by the score of eight to five. MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP. Mr. William Carroll, the Chicago city electrician, lias issued a report showing that by the municipal ownership of its street lighting Chicago has saved £64,000 in the 18 years of city proprietorship, in \ addition to owning a plant valued at £700,000, and in 1905 saved £70,500 over what would have been the cost if the electric street lamps had been rented. Mr. Carroll estimates that the cost of rented service since 1888 iwould aggregate over a million sterling, to which he adds interest at four per cent. The city has expended £949,000 for construction and operation of the municipal plant. Adding to this item also interest at four per cent., there is shown an actual saving in cash to the city of £95,000, from which, however, Mr. Carroll deducts a small amount as lost taxes.

A NEW "SKYSCRAPER." The newest type of " skyscraper" in New York is the concrete office building of eleven storeys, near Herald Square. The building will be erected in sectious of two storeys each, with one-storey sections in certain places, so that each succeeding floor will tit into the one below. It is hoped to save from 4d to 5d a cubic foot as compared with steel-frame construction. New York builders are much interested in this new form of construction. It has often been said that if concrete buildings proved successful they would gain great favour, because of their being cheaper and easier of construction. Although the cost of the projected concrete "skyscraper" has not been accurately determined,, it is placed at about £400,000. Tito cite is 126 ft by 99ft. '