BRITISH SHIPPING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18964, 11 March 1925, Page 9

BRITISH SHIPPING.

ORDERS GO TO GERMANY. UNFAIR COMPETITION BLAMED. Sun. LONDON. Mar. 9. "Unfair competition is crippling the British engineering, shipping and cotton industries," said Mr. Hicksens, chairman of Messrs. Cammcll and Laird, in commenting upon the order for five motor ships which has been placed with a. Hamburg firm, owing to the tenders having been lower than those of British shipbuilders. "Only 150 out of 500 shipbuilding berths in Britain are occupied," said Mr. Hicksens. "The Germans beat us because they work longer hours for lower wages. This results in a unit of work costing Is compared with 10s in Britain. The League of Nations should establish the wages which should rule in order to make fair competition possible." The Daily News says the German system of trusts, which the late Herr Hugo Stinnes inaugurated, enables one organisation to control a whole group of industries. This eliminates waste and assists in the exchange of products. The paper urges the reorganisation of the British shipping industry. It advocates the acceptance of the suggestion made by the Prime Minister, Mr. Stanley Baldwin, for a round table conference between the masters and the men to thrash out the reasons for the high cost of production. A cablegram published on Saturday stated : The Morning Post says a firm of British shipowners has placed an order in Hamburg for five motor- ships of 10,000 tons each, at a cost of between £70,000 and £IOO.OOO less per ship than the lowest British tender.