STATE TRADING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20433, 13 June 1928, Page 4

STATE TRADING.

AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH LINE. LONDON COMMENT. (From Our Own Correspondent-) LONDON, April 27. After giving some details of the losses incurred by the Australian Government through entering into the shipping business, The Times comments generally on State shipping ventures. In incurring heavy losses through its shipping venture, Australia has not been exceptional (writes the shipping correspondent) . Losses on State shipping ventures have been the rde. The British Government built, a large number of vessels during the war, but very wisely the Government of that day recognised the acquisition of the ships as an emergency war measure sold the vessels when prices were high and left British owners to bear the heavy depreciation of values wh’ch soon set in. _ _ The report ol the Canadian Government Merchant Marine for last year shows a working loss of 720,735d0l (£144,147), and that the total deficit for the year, including depreciation, was 7,068,939d0l (£1,413,788). The first consists of 46 vessels of 342,000. tons gross. The total loss since the establishment or the service in 1018 is put at 51,065,568d0l (£10,213,1*,). UNPLEASANT AMERICAN METHODS. As showing Low the United States Shipping Board gets to work, the writer quotes from the official proceedings of the House Committee on Appropriations. Board Commissioner Teller, replying to questions from Congressman Wood, of Indiana, said, among other things:— A question was asked' of Mr Smith a short while ago as to what was done towards soliciting traffic from the railroads. On July 1 of last year, in connection with the Department of Commerce and through the co-operation of the Treasury Department we pot space in the Customs house in Now York. Working together there we tabulated the name of every importer and exporter, stated where his goods came from, and gave a great deal of information of that kind. Of course, there is a lot of information in the Customs house that is of a private character that is not given out generally, but we had access to all of their files for our own confidential information. We are now preparing card indexes, and we can give the solicitors in any city information as to anything that goes through, the name of the shipper, the name of the exporter, the name of the importer, what he got, and where he got it, or where he was shipipng it. That is going to be of tremendous value to our operators all over the United States. Thus far we have tackled only New York, but New York is the great mart of it all. We had four men working for six months on that job. “It thus appears,” says The Times, " that not only is the Customs house used for the collection of duties, but also for the collection of information, in order that attempts may be made to divert trade to the vessels of the Shipping Board, which are maintained in service at the cost ot enormous losses. Such information could clearly be used for other purposes, if the Government decided to encroach on other forms of private enterprise. Methods of this kind are not calculated to instil confidence in business men. and general relief will be felt that there will be no temptation in Australia to follow them.’’