THE-TONNAGE PROBLEM

Otago Witness, Issue 3325, 5 December 1917, Page 17

THE-TONNAGE PROBLEM

, -*. . A CRITICAL OUTLOOK. STRENUOUS SHIPBUILDING • NEEDED. (Feom Odb Own Cobbespondest.J LONDON, Oct9ber 5. Sir Joseph Maciay, the .British Controller of Whipping, has stated for Ameri« can readers that "unless the United States faces the shipping problem and constructs 6,000,000 tons of shipping annually, the mlitary efforts of the United States will be crippled from the start." Lord Northcliffe, as head of the mission to America, has taken thi3 as his text for a statement -which paints the outlook in nob too glowing colours. It is, however, typical of Lord Northcliffe to adjure to activity by continual cries of "Wolf!" and the statement loses something of its force thereby. His point is that America must build 6,000,000 tons of shipping every yearthree times as much as the British have ever built in a year, and or six times as much as America has; and • that 500,000 American workmen will have to be put on the job. "They need not worry about the possibility of England being starved out, for England is steadily doing moro and more to feed herself. The thing for America to consider is 'the transport across 3000 miles of water of the new American army, which already amounts to more than a million men : its cannon, shells, locomotives railway track, munition plants, aeroplanes, observation balloons, hospitals, ambulance, convoys, doctors, nurses, machine guns, butchers, bakers, shoemakers, men of every trade, railroad engineers, interpreters, organisers, and distributors of stores, clothing, horses, mules, fodder, bookkeepers, complete telephone and telegraph equipments with operators,' running into thousands. Nothing that has happened alters my conviqtion that * the combined shipyards of the. Allies and their combined navies must make a superhuman effort fce overcome the losses and the growing demand as to Atlantic transport to-day. I do not believe that any substantial progress has been made in stopping submarine depredations. , "Last week we were told officially that the sinkings by submarine of British ships were the lightest since the policy of ruthlessness commenced. Within a few hours the cables flashed news that the sinkings of French ships over the same period were the heaviest yet recorded. In other words, it is probable that part of the submarine force of Germany that is fighting the greatest naval battle in the world off the south coast of Ireland was sent to the French coast to stop the arrival of urgentnecessities from America for your daily growing army. . "Remember that the army that is principally menaced by the policy of operating off the coast of France is the American army. The British army is supplied from Great Britain to an increasing extent as to meat, material, and munitions, across the Channel 20 or 30 miles adequately guarded. The French and Belgian armies are at home on their own soil. The giant supplies for your boys have to travel nearly 3000 miles and across the very track of submarine, ruthlessnesis. Of danger to actual transports there is probably little. Not one Canadian soldier has yet been lost at sea out of 400,000 boys that havo gone from Canada to France. . "The problem is almost entirely an American problem. The stoppage of the food supplies from this country to Great Britain would be trying, but not fatal, bo far as our shipping is concerned, we are not only able to look after our own needs, but we are cheerfully allocating much tonnage to France and Italy. Let me urge, and urge you again, that tho increased sinkings of French ships are significant, that what is aimed at by the Germans is the ruin of your effort to supply your own men with everything they need in France. AN OFFICIAL STATEMENT.

According to an official statement mad© in America the United States will have a mercantile tonnage of 9,200,000 in a little more than a year, as compared with 3 500,000 now (including 700,000 tons of German and Austrian shipping). The American ships now available for oversea servico number 458, with a total tonnage of 2,871,000. The Emergency Fleet Corporation has commandeered nearly 400 steel ships of over 2,500,000 total tonnage, and has contracted for 636 ships with a total tonnage of over 3,124,000. The Shipping Board's statement says:— "The fleet which we have in prospect is becoming a reality. Several of the commandeered ship completed have been and are now carrying cargo; others will leavethe ways in increasing number each succeeding month. , The ships for which the board has contracted are now und3r <:on. struction; the first is expected to be launched in 60 or 90 days." J