COSTLY STATE SHIPS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 228, 26 September 1931, Page 9

COSTLY STATE SHIPS

CANADIAN LOSSES. There is much information in the minutes of recent proceedings before a Select Standing Committee of the Canadian House of Commons on railways and shipping of great interest to all concerned with the work of shipping enterprises, and particularly of Government Merchant Marine, and in reading the evidence it is not difficult to discover reasons which would have prompted such a decision. The evidence of Sir Henry Thornton, president of the Canadian National Railways, was distinguished by much frankness. In one part ho recalled that each year for the last eight years sintee the present officers had been in charge of the Canadian Government Merchant Marine they had appeared there and had presented a report, which had always involved a deficit, although they had endeavoured to operate the vessels as the agents and trustees for the Government, and had tried to do that as efficiently as possiljle. Again, later, Sir Henry said that for years the officers and he had been going there and answering questions and revealing conditions which, had shown deficits. As loyal trustees of the company they had tried to make the answers clear, but thep had now got to the point where they felt that in the interests of tho people of Canada as a whole tho Government ought to say whether they were going on with this marine activity or were going to quit. They did not want any more to assume responsibility for the continued deficit unless there were a mandate from the Government. Estimated Canadian Loss. Evidence was given Mr. R. B. Teakle, vice-president of the Canadian National Steamships, that in 1929, when 35 ships were being worked, the operating deficit was 878,000 dollars, and that in 1930, when 26 ships were in service, the operating deficit was 834,000 dollars, so that, as Sir Henry Thornton pointed out, the fewer the ships the less the loss. Operating deficit, it was pointed out, did not include interest on capital or allowancea*for depreciation, and a statement was included indicating what the total capital loss would be if the enterprise were wound up. This statement included outstanding notes of vessels, advances on account of vapital, working capital and advances, etc., less the estimated value of the vessels in service (2,500,000 dollars (£16,244,000), without allowing for any interest given up by the Government. Sir Henry made it clear that the vessels forming the fleet were not modern and efficient ships. Acres of Ships. Canada, he said, was not alone in embarking -on such an enterprise, an outstanding example being the United States, where, he recalled, a most prodigious sum had been expended for tho purpose. He added that he had seen “not hundreds of ships, but acres of ships near Norfolk in storage.” They could not bo called squadrons, or even convoys, and the chairman of the committee remarked that they extended for miles, not acres. The United States had, Sir Henry Thornton added, -certainly spent hundreds of millions of dollars in tho adventure, which might have been justified at tho time, because no one knew how long the war would last, and he thought that the United States had lost hundreds of millions of dollars. Many people have always found it difficult to discover why, in times of peace, shipping should have been singled out for Government participation in commerce. The schemes have proved extremely expensive to the States, and Government withdrawal from such attempts at trading should do something to help re-establish confidence.