Ships and Men
The difficulties which face the British shipping industry in competition with subsidised foreign fleets 'have long provoked protests from British shipowners and others, and Mr. Runciman has been severely criticised for his refusal to grant larger subsidies. But reluctance in regard to subsidies must be accounted a virtue rather than a vice ; and certainly such weapons should not be Used until a determined attempt has been made to stimu- late international trade, on which the prosperity of the shipping industry depends. But, for Great Britain; the Shipping industry is vital to her means of defence ; and one serious conSeqUence of its decline is, as has been emphasised recently in letters to The Times, a shortage of skilled seamen. There is no such shortage of recruits for the Navy ; but the Royal Naval Reserve is only one- third of its 1914 strength, and its members could not be called up without seriously depleting the ranks of the merchant service. There are ways of making a seafaring life more attractive ; the system of " adopting ships " in use in some L.C.C. schools is an excellent way to stimu- late interest in the sea ; and some training schools by including foreign &Ulises in their curriculum are taking practical steps to show the attractions of 'a life at sea. Of •even greeter effect would be the abandonment by British shipowners of their unrelenting opposition to International Labour Organisation proposals for improv- ing seamen's conditions.
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