How to Lose Orders The issue of the accounts of
one of our greatest ship- building firms, Messrs. Harland and Wolff, showing a loss for last year of over £280,000, synchronizes almost tragically with the announcement that three ships for the Soviet Government are to be built in Danish yards because no sufficiently extended credit can be obtained from British firms. The firms are obviously not to blame. In their present depressed state they can be in no posit ion to provide credits themselves. It is the Cabinet decision restricting credit under the Export Credits Scheme to twelve months that is responsible for the diversion of orders from British yards starving for work. If the reports, still unofficial, that the twelve months is to be extended to eighteen are authentic that is welcome news. But even eighteen months, while ample in the case of some commodities, is too little in the case of others, and ships are among the others. These particular vessels, it may be added, are of a special type for river work in Siberia, and there is no question therefore of their com- peting with existing idle tonnage.
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