The Morning Post of Monday published from its Naval Correspondent
some extraordinary figures about the operations of the American Shipping Board. One American newspaper says that the high cost of working the Board's ships is due more to the various running costs than to wages. It is said that the vessels burn more fuel than foreign ships, apparently owing to the poor construction of the hulls and machinery, and also the less efficient manner in which the vessels are handled. Of the 1,648 ships belonging to the Board only 361 were in regular service at the end of July. An attempt is being made to sell as much surplus tonnage as possible, and some has been offered as low as five dollars per ton. One cannot wonder at the general dissatisfaction in America when it is remembered that the heavy burden involved in the possession of these ships is contem- poraneous with the new grinding tariff.
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