The naval preparations, however, were only part of the measures which
were necessary to deal with the shipping situation. The second step was
to create the Ministry of Shipping. At the end of 1916 the tonnage
requisitioned by the State was less than one-half of the whole, and this
was mainly used on purely military and naval services for the British
Government or the Allies. During 1917 practically the whole of the
remainder of the British ocean-going mercantile marine was brought under
requisition at Blue Book rates and organized as a national war service.
The Dominion Government also liberated much overseas shipping for war
purposes, and neutral shipping was brought as far as possible into
allied service. A close scrutiny was then made of the countries from
which the necessary imports could be derived, and shipping was
concentrated on the shortest routes, thereby multiplying the number of
voyages the ships could make in the year. Leading regulations were
revised, which increased the carrying capacity from the 1913 figure of
106 to 150 tons per 100 tons net of shipping entering our ports, and
arrangements were made for shortening the time occupied in the turn
round of ships at the ports. In the latter part of the year the convoy
system was introduced, which reduced the shipping losses, though it
involved certain delays to individual ships.
In addition to these improvements in the methods of using shipping, a
large program of shipbuilding was put into operation, not only in
British yards but in all the available yards in neutral countries as
well. To insure greater speed in building a large number of the new
ships were ordered to a standard design. In spite of the difficulties of
all kinds which have confronted the production of ships, notably the
shortage in the supply of steel plates and of labor, the output has
steadily mounted. During 1917 1,163,500 tons of new ships were built, as
against 542,000 tons in 1916, and by the end of 1918 the rate of output
of all ships, war and merchant, ought to be double that of any previous
year in British history. In order to make possible this increase
forty-five new berths have been provided in private shipyards, and the
construction of three new national shipyards, containing thirty-four
berths, has been begun. Besides this effort at home 175,000 tons of
shipping were purchased abroad, an amount which would have been very
greatly exceeded if the United States had not taken over the whole
program of ships being constructed on British account when they entered
the war.
The third step in dealing with the shipping problem was a drastic
reduction of imports. In 1916 imports were cut down by 1,600,000 tons.
Early in 1917 a committee was appointed which recommended a preliminary
program of reductions amounting to 6,000,000 tons. This was approved and
came into operation on March 1. The program was shortly afterward
increased by further severe restrictions of the imports of timber. The
outcome of this policy has been that practically all cargo space is now
reserved for goods carried directly or indirectly on Government account,
and consists almost entirely of essential foodstuffs, raw materials
required for the manufacture of national necessities and military needs
or of munitions of war. The chief reductions were in timber, paper,
feeding stuffs, and brewing materials. The unfortunate but inevitable
consequence of the restriction of imports and of the diversion of
shipping from trading to war routes has been a large diminution in
exports.
The fourth step was to secure a large increase in the production of food
and raw materials at home. There is now good reason to expect that in
1918 the tillage area in the United Kingdom will exceed that of 1916 by
over 3,000,000 acres. These satisfactory results have only been possible
through the public-spirited activity of large numbers of people
throughout the country, including farmers, workers, and organizers, to
whom the nation has good reason to be grateful.