Show Ci germany ermany s shipping shipp in g now ranks seventh gains in volume after slip P ping ing to eleventh place hamburg Germany german shipping claims to be 11 fighting again against tremendous odde odds in ite its attempt to regain its place in the eun sun the loss 1083 of DO 00 per cent of the german commercial fleet through the war ar and the term terms of surrender means that german gemra slip at IV owners p practically have bad to start anew by taking up loans bi haying lying back wk some of the ships delivered to the entente victors under the treaty of Ner V ersal sailles lles and refraining from paying dividends in recent years the shipping concerns of germany have gradually worked up a postwar tonnage of 2 gross register tons which la Is abacut one half the german prewar tonnage and aich which comprises 4 per cent of the total world 8 tonnage as compared with mith 11 per cent in from eleventh place in 1020 among the shipping nations of the world ger many has moed to seventh place by iwa RA compared with second place in to 1014 1914 pictures conditions count siegfried ItOe dern chairman of the league of german Ship owners and freighters in a prepared statement replying to specific ques questions eions gave the following picture of shipping conditions in 1914 the G german erman merchant ma rine occupied second place among the merchant fleets beets of the world as far as 83 actual tonnage was as concerned it then comprised 5 00 grog gross register tins and was surpassed only by great britain in the course of the war germany lost about half of her ships through seizure sinking etc neit next in accord ance with the terms of the versailles ler sallies she the had to give up tre treaty aty included the second half ma acly among the vesse vessels Is that bad had to be victors were at the turned over to the passenger boats by the peace larger german legislation resulting and the treaty german shipp ng gulting compelled to pay a part of the was wits immediately in kind by giving war ar bill the the ships already in up not only service but also those under coni construe truc tion it was the sense of the treaty of Vers versailles aill es that this delivery by private capital was as to 0 o be rega regarded crded as a pay ment on account by the german cermen empire and bence hence to be refunded to the individual concerns by the german state e the financial condition of the retch made complete indemnification impossible an agreement was as therefore reached between the gover government rom ent and the ship owners by which the icat litter w were ere to receive an tin amount buffi dent clent to rebuild but one third of their pre prewar ar tonnage inflation makes handicap because of the inflation 0 of the laet last yearn years the indemnity payments of the government did not suffice to rebuild the third rd of the old tonnage agreed upon besides in distributing the government erdmen t indemnity the small ers were to be given the preference 80 that most of the larger concerns were able to finance a replacement program of but 20 per cent of the prewar tonnage tont on out t of the fund funds furnished by the government T the he fart fact that the larger concerns nevertheless built on an aver age one third of their old tonnage Is due solely to their watering their stock and assuming new deball due to the tact fact that a 8 number of small and middle sized concerns ton cerns were ere able to exceed thie this program anil and that sever new companies have iwen been founded the entire endre german merchant marine has DO now w upon of the reconstruction program been brought to n ton conein tn other words to about one half of the prewar ar tonnage both by new construe tion and through the repurchase of vessels delivered I 1 I 1 compared with the former fleet the be present comprise comprises comparatively fe few ships and ad more MON purely passenger and vessels as i 1 mixed frecht pa I 1 freighters pure and simple awell well as the fart tact that these newly constructed with modern ma ship ships are equipped i chinery does not rot counterbalance the tn 1 fart fact that the total value of the ships ban has depreciated over the prewar valoe value germany hae has taken up her principal I 1 former routes each such as those to north america south Aimer america km the be orient I 1 dutch east indie indies and australia indemnity alty payment payments for the the rb e andern 1 merchant vessels vewis de delivered livered were continued only until march IM 1023 Z since race that time no additional AddItIon st payments have been made mad e by the retch for the an tin completed clr part of t the he pr program undertaken the building program result of the indemnity payment as a to within four or five live complete Is a now DOW P it 1 I elf evident if that for years ships come the building g pace of the tb I 1 last last to of mamet Mt met ion or even of 0 tin the years year yea beconi the war cannot he to kept op |