Plea For Bremerhaven

Planter’s Point of View

Mr. Victor A. Pratt, of Tobera Plan tation, Rabaul, New Guinea, writes: The Bremerhaven has done, and is doing, a lot of useful pioneering for the planting community. It is the only overseas ship which will call and pick up copra from individual outport plan tations, thereby being the only means of enabling many planters to ship their copra directly overseas.

Although the freight rates do not appear to be lower than other ship ping to European ports (even if prac ticable privately), its convenience and effect is the great advantage. In the handling of cargo all native labour is used on the German ship, and not Chinese labour.

The big firms have assisted the plan ters considerably through the present world depression, as well as in more prosperous times. However, that assist ance is not all on one side, as a perusal of their recent balance sheets will disclose. That should also be suf ficient answer to your reference to the alleged ‘daily loss arising from the running of two Australian-owned ves sels.

Your remark “Any man of intelli gence . . . can calculate what Messrs.

Burns, Philp & losing in these lean times on their island services,” is rather severe on us. Apart from the staff of the firm named, I doubt if there is one person here who could obtain the necessary information to make a calculation. The huge Com monwealth subsidy, the collection of the copra from the firm’s own planta tions, and the effects of high freights and fares immune from free competi tion, must be taken into account.

The E. and A. Steamship Co. boats are giving us a good, direct, fast and regular service between Melbourne and Rabaul, without subsidy. Therefore, does it not appear that the Common wealth subsidy is unwarranted? As for inter-island communication, Messrs. W.

R. Carpenter & Co.’s boats ply without subsidy over the same routes as the B.P. boats, again suggesting that the subsidy is not required.

“The situation is solving itself.” Yes, by more planters shipping by the Bremerhaven. Although account sales are not received for many weeks (not “many months”) immediate advances may be received against copra ship ped. Shippers through the Bremer haven get full credit for the exchange between Australia and London, plus the exchange between London and Germany.

I must congratulate you on the pro duction of The Pacific Islands Monthly which, I consider, serves a very useful purpose. It disseminates the doings and needs of the different tropical countries comprising the Pacific Is lands, which must be advantageous to all their white citizens. The quality and quantity of the news-matter is most satisfactory. We hope that you will continue to criticise subjects fairly and freely, where warranted.

EDITORIAL NOTE: A reference, elsewhere, to the Bremerhaven shows that the Federal Government has decided to take no further action. The subject, for the present, is dead.

But, of course, if there is to be a new Federal Government, it may be revived.