Albuquerque Morning Journal

ECONOMY PLANS ARE BLOCKED BY PROTESTS
(Associated Press Correspondence.)
London. Feb. 29.-The government finds its plans to effect national economy blocked with many protests.
Almost every business, and interest, that has been threatened with supervision or curtailment offers strong arguments why it should be especially exempted from interference.
The shipping men are a shining example. The Liverpool Steamship Owners association, which includes a majority of the magnates of the kingdom. has adopted a report declaring that the proposals for putting the shipping of the realm under state control would be "a national calamity."
Individual shipowners argue that most of the dislocation of Britain's foreign trade has been caused by the government's interference, and systemless methods of commandeering vessels. Yet the plan to bring all shipping under a general and regulated system of government supervision meets opposition as strong as the complaints because of lack of organization in the government's dealings with the ships.
Whatever losses may have been sustained by individual owners whose vessels have been taken by the admiralty. the general result of high freights has been an enormous profit to the shipping trade. The Statist estimates that the net gains of the shipowners have risen from $100,000,000 in 1913, to the rate of $1,250,000,000 for the current year. The shipowners have to pay fifty per cent of their surplus profits (war profits, so-called) in special war taxes. but even with that deduction the total gain is enormous.
As for the curtailment of pulp imports, the newspaper and publishing interests can furnish the strongest reasons why their industry should not be hampered. Tobacco should not be excluded because it is particularly required by the soldiers, and also to keep the many workmen in the cigar and cigarette trades at work. Fruit should not be excluded because it is one of the chief foods of the people.
And finally any and all attempts to decrease the output and sale of whiskey, beer and other beverages, in the United Kingdom are always greeted with a tempest of opposition from the "interests." which include stockholders as well as sellers, and from the consuming public.