134 EFFICIENCY IN THE OPERATION OF STEAMSHIPS. 
important news. The home office, therefore, knew exactly what the vessel was doing and had 
done. Inspection of the log sheet will furthermore show that columns provide a summary 
of the time spent in the various operations, and also by the use of similar log sheets for the 
whole year. Thus vessels could be easily compared as to steaming times, discharging, load- 
ing, repairing, demurrage, bunkering or other delays, and allowing for unavoidable circum- 
stances, credit or censure could be given where called for. 
I heartily agree with Captain Sullivan’s plea for more competent masters, but present 
methods require that a ship’s schedule be planned far ahead in order to ensure cargo being 
ready for her. Furthermore, it was felt that this log sheet would eliminate some of the red 
tape by serving to simplify and to reduce the number of formal deck department logs. 
Mr. G. Epwarp Smiru, Member:—There are one or two points I would like to bring 
up in connection with this subject, although I have no information to offer. The paper pre- 
sented by Captain Sullivan is, I believe, a splendid start. One suggestion which I think 
might be of service is that it would be a great advantage if a committee of the Society, com- 
posed of-both operators and shipbuilders, could get together and compile definite information 
on costs per ton-mile, costs of operation and costs of other details. We might then be able to 
bring our merchant marine back to its standard before the Civil War, when it led all other 
countries. 
In the table on page 123 you will notice the cost of fuel and of cargo handling is prac- 
tically 50 per cent of the operating cost of a ship. Wages are relatively a small item. Rather 
than place ourselves too much in opposition to labor by agitating for a wage reduction, it 
would seem to me to be better to reduce these two large items. I am convinced that, by 
comparing of notes by various operators and shipbuilders, both these items could be materially 
cut. A reduction of 10 per cent on these two items is four times the reduction of 10 per cent 
in wages. 
As to the cost of shipbuilding, of course, ships cost more in this country than abroad. 
There was one fact I noticed when living abroad, and that is that the shipowner in this 
country determines to a much larger degree what he is going to purchase than the ship- 
owner does in Europe. In England, or along the Clyde, the shipowner wants a certain vessel, 
and he goes to the shipbuilder building that type of ship and the shipbuilder tells him what 
he is going to get. In our dealings with owners in this country, it is dictated down to the 
smallest item what the owner is going to have. It seems to me that by a method of stand- 
ardizing and comparing ships and service, we would get to a point where a decided saving 
could be made in the cost of shipbuilding in many material respects. 
In the case of stevedoring and demurrage, there is not sufficient understanding at vari- 
ous ports as to the necessity for the quick loading and unloading of ships and the great neces- 
sity for proper equipment to handle the cargo efficiently. Demurrage is a considerable item 
at times. If a better equipment for handling cargo could be put into use, I think a decided 
cut in this expense could be shown. 
Mr. Campspett MacMitian, Visitor:—I do not wish to detain you further than to 
make an inquiry and a suggestion. It is evident from the’ remarks we have heard this 
morning that there is one item lacking in making up accounts, and that is the variation of 
the fuel consumption from time to time. I refer to the effect on the cost of operation, not 
averaged over long periods, but where it can be averaged over comparatively short periods. 
The necessity for this distinction was emphasized by the discussion between Dr, Sadler and 
