changes put Charles A. Piez, a Chicago engineer, recently elected Vice President of the Fleet Corporation, in charge of the actual construction of the vessels, and placed in his hands the many problems confronted in obtaining materials and a more complete spirit of co-operation with the builders. Mr. Piez took over a good deal of the work hitherto done by Rear Admiral Capps, General Manager of the corporation, who still remained the chief executive officer. James Heyworth of Chicago, one of the large contractors of the country, was chosen to specialize on the work of building wooden ships, contracts for 310 of which have been let. He replaced Rear Admiral F. T. Bowles, retired. Judge John Barton Payne was appointed head of the legal department of the corporation.

Irving T. Bush, founder and head of the Bush Terminal Company of New York, on Nov. 5 accepted the position of chief executive officer of the New York Port War Board, created to mobilize every facility of both the New York and New Jersey sides of the port in the interest of war maritime efficiency. The New York Port War Board was created in a conference held in New York City on Nov. 3, which was attended by Secretary Baker and Generals Baker, Shanks, and Abbott.

Ships from Neutral Nations

The shipping resources of the Allies received a valuable addition by the agreement, announced on Nov. 13, under which the United States secured over 400,000 tons of ships belonging to the Northern European neutral nations and Japan. The European neutrals finally agreed to turn over to the United States and the

THE

These agreements helped to ease the situation created by the determination of the United States to embargo any and all supplies which might be sent through neutral countries into Germany. The War Trade Board, exercising the powers granted to it under the Trading with the Enemy act, ended Germany's last hope of drawing, through indirect channels, on American resources by issuing on Oct. 15 its form of agreement, which all shippers must sign.

The first export license was issued to Captain Raoul Amundsen, the explorer, for foodstuffs, fuel, and oil needed for his expedition to the north pole.

HE Food Administration, headed by Herbert C. Hoover, has further extended the area of its control during the last month. A slight downward tendency in food prices is said to be in part due to the closer grip which the Food Administration is getting on producers and distributers

President Wilson and Mr. Hoover on Nov. 1 officially approved rules and regulations governing licenses under Presidential proclamations affecting dealers and handlers of twenty staple food commodities. Retailers doing a gross business of more than $100,000 annually must take out licenses, as well as all whole

salers, manufacturers, and other distributers of the foodstuffs specified in the President's proclamations. More than 40,000 applications had already been received on Nov. 1.

Beginning Nov. 3, all direct trading of American millers, exporters, and blenders of flour with European countries was prohibited, according to an announcement made at the offices of the United States Food Administration's Milling Division in New York City. The business was taken over by the Food Administration. The change was considered necessary to control and centralize the exports of flour to neutral countries in Europe, and also to regulate the quantities of flour forwarded to these countries, so as to provide for the minimum quantity of that actually required.

President Wilson's proclamation putting the baking industry under license was made public on Nov. 12, and steps were taken by the Food Administration to organize machinery for the enforcement of the regulations. All bakeries, consuming ten barrels of flour or more a month, are brought under these regulations, and are requested to apply for information so that they may adjust plants to the use of the standard weights and formula adopted for " war bread." proclamation covers the baking of cake, crackers, biscuits, pastry, and other products, and applies not only to bakers but also to hotels, restaurants, and clubs where bread or other products of their own baking are served. Heads of households who do home baking are called upon by the Food Administration to watch carefully the formulas and other

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instructions issued from time to time and co-operate voluntarily.

The first article in which the American people experienced a shortage was sugar. Mr. Hoover appealed again on Oct. 19 for a reduced consumption of sugar, so that France and other allied countries might not suffer more severely. The present shortage, he said, was brought about by the great increase in exports over normal times. The widespread publicity given to the temporary shortage of sugar started a rush on the retail grocery stores in New York and other Eastern States. Unscrupulous dealers seized the opportunity to raise prices, in some cases to 20 cents a pound, although the wholesale price of refined granulated sugar was being held at just under 82 cents a pound. The retail price had been planned to remain at about 91⁄2 cents. Mr. Hoover dealt with the situation by arranging to obtain 200,000,000 pounds of raw sugar from Louisiana producers. This transaction involved $13,000,000.

One family out of every three in the United States had already pledged support to the Food Administration's plan for voluntary food conservation, according to reports received up to Nov. 6, showing that the total enrollment for the country was 7,406,544. More than 90 per cent. of the country's better class hotels had signed pledges and the others were coming into line. Although the movement for a meatless Tuesday and a wheatless Wednesday was not started until late in September, it had been generally accepted by public eating houses everywhere.

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the total being 9,400,000. The subscriptions less than $50,000 were distributed among 9,306,000 persons. The largest individual subscription was $50,000,000, made by the Du Pont Powder Company of Wilmington, Del. The subscriptions ranging from $50 to $50,000 aggregated $2,488,469,350.

The First Liberty Loan subscriptions

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STEADY decrease in the number of British ships sunk by submarines suggests that the German U-boat campaign has passed the zenith of its success. The latest British Adshow the following miralty records

Total previous four weeks. 50

During the same four weeks French losses were five steamers of over 1,600 tons and three under 1,600 tons; while Italian losses were five over 1,600 tons, four under 1,600 tons, and five sailing vessels. During the month of October nineteen Norwegian vessels, aggregating 34,577 tons, and forty-eight Norwegian seamen were lost.

According to statistics published by the Danish Ministry of Commerce, the Danish merchant fleet during 1916 lost forty-six steamers, of which thirty-eight were destroyed through war accidents, and twenty-eight sailing vessels under 200 tons were lost, of which nineteen were lost through war accidents. man U-boats destroyed twenty-seven steamers and Austrian submarines four steamers. In 1915 the losses were only twelve steamers, representing a value of six million crowns, ($1,608,000.)

Statement by Sir Eric Geddes

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A comprehensive review of the submarine situation was made on Nov. 1 by Sir Eric Geddes, the new First Lord of the Admiralty, in his maiden speech as a member of the House of Commons. He said:

I have studied from a variety of sources the statements made from time to time by

the enemy as to tonnage and position, and have come to the definite conclusion that not only does he not know what is being sunk, but that he would like very much, indeed, to know what is being sunk or week by regularly month by month week, or even exactly for a period.

However great the loss of mercantile tonnage is, we cannot at this stage of the war pick any one item to deduce therefrom that the war, even any phase of the war, is going well or badly.

The general situation regarding submarine warfare can best be demonstrated by the following figures: Since the beginning of the war between 40 and 50 per cent. of the German submarines operating in the North Sea, the Atlantic, and the Arctic Ocean have been sunk. During the last quarter the enemy has lost as many submarines as during the whole of 1916.

As regards the sinkings of British merchant tonnage by submarines, the German official figures for August are 808,000 tons of all nationalities. They sank a little more than half of that for all nationalities.

For September their official figures are 679,000 tons. They sank far less than one-third of that amount of British tonthan one-third of that nage, and less amount of all nationalities.

September

The number of German submarines which do not return is increasing. Since April, the highest month for British losses, they have steadily decreased, and latterly to a marked degree. was the most satisfactory month; October was only slightly worse, and better by 30 per cent. than any other month since unrestricted submarine warfare began. The net reduction in tonnage in the last four months is 30 per cent. less than anticipated in the estimate prepared for the Cabinet early in July.

The total net reduction since the beginning of the war from all causes in British tonnage on the official register in ships over 1,600 tons is under 2,500,000 of tons gross, or 14 per cent.

the submarine Summarized, warfare amounts to this: Our defensive measures have during the last seven months proved so efficacious that in spite of the increased number of ships which are passing through the danger zone, there has been steady reduction in the damage done by In the meantime the enemy submarines.

we are sinking enemy submarines to an increasing extent. Our offensive measures are improving and will still more improve and multiply.

But, on the other hand, the Germans are building submarines faster than they have hitherto done, and they have not yet attained their maximum strength. It appears to me, therefore, that the submarine warfare, as elsewhere, is becoming a test of determination and ingenuity between the two contending forces.

At the outbreak of the war Germany possessed over 5,000,000 tons shipping. Today nearly half of it has been sunk or is in the hands of ourselves or our allies. She has a 50 per cent. reduction to our 14 per cent.

It had been asked, Geddes proceeded, whether Great Britain was building merchant tonnage at a sufficient rate to replace the sinkings. In reply he said that the new national yards now being built would be ready in six months, and continued:

The output of merchant tonnage for the first nine months of 1917 is 123 per cent. higher than the total output for the whole of 1915. Standard vessels have been ordered representing nearly 1,000,000 gross tons. More than half of these are under construction.

According to the First Lord there were now 235 large drydocks in the British Isles where merchantmen could be repaired.

The German Admiralty issued a reply

to Geddes's speech, asserting that he had omitted Mediterranean sinkings and that his figures were in net tonnage while those of the German Government were in gross tonnage; but the British Admiralty contradicted both assertions and supported the statement as above recorded.

The First Lord of the Admiralty had occasion again on Nov. 16 to speak on submarine sinkings before the House of Commons. He said that the favorable figures of the week should not be taken as indicating the end of the submarine menace. He reminded his hearers that the Germans were still building U-boats faster than the Allies were destroying them, and that mercantile marine tonnage was not being maintained. He added that economy in everything which was seaborne continued to be of vital importance, and that all work which could be diverted from other fields to the shipyards would have a direct bearing on the winning of the war.

Sinking of the Antilles

During the month several American vessels have been lost. The steamer Antilles, an army transport, was torpedoed on Oct. 17 while returning to America and under convoy of American patrol vessels. Out of about 237 on board 167 persons were saved. These