Transport: On No Schedule

For fussbudget travelers who like to know where they are going and when they will get there, the North Atlantic last week was no fit place. In its third week the ground swell of World War II had tilted transatlantic shipping from confusion to chaos. Foreigners off to the wars could still obtain sailing permits from the U. S. State Department (providing they owed no income tax), but U. S. citizens who wanted to get to Europe had to unravel cat’s-cradles of red tape. First requirement : a revalidated passport, good for six months at the most. These Secretary of State Hull extended only after probing the applicant’s business abroad, deciding whether it was “essential.” Those approved were mostly newsmen, international bigwigs, Government agents.

Even with passports in hand both foreigners and U. S. travelers had only Hobson’s choice of liners, no certain sailing dates. Stalled were Poland’s Gdynia-America Line, Hapag-Lloyd. Britain and France maintained no dependable schedule. Passengers were warmly urged to try neutral lines. If they were insistent on a French or British ship, booking clerks politely jotted down preferential boats and sailings, but few hours before departure many a sailing might be suspended for from two weeks to kingdom-come. Italian liners, after hugging home ports since the outbreak of war, took to the sea again on schedule, but avoided such danger ports as Cannes and Gibraltar. Holland-America was still running full tilt, but on the eastbound trip sailed directly to Antwerp and Rotterdam. Swedish American cautiously shifted to more northerly routes, tacking as much as two days to its timetable.

Best bets for swift, sure crossing were the U. S. Lines or Pan American Airways. Pan American Clippers still flew twice a week, but they were booked heavily weeks ahead. U. S. Lines operated on full schedules, stepped up their sailings to evacuate 5,000 U. S. citizens still stranded in Europe. But their seamen, striking for 25% wage increase, war-risk life insurance and bonuses, delayed some eight liners nearly a week.

Forlorn note of cheer: marine underwriters lowered war-risk rates 1% on belligerent flag vessels to and from Europe and on U. S. flag vessels cargoing imports on the northern route; on the southern route, 1½ on belligerent vessels, ½on U. S. ships. Rates both ways for belligerents’ vessels had been 7% on the northern route, 7½% on the southern; for U. S. vessels, 2½% on the northern, 2% on the southern. The export rate on U. S. vessels remained unchanged for both routes. The import rate on other neutral flag vessels was held at 3¾, but the export rate was upped from 3¾% to 5%. Reductions on British shipments, underwriters pointed out, reflected the belief of marine experts that the British convoy system had begun to function with more efficiency. But on shipments to and from Black Sea and Baltic Sea ports rates were quoted on application only.