Viewed from another standpoint, these chewing-gum statistics are even more encouraging. If the shortage of cargo space to allied ports were as desperate as Germany's press agents would have us believe, it does not seem reasonable to suppose that any part of it would be frittered away on chewing gum in such formidable quantities. This conviction is strengthened by the discovery that exports of candy have increased one-third in the three calendar years of war, to a total of $2,108,081 in 1917. Most gratifying of all is the fact that despite the utmost endeavors of the submarines, and notwithstanding upward of 3,000 strikes in American shipyards last year, the capacity and efficiency of transatlantic shipping increases from day to day not only positively but also negatively by the withdrawal of the heavy tonnage formerly serving enemy countries through contiguous neutral nations. True, exports fell off somewhat for the eight months ended Feb. 28, 1918; but Europe received 63 per cent. of the total. Now when Europe is spoken of it means substantially England, France, and Italy. Russia obtained very little in those eight months, and Germany's neutral neighbors still less. The shrinkage in the volume of supplies to our fighting partners was not so much on account of anything the submarines could do as because of the temporary breakdown of our own system due to extraordinarily severe weather and to other causes. Now the weather handicap has been lifted, our industrial machine has been geared up and more ships have been placed where they could render the most effective service. While in February, 1918, we could send our allies only 750,000 tons of food, which was 50,000 tons less than their minimum requirements, in the next month this was increased to 1,100,000 tons. OUR NEW MERCHANT MARINE After having the decadence of the American merchant marine dinned into our ears for decades, we may be pardoned for gloating over the way this same merchant marine has come back under the stress of war. Of total imports worth $1,778,596,695 in 1915, goods valued at $342,796,714 arrived in vessels flying the American flag. In 1917 the value of goods arriving in American vessels had increased to $732,814,858. The increase was the greatest shown by ships of any nation, and the total value was the highest for any, British ships ranking second with imports valued at $693,565,240. This was a decrease of only $7,000,000 from 1915, in spite of all the U-boats could do. French ships, fighting the same sneaking foe, were actually able to increase the value of goods delivered at American ports from $70,275,445 in 1915 to $102,346,317 in 1917, considerably more than making up for the decrease in imports arriving under British and Italian flags. In the seven months ended Jan. 31, 1918, nearly 29 per cent. of all imports arrived in ships flying the American flag.