Swallowing the Anchor

The science of remaining in business in the swift-changing war economy has produced many a weird result: gasless gasoline stations selling hardware, hammerless and nailless hardware merchants vending dry goods, autoless automobile dealers distributing food products. Latest business gallimaufry is a combination of steamship operations and egg dehydration.

The long-established (1916) Great Lakes Transit Co. announced its stockholders' approval of a $165,000 expenditure by the steamship company to acquire three egg dehydration plants. Largest operators of Great Lakes package freighters, G.L.T.C. normally operated 14 hustling steamers. Before the war it was well content with its average 1,000,000 tons of package cargoes annually. But this year the Government requisitioned ten of G.L.T.C.'s ships for war service, and ODT ruled that the remaining four must carry grain. The package business is no more; profits have gone aglimmering.

With the Government clamoring for greater output of dehydrated eggs for Lend-Lease and Army & Navy supplies, G.L.T.C.'s three newly acquired plants (production: 1,500,000 lb. monthly) will be enlarged. For the duration the egg business will help keep G.L.T.C. going, but the shipowners insist that at war's end the company will once again become a full-fledged shipping concern.

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