Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-16
YANKEE ENTERPRISE
Will Again Bring American Ship
Building to the Front.
ANY AMOUNT OF NEEDED ABILITY.
The Remaining Features Which Are
Essential to Success.
TIMELY VIEWS OF CHARLES II. CRAMP

/ al drLlCIe III the LONDON engineer unQer the
heading of american Atlantic Liners, I"
the theme of the article being the proposed
transfer of the City of New York and the
City Of Paris to American registry and the
| construction of two or more vessels of
similar character in American shipyards.
The British journal expresses the opin-
| ion that 'no American shipbuilder or en-
gineer can construct 2O-knot vessel suita-
BILE for the Atlantic passenger trade" and
adds that ''if the proposed ships attain the
promised necessary speed, it may be taken
for granted that the work will be achieved
by British brains.'
Regarding the first proposition, Mr..
Cramp said it was true that no vessels of
the class referred to by the editor of the
Engin eer had been built by American ship
builders or engineers" That fact would
stand for what it might be worth, but it
must be narrow and prejudiced view
which would accept such a fact as conclu-
slve evidence IN the negative for the future.
He presumed that even the highest British
authority would admit that the Americans
had always done exceedingly we'll such
ship-building work as they had to do. Cir
cumstances had excluded them from partic-
lpation in the struggle for the North Attain
tic trade since the Civil War;
Any Amount Of Ability.
During that period the principal energies
of American brain, capital and handicraft
had been expended in directions other
than ship building, but Mr.. Cramp thought
that any competent judge who surveyed
what had been done for the navy in Ameri-
can shipyards during the past six or seven
years must admit that the ability to design
and build first-rate ships for any or all pur-
poses had by no means departed from the
American side of the ocean
81 think it perfectly safe to saw" pur-
sued Mr.. Cramp, "that our achievements in
naval construction, from the Yorktown to
the New York and the battle-ships, have
been a constant succession of surprises to
our British neighbors.
81 was among the first to advise the
Secretary of the Navy-then Hon. William
G. Whitney-to buy all the latest and most
approved English designs and plans
he could get, and when his policy
in that respect was attacked by the opposi-
tion in Congress 1 defended his action
from the practical or professional point of
view. The British designs of men-of-war
represented experience which had been de-
MED to builders on this side. We took
any means copy them with servility, but
we took them for what they were worth
as results of British experience, applied to
them the benefits of our own skill and in
genuity. and 1 venture to say that no COM
petent English builder will maintain that
the design of the Baltimore, for example,
suffered in our hands.
Can Equal or Excel England.
f'The same or similar conditions are true
of transatlantic liners. Six months ago 1
discussed this question in some of its most
important bearings in the pages of the
North american Reyie,n 1 there maintained
that we were amply able to equal or excel
the performance OF the existing British built
ships, class for class and rate for rate. said
that we would not copy British models or
initiate British shop practices; pointing out
at the same time that considerable difference
existed in these respects between different
builders on that side.
81 agreed with the editor of the Engineer"
said Mr.. Cramp, sin his assertion that the
men who possess the ability to build such
ships, even in Great Britain and Ireland,
can be counted on the fingers of one hand
In the North american Reoie,c, the paper re-
ferred to 1 said, Although Great Britain
had more shipyards than the rest of the
world combined, there were not more than
three or four of them which would be con-
sidered bv any of the great
steamship companies in connection with
first rate model vessel such as is now re-
quired for transatlantic mail and passen-
ger service This is another form OF the
same proposition and at least quite as en-
phatic But the fact that such talent is
scarce in England does not prove its total
absence here. The old adage about the
proof of the pudding will apply in this
instance. That Atlantic liners will soon
be built in American shipyards is beyond
doubt.
Another Surprise for Foreigners.
'If they equal or excel the performance
of British-built ships of the same class it |
will be only another surprise in store for |
our British friends, even more disagreeable, |
perhaps than the discovery few years ago |
that we could build frst-class men-ot-war."
Mr.. Cramp was asked what he thought |
about the question Of properly manning
such ships under the American flag to which
the engineer refers in the same article.
Enthusiastically" replied Mr.. Cramp,
''the adequate manning, of say, four such
ships with purely American officers and
men would be a much more serious problem
than the construction of the ships, at least
in the beginning. 1t is well known that
though our navy is the best paid, best fed
anu DebL SlOlHCu VI III WOiiut |
small minority of its enlisted men are
native Americans The same is true to
some extent of all our ocean
steam shipping. American born sea-
men for some reason appear to prefer
sailing craft; and when they ship in
steamers it is mainly as sailors or deck
bands. Very few of them attempt the close
confinement and hard work of the fre-rooms
and coal bunkers, hence the fre-room force
On American ships is largely composed of
foreigners and doubtless will continue so.
there is no lack of competent
,fficers for command. Limited as our ocean
going steam marine is, it yet contains some
# the very ablest and most skilful captains
md engineers afoat
"Whatever might be the initial difficulty
IN the score of personnel it would soon dis
lppear. The successful establishment of a
,reat and popular American line equal or
uperior to any other would soon resurrect
he maritime pride and ambition of the
Americans which have lain dormant SO many
-ears"