The sun., 1899-01-26
WORK IN OUR YARDS AT PRESENT.


WORK IN OUR YARDS AT PRESENT.
The Cleveland Marine Rerie,o's shlpyard re-
ports show that over $50. .OOn. 900 worth OF work.
a tonnage OF over 100000. including ships for
the navy, is under way in the six dozen yards of
the country. For the merchant marine there
are building 20l vessels. with n tonnage OF
254.2l ana with an estimated value of Slo.-
760.9OO. The Nautical Gazette makes the
value 24,0OOO0O. On the seacoast 155 ves-
sells are under construction. whose com bined
tonnage Is 2,040. and estimated value Sl5.-
1884 300. On the great lakes are building 20
vessels. with tonnage Of Il.4OO. and with an
estimated value of S2,a74.O00 Twenty three
vessels. valued at $500. 900. with a tonnage of
1916. are building on Western rivers.
The naval construction in eighteen yards.
where fifty eight ships are building. /. un-
precedented The ships building are nine
battleships lone for Russial. three cruisers
two for Japan and one for Russial, seventeen
torpedo boat destroyers. twenty one torpedo
boats. four monitors. one submarine boat. one
training ship and two tugs. The aggregate
tonnage is 14G.4UD. and the contract price ex-
elusive OF armor and armament. S4234nlS2.
Half hundred million dollars worth OF naval
construction in the private shipyards Of the
nation ionly the two tugs are building in Gov
ernment yards means good deal for our
shipbuildng. The great yards of the William
Cramp & Sons Company at Philadelphia. the
Newport News Shpbuilding and Dry Dock
Company at Newport News. and the Union
Iron Works at San Francisco, where over S3O.-
100000 worth of this work is under way are
enabled, because Of this great naval tonnage of
over 100000. TO operate their plants on great
scale with economy. and prepare for the COM
ing revival in our merchant shipbuildng.
The Newport News Company with a ton
mage under contract OF close on to 10000. is
taking lrst rank among American shipyards.
The Cramps have about $4,000 tons under
contract. the Union Iron Works $4,000. and
Roach's yard Is fourth with nearly $4,000 tons.
But not even Mr.. Huntington's company has
yet a yearly output equal to that OF any Of these
representative British Yards: Sir William Gray
& Co. 72.123 tons: G. 3. Swan and Hunter.
6S.69G tons: HarIand & Wolff. 07,aO5 tons;
Armstrong Whitworth & Co. $3.50 tons:
Workman. Clark d Co.. 53,475 tons: Russell L
Co.. 44.451 tons: Ropner & Son. 43,047 tons:
Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Al
S24 tons: J. l.. Thompson & Sons. II .056 tohs
the tonnage given being the figures for 1923.
We have SlOOOO.OOO worth Of work yet to
bo done on contracts In hand said President
Orcutt OF the Newport News company to a
Sun reporter. THE batteships Kearsarge.
Kentucky and Illinois are overheard the Mis-
souri, is laid down and the monitor Arkansas
is to be laid down We are building six mer-
chant shps-four Morgan liners Of 1850 tons
each and two Cromwell liners OF the same size
Besides these ships we are building tug for
the Morganrline.
Our changed relations with the West In
dies. Hawaii and the Philippines and our In
creasng foreign trade call for more merchant
ships. Here Is letter from a ship owner in
uuiring about terms for four ships to carry
4.5OO tons dead weight and two to carry 1000
| had a letter the other day from some men
who want to establish a New York japan
steamship line and another inquiry was about
direct route from here to Russia. These
men have the trade. but haven't capital
shipbuilder cant fund steamship lines: that's
work for capitalists. Why. the foreign trade
field is waiting for American capital. and there
are fortunes to be made
We are going to build steel merchant ships
in competition with the world without doubt.
Our raw materials are cheaper. our machinery
Is batter and ohOarNr, and while our workmcn
are paid better wages than workmen abroad
they lead the world for efficiency. They do
more and better work than the workmen OF
any other country. You cant expect that We,
who have only Just begun to build big steel
steamships. can al once compete with the
English builders. whoihave been turning out
tenS Of millions OF tons In all these The
English builders undcrbid us now. They cut
Off 'tramp' steamers like SO many blocks of
wood But let us build at Newport News a
shin for the North German LLOYD line by days
work, as that lines ships are built, and we
build them as chcap as ANYBODY"
The Newport News new dry dock now build
ing will be the largest in this country 1t will
be big enough to hold two battleships. It's
length from the head TO the centre OF the
outer gate will be S2B feet, to the outer end OF
the tnbIe 800 feet: its idth on III. floor in the
abutment will he 81 feet. in the body 80 feet,
betWeeu the coming at the body 80 Teet: its
depth over the sill at mean high water win be
10 feet its full depth 81 feet.
The Cramps have lust com pleted the Amer
ican Mail Steamship Company's Admiral
Dewey. Admiral Schley Admiral Sampson and
Admiral Fnrragut, 2.OOO-ton ships, for service
between United States ports and the West
Indies. Two coasting 5000. ton ships are un-
der construction for the Ward line. one to be
named the Havana and the other the Mexico
Tho Admlrals will be the finest ships in the