Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-06-08
THAT sHIPBuILDING CONTEST
AGAIN

laklng exception to certain re-
marks of ours concerning its attitude
on the shipbultling contest recently
Won BY the Newport News Shipbuild.
Ing and Dry Dock Company The cs-
teemed Norfolk Landmark says:
"'rhe Landmark is not ihick.ani
thin shouter for The Navy Yards. 1t
has always held that the private
yards should have Il liberal share of
the construction work but has favor
ell having at least one ship under
construction all The time In every
government yard suited for building.
We did not make much OF The
TACT" that the keel OF the govern
ment-built battlcship Connecticut was
laid month later than that o: the
Louisiana, built AT the Newport News
private yard. We simply noted the
TACT in fairness us did one of our
Newport News contemporaries. II is
pre5umable that when the private
yard began to build the Louisiana. il
had the plans of the ship well enough
In hand to proceed with the work.
The private builders would hardly
have laid the keel just TO look at it.
The Press does not deny that the
government Is restricted by law to
the eight-honr day in its Navy Yards,
and cannot require any employee to
work longer than eight hours in one
day If all employee works longer
ne does so as Il favor MS 1t were. and
must receive extra pay. Tile system
OF payment by the hour reduces the
handicap. but !, is clear enough tina,
the government restricted to the
eighthour day, was hampcrcd in com.
parison with the unrestricted private
yard. The truth of this statement is
proved by the steady opposition OF the
private yards to the suggestion that
work done for the government. as
well as work done by The govern
ment' shall be restricted to legal
limit OF eight hours a day.
This paper never called for the
test which has been made. We
never expected it to result otherwise
than as il has resulted 1t demon.
strates what was known: that under
present unequal conditions. the priv
ate shipbnildcrs can turn out shin
at considerably less cost than the
government They might do it at less
cost even under equal conditions.
Private contractors could doubtless
operate the Postofficc Department
more economically than the govern
ment The question involves more
than the bare consideration OF finan-
cial saving at the moment"
While we did not specifically elias
sify the Landmark as ''thick-ant
thin shouter for the navy yards" in
The few general remarks with which
we closed our comment on the Incl
dent we judged from the zeal it dis
played in stretching ont mattresses
Tor the discounted naval conslruc.
tors to fall on. that IL was not alto.
gether an unprecedented observer OF
the little tilt which has come to a
= SioeS. we dcEtpl us ulSCidlfneTt now
ever. and will strike it's name from
what il seems TO regard as an obnox-
ious list
AS to the merits of the Landmark
contention regarding the eight-hour
day. We are still unimpressed. As
We have already pointed out the navy
yard might have put on double
shift OF men, If time could have been
4 gained by that expedient, wilhou,
materially increasing the cost Of the
vessel. since payment by the hour
removed that feature of the contest
from consideration.
we did not refer to the fact that
tine ,Louisiana's keel was first laid.