The Washington times., 1915-11-24
RUSSIA GETS SKILLED
WORKERS IN AMERICA
Hires Mechanics in ShipbuiIding
Trade-May Mark Raid on
U. S. for Labor.
Continued from First Page)

Continued from First PageJ
the other side.
,,MiI "e,here this Is the beginning Of a
,au ,a,u on American supplies OF skilled
~, ,nnuor " oniy 10 be guessed, thus far.
men 'warc as.s .pnered IN order to get these
i.ared that there Will be more oppor-
lnnities OF the same kind for workmen
o' ,ne same grade. Several months ago
~ became known that workmen equip
psa lor certain specialized occupa lions
y, tne KIND required IN ammunition fac
t"Ii's We're being engaged In this coun-
synnu nnu taken across the Atlantic. The
i'm governments were said at that
u,ne e TO be experimenting to determine
whether It was cheaner to imnort
american labor or American products.
suspicion is entertained that the ex-
sore pn"e nus convinced them that for
sou,e so purposes. at least, Il is more satis-
,utory TO hire away the labor and
"ne II across the ocean to work
heEond this. however. Is the fact
. war rog nclilgcrent nation may not buy
VA wr vessels In Neutral country with
9ut the neutral violating its neutrality.
.nussia. wanting warships, cannot buy
rncm t here. although tho State Depart
msrin t mas held In the matter OF sub
ps made here. II they were sent TO
=, ahada TO he assembled. This has been
zone s to the extent OF O considcra bic
$50. " uhu'iS'a Vessels, Tor which the
pnIts were constructed at Bethlehem
ahu then shipped TO n great assembling
Want IN Canada 40 be nut together K
,mEr GanasIa n ot these these American built and
por,cd "a lately il the eastern Mcdlter-
tran' harinE crossed the Atlantic
from Canada under their own power
To Build Warships.
IN the case OF larger war vessels. tho
plan OF making parts In this country
ana assembling them in Canada Is not
practicable. Moreover. a vessel built on
this side would he Of no use In the
Baltic Sea. because the entrances TO
mat sea are so effectively blocked by
the Germans that only submarines have
been ahl" to pass them. aud then with
great danger and difficulty. II is un-
r'fStood that the force recently taken
from the Hampton Roads establish
ton on tn" Baltic. for which largely
increased forces have been neccssitated
since the British and Russian forces
nave been organizing. on bi: and do
sea in order to prevent merchandise
from Scandinavia to he transported TO
tl" north German ports.
only conjecture" IL as Yet possible con-
corning tho extent to which this draft
on American labor may h" carried In
connection with tho withdrawal OF this
large force from Newport News. 1t Is
said that there have recently been rr-
ports IN shipbuildinG quarters that
other forces. similarly organized In di
visions. are being transported from tho
clyde yards in Scotland. end tn" north
Of ireland shtpbuildtng c"n'ers, 10 s"rv"
rot alone in contribution OF skilled
labor to enable Russia TO carry forward
its desperate effort to construct in CO.
opera ton with England. an efficient
naval rover In the Baltic.
No ImprOpriety In II.
What effect all this may have on the
expense OF American naval and general
ma ritimc construction Is thus FAR prob
lcmatical. depending on tho extent TO
which the exodus OF skilled labor may
be carried. There has never been
time since the civil war when the
classes OF labor needed in shipyards
were in such active demand. Certain II
is that the costs OF constructing bat
tleships for the Government have been
seriously affected: and some recent
Government etOrts to plac" contracts
for electrical work. on largo scale.
have developed that in that linc also
aDDropriations will have to be made
larger than was deemed possibly nec-s-
sary before the war began. or else
the undertakings will require to be
pruned to much less proportions.
While there Is concern about the ef-
fects of any extended withdrawal of
American labor to Europe. yet there
is not believed to be any improperly
in the proceedings. American citizens
are quite at liberty to 90 where they
please for business SO far as concerns
any law or policy OF this country. In
terference with Americans in their right
to cmigratc to Europe would place this
country in rather n ridiculous position.
in view OF the fact that Uncle Sam has
always insisted upon the right OF Eu-
ropean peoples to come here II they
liked, has given them citizenship on
easy conditions. and has thereafter pro-
tcctcd them in their privileges as citi-
zcns here