Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-01-29

NoooeIo 1OuudSt
United Kingdom ..... SIT 649,33t
British dominions 80. 1873 32,937
Foreign combatant
and noncombatant -. 955 9S9,337
Total ..............1,65 5 1,671,610
1914.
United Kingdom 49,, 1,294 1,722, 154
British dominiOns 80. 271 1894
Foreign combatant
Total .3,165 3,4S4,171
In the statistics relating to work
turned out by British yards no figures
are given of warships building. We're
these figures included, it is probable
that the output might have been lar
ger than in any previous year, but
the totals serve to demonstrate the
amount of work which has been &C
complished in British yards. During
the whole year ship owners have beel:
deploring the difficulties which have
lain in the way of their obtaining de-
livery of vessels ordered before the
war broke out and in many yards de-
voted entirely to war work, new mer~
camille tonnage remainh on the stocks
and in the condition it was left
months ago.
During the year 1913 the total mer-
camille production of the United
Kingdom was 1924 vessels with an
aggregate tonnage of 1,977.573, so
that the output last year was less by
907 vessels and 1,12S,237 tons.
/ The decrease in the British output
has been particularly heavy in Bel
fast, where Harland and Wolff have
| for the first time in the history of the
| famous firm launched no merchant
vessel, where as in 1913 they launch
ed six steamers representing 156,0A7
! tons. Workman, Clark & Company
also did comparatively little mercan-
| tile work, for the total of the new
tonnage which they turned out dur
ing the year was half dozen with a
total tonnage of 26,31S, as against
vessels representing 75,1SS tons dur
ing the previous year.
In was early in the year that Work
man, Clark & Company completed
their most important merchant steam
ers, the steamer Pembrokeshire, the
| Carmarthenshire and the Ebro, for
All three vessels were practically
completed at the end of 1914, and
there are specific reasons why the
vessels should be finished this year.
At the end of March they launched
the first of number of steamers
which they have contracted to builC
for the United Fruit company of New
York and Boston. the steamer SaI
Mateo, a vessel of 1910 tons In May
the steamer San Pablo was placed il
the water and this was followed il
August by the steam San Pedro
These three boats are intended for the
cargo trade only and are sister ships
In October a fourth vessel for the
same owners but intended for the car
go and passenger carrying trade wa:
launched. Since October, Workman
Clark & Company have been engaged
on work other than for the mercan
tile navies of the world.
There has been great activit,
throughout the whole year in CLYDE
yards, from which 1875 vessels, repre-
senting in the aggregate 215,060 tons
were launched. Many Of the vessels
however, were small ones, and wheth
er they increase the number o
launches, they do not add considerab
ly to the total tonnage. Although thu
majority of the shipyards on tn,
Clyde were taken over by the govern
ment shortly after the outbreak of tn
war, for considerable time Their
was no suspension of mercantile
work. There are still to be found Oh
the Clyde several yards devoted II
the main to the construction of small
steamers of the coasting grade whicl
not Controlled establishments" an,
for some months these yards wer
able to proceed without difficulty witt
the contracts they had on hand.
1t was only after the government
decided upon scheme for drawing
all available labor to the "controlle
, yards" for war work, that these firm
, experienced any difficulty.
; The largest vessel launched on tn
} Clyde last year was the steame
J "Aotearoa," liner of 1900 tons
J built by the Fairfield company, TO
J the Union Steamship company o. Ney
J Zealand. This vessel, which is II
2 only merchant ship turned out by tn
/ firm last year. is twin screw gear e
/ turbine steamer, and has the disting
| ton of being the largest vesse
} launched in 1915 in the world.
} In 1914 the Germans held the rec
2 ord by the launching of the liner Bis
D mark. vessel of $4,000 tons, bull
s for the Hamburg-Amerika line 6
Hamburg, and the second largest yes