The Sentinel=record., 1917-12-22

the governments shipbulding pro gram was shouldered today by Chair man Hurley, of the shipping board testifyins at the senate commerce commissions investigation of the de- lays in ship construction.
 Called as the first witness in the inquiry, Nlr Hurley admitted that there have been delays but declared that the recent reorganization of the boards emergency fleet corporation for the first time gives the chairman of the board proper authority and fixes responsibility where it belongs.
 The dual organization of the board and the corporation, he said, had been done away with and the present gen eral manager of the corporation an swers directly to the chairman. The present organization, Mir Hurley said, is the only way thai ships can be built We do not need additional legislation. If the head of the institution does not build ships it is because of his inefficiency and not because of faults of the organization. ," From MT. Hurley and from John A. Donald, who has been a member of the board since it's creation the com mittee drew a long story of the troubles of the board and the fleet corporation starting with the row at the outset between William Denman, first chairman of the board, and Ma jor General Goethals, first general manager of the fleet corporation
 Besides organization faults, factors which have contributed to the delay in ship construction were given by Mr Hurley as the navy's utilization of ship building facilities, labor troubles. lack of housing for workers, the necessity of building new ship wards. and changes in specifications of ships
 The changes in specifications were made in wooden vessels two months ago after some of them already were under construction They were made, MT Hurley said by Admiral Capps and his staff of designers when it be- came apparent that the ships as con tracted for originally needed larger timbers to strengthen them
 The labor situation, Mir. Hurley said, is improving and the shipping | board in co-op operation with the war l and navy departments and the coun- ell of national defense is working on a comprehensive housing plan Mir. Hurley told of the difficulties the old board and the new had in get
 ting the building program started. The board found, he said, when 1t
 started out to build ships that IS of the largest yards in the country were | crowded with navy work and that new facilities must be provided
 "It is hardly fair to say that newly
 created facilities shall from the very
 day they have been put into opera | tiOp produce ships at their maximum
 capacity" he urged. Time is neces
 sary for expansion and for the devel-
 opment of necessary labor
 The shipping board began its pro
 gram Mir. Hurley said, with only 38
 ship yards existing in the country
 Since then 74 entirely new yards have
 been created.
 The work thus far he said, has 1 been in many cases preparatory and
 has carried with it the usual amount of annoyance and disappointments.
 But this preparatory period is rapidly getting behind us, and the period ol actual ship construction in full ac- cordance with our plans is imme- diately before us.
 Mir. Donald described the fleet cor porations reorganization which stripped Rear Admiral Capps, General Goethals' successor, of authority and led to his resignation. The recent resignation of Rear Admiral Harris. who succeeded Admiral Capps and quit after about a weeks service, was due, Mr Donald said, to the naval officer taking measures without con- sulting the board
 Admiral Harris was succeeded by Charles Piez, whose office as vice. president in charge of production was combined with that of. general man agef The trouble between Denman and Goethals, MT Donald said, ap- peared to be a difference in tempera- ment and the question as to who was in supreme charge of building pro- gram.
 The controversy, he said, delayed the ship building program and per milted more than dozen ships to gei away from the United States which could have been retained if the boards commandeerin order had been issued earlier.
 The new board communicated con- ssruction week after it came into over but the weeks delay cost the United States several ships.
 Asked why the order was held up, fIr Donald said General Goethais Nas ready to issue it soon after power Ito do so was delegated by President