The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-06-08
SAY COCKTAILS HAS
supply our allies at once"
Continued From First Page.)

Continued From First Page)
supply our allies at once"
General Goethals killed the wooden
ship program by insisting upon con-
tract that no contractor in the uncer-
tain state OF the labor market could
afford to take without counting bank
ruptcy. He made certain of its death
by demanding the standard ship.
We had planned to use the con-
tract In use In the navy. This con-
tract allows the builder cost plus 10
Per can't. General Goethais, after
having Agreed to use this, later insist
ed upon q nat rate. No contractor
could build ships on that basis be-
cause the labor market and the cost
OF material are advancing daily. He
could only figure the cost so high
that he would eliminate himself at
the outset
General Goethals simply will not
build the ships This in spite OF the
fact that we have definite offers from
responsible firms--the offers are here
Tor all to see--to build ships which
VIII aggregate 100000 tons In one
year. Bear in mind this further fact
THAT after the list of November these
uesponsible firms offer to turn out
ssuAipS at the rate OF one hundred a
month. Tho allies tell us that the
O1fB1S will come this winter and one
ship before the first OF the year IL az
rood ~ six after that time. Yet un-
der General Goethals announced plans
thsre win be no ships launched un-
I'll January.
we had separate designs for the
Sh5ps drawn by Donneliy and Hun.
0nd approved by the American bureau
OF shipping, which has the last word
IN ahfpbuf1ding matters. The designs
had the double ADVANTAGE that ships
ieouid be built of straight lumber al
'9t was sawed at the mill and could
be put together by ordinary carpen-
fers and did not require ship car
pen6erA All this meant that we would
/ get ships with the greatest rapidity
and these ships could he used to
rr1dEe the gap OF getting food to our
alfieA until General Cocktails steel
ehips were ready TO take their place.
Could launch Hundred Month.
We would have let contracts six
weeks ago for ono thousand wooden
ships: the hrst ship would have been
IN the water by September /. and
thereafter we would have launched
ships at the rate OF one hundred a
month
Gen. Goetha1s. by insisting upon
a standard ship. made II necessary to
employ ship carpenters only. Up TO
date. contracts for ftty ships have
been let by him and some of these
will be ready before the first OF the
year. after the crisis which our allies
tell US Is coming. will have been pass
I'd
As far we can learn. the present
program calls for 5000. eco tons OF ship
ping In eighteen months. This amount
was sunk In the nrst four months Of
this year and the shortage ~ already
appalling We could add 5000. GOO tons
ct wooden ships without interfering
with the steel ships. which would be
fine and viii give us . merchant ma
rine after the war.
Canada Has work Under Way.
The people who have opposed the
wooden snip idea" concluded Mr.. Clark.
have done on the ground of i'm
practice biiity. I need only point out
that the plan has been adopted by
Canada Canada. which started two
months after we did already has 100
!, ships under way. We have act com
tracts for fifty" !
Mr.. Eustis issued a statement in
which he printed 4 list Of contractors
who have offered to build wooden ships,
the number Of ships which they will
agree to build and the actual period
within which the ehfps will be launch
"a. Letters from these contractors.
containing their offers. with be turned
over 10 General Cocktails Mr. Eusttw
letter Follows;
We are At war. We are determined
20 carry the war to q successful con-
ciusion. To do this We must have
more ehIpA We have not enough now.
ANA ships are being destroyed faster
than they are being replaced. We need
them now. Wa have created an emer-
Fortunately, that corporation finds that
Il can build many ships for a perma-
nsnt fleet. That In good. We all pre-
fer steel ships to wood. But the emer-
Esncy IL stu with US. We need all
the ships We can possibly build Of
both steel and wood. and we particu-
larry need nsirs for early delivery.
wooden ships At for the emergency
can be built quicker than steel ships
and without interfering with the steel
ships construction.
Ten Contractors Make ORerr.
I'VE have just received written Of
xeYs from ten contractors. among whom
are some Of the strongest firms In this
line Of business in the country. offer
ing to build At once. In large numbers.
wooden ships or hulls from the Hough
Gesign on cost plus basis. These
ten offers raey be tabuiated as follows:
Number OF HulIs
or Ships In
IL Is
Months Months
Macarthur pros. Co.. 100 400
Hidden Ems neering
Development Co. fto------ 500
Union Crown Lumber
Mills Corpor alton. eco zoo
Mendel EN- ineering
and Construction Co.
and
J. g. White & Co. ... 81 100
Ambursen Construction
Co. ............... 20 40
Stewart e n cheering
Co. ~ 70
Krause Bros.'s Lumber