Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-07-11
FIVE HUNDRED
MILLION FOR
& WOODEN SHIPS.
This is Demand Of Denrnan'
Who Plans Double
Construction.
Can add 100000 Dead
Weight to Tonnage in
18 Months.

y Washington, July 1.-THE United
States shipping board wants another
s SOC, 000,0 900 to enlarge it's program.
III chairman William DenInan believes
that If h money is supplied and all
pf. the resources Of the country are
employed in the construction of steel
and wooden ships America by the end
of eighteen months will have turned
out vessels representing 5000, 900
lions dead weight, in addition to YES
sells already on the stocks. With the
ships now on the stocks this would.
sin the opinion OF shipping board mem
bers, go far. to end the effectiveness
II Of the German submarine activity.
There was a strong note of optim-
ism sounded tonight In connection
K with the rapidly with which the
Y shipbuilding program was being car
/ ried on. Congress has appropriated
III $75O,O00,000 of which $3.50, G00, 900
was for the requisition Of SHIPPING
now on the stocks or at sea either by
purchase OF charter. The additional
$500, 600, 900, 1t was stated, had been
y entirely absorbed by contracts made or
pending for steel n wooden ships,
4 all of which have been promised by
{ the contractors within 18 months
Mr.. Denlnan made public a state
ment in which he said that the presi-
dem probably soon would be k to
approve the request for more money.
1t was in effect strong plea for a big
wooden-ship program IN connection
with the construction Of steel ships
a program which Mr.. Denman said
l. Cocktails, the Council Of National De-
Tense, and various experts. It included
this statement:
"All that the shipping board feared
in February regarding the effective
ness of the submarines has been real
s--1 40 I'M -~~> &4~y1 NJ
s 0,O00,000 will not replace in eigh-
teen months over four-fifths Of the
German destruction since Feb. j. It is
to America that the force fighting
Germany must look for h bulk Of
the replacement of the submarines
destruction.
Since our original project was
framed the United States has entered
into the war, and our army in france
will require an enormous fleet of.
transport them, their supplies and
munitions. Submarines may
ably be expected to appear along u
coasts and compel us to curtail our
naval*assistance in European waters
1.-The members OF: the board have
under discussion the investment Of
another $400,000,00 or. $500, 100000
in vessels. Such a proposal requires
the approval Of the president before
presenting it to congress. If Secretary
MCAOOO Cd1I SuS8oSI D. ISdSOIldU1o
place for it in u general scheme
of financing for the war, and the
president approves, congress may be
asked for a further, appropriation of
this AMOUNT
I'm the latter part Of February
said M. Denman, the shipping board
steel s%hipbuilding plants. but found
that, on account Of the large steel
commitments to other purposes, it
could not hope for any great increase
of tonnage from that source. The
board prepared a project for the oon-
struction of wooden feet witch
would increase the sum total Of ton
mage without interference with the
steel supply. 1t called q. conference
of all the wooden ship constructors on
: the Atlantic coast, and some from the
Pacific. It consulted many practical
workers in wooden construction, vari-
ous scientists, naval constructors and
builders Of steel ships.
among others who approved the
project in its preliminary form were
General Goethals, f.. W. Sprague and
others. The board prepared a report
Of it's project, with h suggestion that
manage it, and he was employed by
the board in that capacity.
MI. Willard, chairman of the advis-
/. Dry commission, Of the Council of Ma
, tional Defense, believed that there
could be obtained steel enough to
build many more ships. but that the
distribution Of material would ave
to be altered. The board came to the
same conclusion. It gave pubic notice
that 1t intended to ask for power to
commander the steel producing
plants. Mr.. Farrell offered to supply
to the board a very large amount Of
steel plates, far more than the facili-
I'll f{ao 0f the VIA r6s Gould hNro f1 he oHlA
under the highest stimulation posi-
BILE.
subsequently, congress voted $780,
J 000,0 900 for the construction Of wood
en- and steel ships. It Is clear that we
will shortly close contracts for this
mount for vessels principally Of steel
and very largely fabricated under the
plan suggested by Secretary Redfeld
some three Years ago..
The vast of quick wood
construction are still far from ex-
hausted. and we believe mors steel
wooden vessels, OF both slow and fast
speeds. The slower can relieve our
coastwise congestion and our car
shortage. They can obtain our hemp
i and iute and grain bags and nickel
and manganese and rubber from the
far east and from South Africa, and
release faster vessels for the North
Atlantic trades. y
"All these products and a number
Of others are necessary for food pro
duction, for basic war industries.
Many wooden vessels can be built
which are faster than the majority OF
vessels now crossing the wal zone.
Large sea-going wooden barges can
be constructed to be towed along our
coast to further relieve our coastwise
trade and shortage of railway trans
portation facilities"
General Cocktails attitude toward
wooden ship construction still Is some