Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1917-04-13
SHIPPING PLANS TO
BENEFIT NORTHWEST
NATION PROPOSES HUGE FLEET
OF WOODEN VESSELS-MANY
TO BE BUILT HERE.

Olympia and the whole Puget
Sound country will be directly bene-
fitted in a business way by the plans
of the federal shipping board for the
construction of small wooden mer.
chant ships to nullify the German
submarine menace.
The board proposes monster and
practically amending feet of these
vessels, to be turned out eventually
at the rate of 100000 tons a month
and looks to this Coast to build 60
per cent of them. The vessels will
be armed for offense and defense and
manned by American sailors and
gunners.
Work to Start Soon.
Details of the enterprise were
given out at New York this week by
William Denman, a member of the
board. He said that the first ships
would soon be under construction at
all available shipyards on the At
lantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts and
the Great Lakes.
Within period of eight months
more than 100000 tons of ships,
wooden vessels of from 5000 to 81
600 tons, will be leaving their stocks
every 80 days, fully equipped for
service.
1t is believed by naval experts that
these wooden ships, turned out at
the speed anticipated, will soon solve
the submarine problem by supplying
tonnage faster than submarines can
destroy it.
The plan of the board, Mr.. Den
man said, is to work in full accord
with organized labor. In procuring
gunners for the ships it is proposed
to call on military colleges through
out the country to supply as large
a quota as possible.
Statistics gathered by the board
show that approximately so per cent
Of the vessels can be built on the
Pacific coast, owing to proximity to
tidewater and unfailing timber sup
ply. The remaining 40 per cent can
be built on the Atlantic coast and
Gulf coast and the Great Lakes.
The ships will cost approximately
$250,000 to 100000 each, which is
about half of the cost of steel YES
sells of the same size.
Means Prosperity Hero.
Daniel Kelleher. one of the lead
ing bankers of Seattle. who has been
at the national capital for some
time and while there consulted Sec
rotary of the Treasury McAdoo and
federal shipping board officials, is
convinced that the Puget Sound Sec
ton will be given all of the wooden
shipbuilding 1t can handle and that
the result will be degree Of pros
perity which this section never has
known.
Mr.. Kelleher agrees that there will
be an attempt at wooden shipbuild-
ing on the Atlantic coast, but in his
opinion that coast will not be in pos
ition to compete with Puget Sound,
which has the necessary timber at
its door. 1t is well known at the
national capital that Atlantic coast
shipyards have to get their large
timbers from Puget Sound forests.
With the present congested state of
railroad traffic, it is believed that
this new construction must naturally
gravitate to the Pacific Northwest.
Mr.. Kelleher's statements that a
large number Of wooden ships will
be built on Puget Sound is supported
by the officials of the United States
Shipping Board.
1--WE have told the builders in that
section to be ready to begin construc-
tion," said one official. 1--WE are only
waiting to perfect our plans before
making contracts"
Representative Alexander. Of Mis-
souri,, chairman of the house COM
mittee on merchant marine, said:
1--WE can build merchant ships faster
than the German submarines can
sink them. To my mind the Puget
Sound country is the best place for
large shipyards to be set up. There
are unlimited amounts of suitable
timber, and the work there can be
carried on more expeditiously than
at any other point in the United