Meade County news., 1917-05-31

& up and planted to potatoes. In (
Z addition, all vacant property I
i owned by the city is to be put &
= under cultivation and Mayor Z
4 Lewis has started a movement q
\ to have private individuals give E
Z their vacant land for garden 3
+ purposes. The city of Venice z
Z will furnish the seed, high-school D
& students will cultivate the gar z
z dens and the fire department will ,
i irrigate them free of charge. <
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| figures are exclusive of ships under
construction for the navy department,
oil and molasses tankers, vessels con-
structed for use on the Great Lakes.
and those under 500 tons.
May Use Lake Vessels.
OF this amount of tonnage more than
100000 tons already have been
launched, about 10000 tons are sched-
uled to be launched this spring, about
III 900 tons to be launched during the
summer, about 100000 tons launched
next fall, more than 100000 tons
launched next winter and more than
100000 tons launched and completed
in 1913.
OF the vessels built for service on
the Great Lakes, approximately 10000
tons, a number Of these could in an
.toad For InnYN
merce.
One of the largest of the new plants
will be built for the Baltimore Dry
Dock and Shlpbullding company. The
plans call for the construction of one
of the largest shlpbuilding and repair
plants on the Atlantic coast. The
company has an option on site at
Baltimore. The new plant will cost
more than S2,0O0,000, and will furnish
employment to 1000 additional men.
On April of this year there were
In the United States 152 shipyards, ma
rine engine, and boiler shops, and 238
repair plants, including dry docks and
marine railways.
Some idea of what the shipbuildlng
capacity Of Great Britain Is may be
cleaned from the fact that at the be-
ginning of the war, exclusive Of the
plants in her colonies, she had 453
shipyards, marine engine and boiler
shops, while her repair plants in
cluded 572 dry docks and marine rail-
ways.
Since the first of the year orders for
new ships have swamped the builders.
The Bethlehem Steel company In Its
various subsidiary yards Is building
more than IT'S vessels.
In the case of the Hanlon Dry Dock
and Shipbuilding company Of Oakland,
Cal, on January its employees num-
bered $50. 1t has so many contracts
for vessels now that 1t is enlarging Its
plant to such an extent that by June
1 it will have $500 men at work.
To Build 1000 Ships.
On April 13, 35 shipbullders called at
the offices of the federal shipping board
at Washington and signed contracts
for large number of the 1000 wooden
vessels of 5000 tons each which the
United States government, under the
direction of Maj. Gen. George w.
Goethals will have constructed.
There has been leased to the gov
ernment and to the Foundation COM
pany tract of So acres of land In the
Newark Meadows, with frontage Of
1850 feet on the Passaic river for the
location Of an immense shlpyard.
The Foundation company has re-
ceived large contract for the con-
struction of the fleet of ships for the
| American merchant marine.
Under the company's contract the
first vessels must be completed by
August 1 of this year. After this date
the company expects to turn out one
ship every ten days. The second ves-
sells should be finished by August IL,
the third August 81 and so on, as the
contract states, "as long as the war
shall last"
Incidental to the building Of the
Goethals fleet Of wooden ships, 1t was
learned that the government Is cor
nering the product of big lumber mills
all over the country. 1t Is understood
that the federal authorities have requi-
sitioned 3,0OOO0O,000 feet from the
Southern mills alone, principally
Georgia, Florida and Louisiana yellow
pine.
All vessels building In American
yards, regardless of whether for for
eign owners, undisclosed owners or
builders accounts, can be taken over
by this government in time of war.