New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-11-01
Chairman Hurley Says
Construction May Even
Exceed That Figure
Atlantic Coast Men
Promise Cooperation
Conference at Washington
Assures US of Great Fleet
During the Coming Year
tStar Correspondence

w hbIllNh OaFs pNl. o. OH' MN
ion tons of new ships between now and
March /; 100000 tons sure and, per-
haps, 100000 during 1918.
That was the stirring forecas. made
by Chairman Hurley of the Shipping
Board, addressing the assembled snip
builders of the Atlantic Coast to-day.
The announcement was received with
cheers and assurances that the govern
ment could count on the yards 20 do
their part and more.
To add to Mr.. Hurley's confident pre-
diction was telegram from San Fran
cisco announcing that all differences
between labor and employers in the
ship yards there have been settled and
that with double shifts. extra pay for
night work and a favorable climate the
Pacific Coast was about to beat all
world records in ship production.
1t was a great meeting and did more
to accelerate shipbuilding than mail
bags full of letters and bales OF telc-
grams.
1--WE don't want worries. We want
ships" Mr.. Hurley in effect told the
! shipbulders and asked them to pour
out their troubles and grievances, say
ing that he welcomed criticism. Where
upon some Of the builders promptly
relieved themselves OF their acsumu-
lated grouches.
You're right" said Mr.. Hurley,
"we1l fix that. Here's where every
body gets a square deal, employers,
men, everybody. It's our job-tte ma
tional job-and the trouble of ono is
the trouble Of ALL"
Hurley a Big Man"
Hurley showed himself big man,
commented one of the master chip
builders present Eve have nothing
TO worry about now. No man is going
to have to build ships and lose money
doing it. We feel now that we won't
have to fight for our rights. The Ship
ping Board is going to play the game.
| Watch US Dulld the SHIPS.
The conference was in the nature of
an experience meeting. Everyb ody
confessed, everybody got rid of his
grievances and everybody promised
performance. There were speeches by
Admiral Rousseau. chief of division Of
ship yard plants of the Fleet Corpora
ton; Franklin Roosevelt. Assistant
Secretary AZ the Navy; Louis F. Post,
Assistant Secretary of Labor; j. J.
O'Connell, of the international Metal
Workers Union, and Meyer Bloomfield,
of the Shipping Boards industrial SER
vice department.
The shipbuilders complained that
shipbuilding, perhaps the most impor-
tant Of all industries at this time, had
no representative on any of the vari-
Gus war boards and Council of Defence
committees. To Offset this their special
committee of five appointed 10 adjust
matters with the Shipping Board will
nominate permanent representative
in Washington.
This special committee consists Of II
L. Ferguson, Newport News Shipbuild-
ing Company, chairman; Wallace Dow
ney, Downey Shipbuilding Company
New York; ]. II. Powell, Fore River
Company; A. NJ. Kneeland, New York
Shipbuilding Company, and J. II. Hand
Cramps. Tomorrow morning they will
take up with Chairman Hurley in de-
tail the five subjects that were dis
cussed in general at to-day's meeting
and there Is no doubt that all Of them
will be satisfactorily settled.
In the general discussion to-day Il
was brought out that the employers are
In favor Of standard wage scale for
all Atlantic coast yards and that they
are ready 10 meet the men in a con-
cilistory spirit. The primary object Is
to terminate the ebb and flow Of labor
from yard TO yard and 10 put an end
to stealing" skilled men. This evil
has been so serious that il may be
necessary for Congress to deal with it,
There was little consideration of the
general labor problem, as that was held
to be too large subject to be dealt
with to advantage in brief meeting
Mr.. Post pledged the Department oil
Labor to the task Of finding the men.
Never Bloomfield, OF the Industrial
Service Division OF the Emergency
Fleet Corporation, spoke OF the neces'
sity Of handling the human element in
manufacturing in broader and better
way than heretofore and dwelt on the
importance Of having competent EN-
nloyment managers 20 make proper use
of the men, whereby such monstrou'
waste of human effort could be avoided
as that of one shipyard which in q
single year employed 5000 men to
keep 300. Mr.. Bloomfield emphasized
the importance Of the shipyards' EN-
plovment managers meeting to be hello
on November 8 TO deal with the labor
question.
Mr.. Hurley Wins Friends
Mr. Hurley won the good will of al
,bose present when he laid down tn,
naneral rule that no builder OF ship,
sbonId suffer hardship or loss becaus,
~ tho boards action in Communicating
sbins. II seems that a number OF build
ors who had built or are building ship
AZ a loss, owing TO changes in cost o.
material and labor, had planned e
rccompcnse themselves from the profit
ON boats that they are building TO sci
al current high prices for tonnage
Then the Shipping Board took these
ships. without any pI oft TO the owners
Each such case or any case of injury
as the result OF the boards action vii
he taken cd and dealt with equitabiy.
Chairman Hurley's speech follows, in
part:
"This meeting has been called fol
the single purpose OF establishing s
new goal for our expectations. Be
tween now and March ! this country
will turn out approximately 100000
tons Of ships, dead weight. In the
whole OF 1916 we turned out little over
ESQ. 900. This we will achieve in -four
months-far more than we achieved
previously in twelve months. Goa.
servatiyeiy stated, we have quadruplcd
-. ....,,. Tho nou rnal IL nnr cY.