The Pensacola journal., 1917-07-22
By Thomas Ewing Dabny.

BY Thomas Ewing Dabny'
Five weeks ago some men attacked
a swamp in the outskirts of Milton.
1t was as depressing a piece of seen
! cry as was ever known-a joyless bit
of jungle, full of strange smells, and
as uncertain under foot as an earth
quake,
Now it has been cleared, enclosed,
drained sufficiently for immediate
purposes; two buildings have been
! erected, others are in course of con-
| struction, the keel of a 185 foot
schooner 900 'tons) has been laid,
and preparations are being made to
start an even greater vessel, whether
or not the government awards the
contract for building any of the 5000
ton standardized ships, with which
the Atlantic is to1-be bridged. il
Goethals and Denman finally are able
to make up their minds.
This is the Bagdad Ship Building
Company to which have been re-
ferring-and it is typical of the ship
building development that has fallen
upon Milton like legacy.
Ships had been built IN Nilton ever
since the Civil War, but no real use
had been made of resources as
abounding as the atmosphere-deep
water, saw mills, cheap sites, abund-
ant labor. 1t needed a crisis like
the war to force the assumption of
prosperity, so to speak, and Milton
rose to the occasion. Two ship COM
panies in one week located there
1--WE are behind in our work." said
Peter Tomasello, the superintendent
at the Bagdad Shipbuil1ing Eom-
pany. "I've only got about sixty men
working now, because today is the
first | have been able to get any ma
terial," and he waved to the water
!; front, where several gangs were get.
ting out some big sticks of timber
that had been foated up from Bag
dad sawmill, about cne mile away
These were to be the ribs-the timber
was still green-no doubt the birds
would have been nesting in the trees
at the time Goethals made his cele.
brated remark, if birds nested in the
summer. But the timber will be
seasoned enough before the time
comes to nail on the planking.
: "Next week." said Mr.. Tomasello
I'VE will have about a hundred men
: | want to see those ribs in place
J
| twelve days or so, and we will have
| to work the timber out with broaC
) axes; but we want to launch this
boat before the end of the year, ant
: and delay is one thing that the ship
: ping business can't stand nowadays
: AS we looked over the works, tn,
2 air was punctuated by the heavy
= thump of a pile driver, sinking
foundation for the fourteen ton crane
that is to travel on a track from one
end of the yard to the other, lift
5 ing timbers into place and still
= further speeding production. AS soor
S as the track is finished, the cradl
= for the second vessel, which is t.
r be larger than the one now in cours
o of construction, will be erected on tn
t other side; then if the company take
V any of the 1000 ton contracts fror
= the government, a space has been re
h served for building the huge cradle
e pointing obliquely across the Black
water river, and the track of tn
. crane will be extended. In that cas-
\ there will probably be 600 workmel
| employed.
| How to house the workmen. no
only of this company, but of tn
others, is now becoming an importan
problem for Milton, At least twenty
hVe per cent of the Iaborers will h
new people-trained shipwright
, from the north, and men from adioin
ing counties, who will move her
with their families. There are no
y enough houses-and if the bushes
\ men of Milton don't supply the neec
1t is stated that the different com
d panies will be forced to build hotel.
That will mean company commits
< saries-and Millions business wi
% suffer.
The Bagdad Shipbuilding Compan
is backed by f. R.. Malone. job
: Merritt, Richard Turner. and c. "
Lamar. of Pensacola, Captain A. +
Mcleod of Milton, and Frank Ste1
ems, general manager of the Bagda
Land & Lumber Company-in obed
ence to whose request the compan
received the name it did, althoug
, it is situate in Milton.
I Perhaps it was because Miltonite
felt this name was misplaced thu
the Hoodless Yard. which adioins Il
I enterprise in question, erected owe
u its entrance 4 huge sign bearing tt
4iiSNI lptloH hitlOu Snlp ara.
The HoOdless Yard too is maxim
! bid for government contracts
Y has been established in Milton eve
since the Civil War, but its work h;
been more repairing than constru
;. ton. 1t had on the ways the day
! was there a section of the Bruce DR.,
dock, Tor Pensacola About twent
$ men are employed.
y l mex visited the Santa Rosa NJ;
: rine Company's yard-about a mi
; and half above Milton-ideallv /
: Gated on a natural slope. falling IN
the B!ackwater at the correct angl
The water here as practically ever,
where s deep and will require :
DREDGING except for 5000 ton vesse
or over.
Tie Santa Rosa Marine Compar
!s composed Of c. G. Murphy ar
r. 6. Quina oF Pensacola. and :
Fuller, of Milton. Mr., Fuller IS Il