The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1917-05-10

IN the war at the present time is the
constant shipment of food to the Allies
The cruX Of the war situation is ad-
mitted to be food.
FOOD MUST BE SENT.
French farms have been planted with
trenches instead of potatoes, and Eng
land, after nearly three years of war,
IS just beginning to retrieve its mis-
take in sighting the important matter
of agriculture. The Allies now are not
self-supporting, and it is the part of
the United States to supply them with
a large amount of food This is impos-
sible without ships,
The American merchant marine
which at the beginning of the war
carried about s per cent. of our com
merce, now carries about IS per cent.
after more than two years. We have
been warned again and again that we
needed ships, if only for foreign trade,
but as long as the Allies provide US
with ships in which to send their sup
plies the warning was little needed.
Now it is too late to get steel ships by
the time we shall need them, owing to
the fact that 18..months are usually re-
quired to build one such vessel, and the
situation would be discouraging indeed
were it not for this wooden-ship project
of the United States Shipping Board
The United States Shipping Board
was created last November "for the
purpose of encouraging, developing and
creating naval auxiliary and naval re-
serve and merchant marine to meet
the requirements of the commerce of
the United States; to regulate car
riers by water engaged in the foreign
and interstate commerce of the United
States, and for other purposes" Five
commissioners, including William Den
man of San Francisco, chairman;
Thomas Brent of New Orleans, vice
chairman; John A. Donald of New
York, John D. White of Kansas CITY.
and R. B. Stephens from New Hamp-
shire. were Immediately appointed by
the President, and by the first of the
year the supervision of the United
States shipping was well under way.
EUSTIS' BRILLIANT IDEA.
From the beginning the members of
the board were worried over the scar
city of shipping, and when the German
submarine note arrived they were more
than worried. They were distressed.
Shortly afterwards, howeve a New
York engineer named Eustis visited the
headquarters of the board in Washing
ton and there laid before it a brand
new idea. The next morning the board
invited MIR. Eustis to occupy one of its
offices. Mr.. Eustis idea was 1000
wooden ships.
AS 1t happens, wooden shipbuilding is
almost lost art in America, where
steel is taking the place of wood in all
lines of building, so that Mr.. Denman
spent five or SIX days going over the
PLAN before he announced himself
convinced. About this time Mr.. Eustls
learned that Huntington Clark, another
New York engineer, had conceived
practically the same idea, so he sent for
Mr., Clark to come to Washington.
Together they managed to show naval
architect what they wanted and re-
quested bids on labor and materials. 1t
was decided, because most of our lum-
Der is on the Pacific coast, that that
was the place the ships should be built,
and 70 per cent. of the contracts have
since been placed there.
Mr.. Eustis and Mr.. Clark are now
contributing their services to the
government purley for patriotic reasons
their compensation being 81 year.
The dollar is paid because the United
States government can never accept