Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-11-01
SHIP CONSTRUCTION
TO Be SPEEDED Up
Builders and Labor Leaders
Pledge Their Cooperation
With Government.
FAVOR STANDARDIZED WAGE
Committee of Five Biggest EN-
ployers to Act as Aids to
Shipping Board.
fBy Associated Pres.

WASHINGTON October 3l.-A gem
eral quickcning of shipbuilding opera
tions on the Atlantic Coast was prom
ised to-day at n conference of builders
and labor leaders with officials O. gov
ernment departments. The meeting
was called by Chairman Hurley. Of tho
shipping Board. to work out means of
co-ordinating the efforts Of all having
70 do Will the shipbuilding program.
Diiiiculty in obtaining sufficient labor
is the chief obstacle in the way or
speeding up tonnage production.
Through draft exemption for shipyard
workers. the Shipping Board hopes to
overcome this difficulty In large meas
ure. Al the same time it will give
consideration to other plans for in
ducing trained workers in other lines
TO enter the employment OF shipyards.
Builders at the conference agreed
with government officials that measures
should be taken to prevent yards from
hiring each others workers. and n
general standardized wage system was
proposed as means of accomplishing
this. Shipping Board officials may ask
legislation TO prevent the practice.
GENERAL RsADJUSTMENT
OF CONTRACTS TO DE MADE
A general readjustment of contracts
for ships Communicated on the ways
by the government it was said after
the conference. will be made soon by
the Shipping Board. Some builders. it
is claimed. are losing money on con-
tracts communicating. as material
costs and workers wages have risen
sharply since the vessels were taken
over.
y committee of builders named to-
day Will cooperate with the govern
mcnt in obtaining materials and in
dealing with the labor shortage. One
member of the committee will serve
as an aid to the board, giving all his
time to the work. The committe. COM
prises the following:
II. J.. Ferguson, of the Newport News
Shipbuildng and Dry Dock COMPANY:
j. W. Powell. vice-prcsident of the
Bethlehem Steel Company, and an Off
cial of the Fore River Shipbuildine
Company; ]. II Hand. OF William
CTamp d Sons Co., and A. NJ. Ne1land.
OF the New York ShipbuildinE Com
pany.
Greater consideration Of the wooden
shipbu!lding industry was urged upon
'He shipp'ns board to-day by Senator
Chamberlain. of Oregon. Labor and
materials are available on the Pacific
coast. he declared. for twice the amount
Of wooden ship construction now under
way in that district.
TO COMPLETE 100000
TONS OF SHIPS BY MARCH 7
American ship yards will complete
100000 tons of ships by March /
Chairman Hurley told the conference.
I'm the whole of 1916" said Mr.
Hurley. Eve turned out little over
10000 tons We will achieve in the
next four months far more than we
achieved in twelve months. The new
goal of our expectations is ten times
| the production of 1916. But we can.t
achieve this by ordinary methods. by
normal energy or by average initia-
| tive. This is an extraordinary period
| In the country's history. We are con-
! fronted with an abnormal task, and
| must apply abnormal methods. Every
| ounce OF our energy and initiative
( must be directed toward the achieve
mcnt of the greatest task ever imposed
| upon nation in war"