The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-05-29
COCKTAILS READY
TO Get BUILDING
PLAN UNDER Way
Accepts Proposals for 5000,
600 Tons of Shipping to
be Ready in Is Months

Washington, May 29-Major.-Gen.
Goethals is to have a free hand in the
building of the great American mer-
chant fleet. This was determined yes
terday, according to authoritative in
formation The Shipping Board,
headed by Chairman Denman, will not
interfere in any way with the con-
struction program, but Will conhne
| itself to the operation Of the fleet and
! other functions given to 1t by Con-
| gress.
AS a result of this settlement, Gen.
Goethals started with a rush to get
| building under way.
Proposals for the construction OF
! 100000 tons Of steel shipping in
| eighteen months were accepted by
him. They came from two great con-
Germs, the United States Steel Corpora
ton and the Lackawanna Steel & Iron
Co. These ships are to be turned out
by fabrication processes. These COM
panies contemplate. that they will be
able within six months to turn out
one ship a day.
| Contracts have been let for "a
wooden ships and for six steel barges.
Sixteen Of the wooden vessels will be
constructed by the Sloan Shipyards
| Corporation of Seattle, Wash, and
four by the Coast Shipbuilding Co. of
| Portland, Ore. The steel barges will
be built by the Skinner & Eddy Cor
poration of Seattle.
! Contracts also have been awarded
| for 26 steel ships. Twenty of these.
went to Edward F. Terry and Henry
| L. Britain of so Broadway, New York
| with their plant at Moss Point. Miss
| Chairman Denman has disclaimed
responsibility for the statement that
| the board could build 1000 wooden
ships in Is months. That assertion,
it is said, was made by one of the
engineers who proposed the wooden
shipbuilding program and never was
denied by the board, because the
board did not care to give any comfort
to the Germans.
Secretary McAdoo last night issued
this statement regarding declarations
made in the speech Of Gen. Goethals
in New York Friday night
"My attention has been called to
staten emit attributed to Gen. Goe-
thals to the effect that $50,0OO,000
has been appropriated for the Ship
ping Board, to be derived from the
sale Of Panama Canal bonds, but thai
y
these bonds. Money is as necessary
as anything else. I began cam
paign for money etc.
1.-The General must have been mis-
quoted. The Shipping Board was
notified by me long ago that all the
money required by the board was
available at any time upon its de-
mand. The board has had $780,
| 600 placed to it's credit, and today ar
additional 100000 is being giver
to the board upon its request. These
are the only moneys the Shipping
Board has requested.
cit is not necessary to actually Sc
100000 Of Panama Canal bonds
before the money is available. Treas.
! ury certificates of Indebtedness may
be used to provide the money unit
the bonds have been sold, and this
Board and Gen. Goethals have mo-
) been held up one second for want OF
money and will not be-
The House yesterday modified the
Senate provision in the Urgent Def.
| cheney Bill which authorized the
President to delegate all of the pow.
! ers of the Shipping Board to Major
Gen. Goethals, centering the poawe1
| In the President instead. Chairman
Fitzgerald of the Committed n Ap.
| preparations denied that this was be
cause Of the controversy between
| Gen. Goethals and Chairman Den
man.
The House adopted the amend.
ment authorizing $75O,O0O,000 fol
building ships, with $40O, 100000 to be
available at once. The Urgnet Def.
cincy Bill containing this amend
ment was sent to conference, where 8
4 number Of Senate amendments will
| he threshed out.
Four amendments were made to the
Senate shipping provision. The frs
gives power to suspend contracts, az
well as to cancel, modify or requisi.
ton; the second provides for requisi
tioning of docks, terminal facilities
fuel and storage facilities that may bs
necessary for the operation of ships
the third eliminates provision tina.
money appropriated might be utilized
; to expedite the construction of ship,
: on account of some other govern
} mental agency or person than the
United States, and the fourth give:
: powers over to the President.
This legislation is of a. very radi
cal unique and unusal character
said Mr.. Fitzgerald. SIT confers tn,
most comprehensive powers ever Fro
, posed upon the President of the
, United States. It authorizes him tt
requisition the entire output of a fac
tory, a portion of a factory, to tax,
over ships, to cancel contracts, to as
sumo contracts, to suspend contracts
, to operate these ships, and when tn,
powers given here are exercised, pro
vision is made. to make just compen
sation for the taking over. Authorit,
, is given to the President to ascertain
in a summary manner what the jus
: compensation shall be, and if tina
compensation so determined shall no
be satisfactory to the person affected
then he shall be paid IS per cent. o
l that sum and given a right to pro
5 ceeds against the United States in tn
: Court of Claims to recover such add
v tional sum as will make just conpen
l sation.
l "Under the Senate amendment tn
: President is authorized to delegate al
of those powers of a radical and com
, prehensive character to the Genera
Manager of the United State Shipping
Board Emergency Fleet Corporation
That is a corporation organized b.
the Shipping Act for the purpose o
having constructed ships deemed es
: sential at this time. The Genera
l Manager Of that corporation is Majo
! | Gen. Goethals, who is selected b,