The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1918-02-20
nine MILLION TONS
SHIPPING NEEDED
Blackman Says This Tonnage is
Needed to Overcome Submarines
And Have Enough Troop Ships.

William Blackman, director of La
Dor for the Emergency Fleet Corpo
ration, issues the following full
statement of the present labor anC
shipbuilding situation as it affect:
the business of the country.
This war can be won through
the construction this year by the
United States and her Allies of g.,
100000 tons of shipping. This
amount will not only overcome the
submarine losses, but will also leave
the margin necessary to care for the
transportation of 100000 Ameri
can troops and supplies overseas.
Partial relief, but in a military
sense only, is being obtained from
the less vital import trades. Under
the Presidents order, this work is
now being undertaken by joint or
ganiZation on the part of the Ship
ping Board and the War Trade
Board While raw materials abso-
lutely necessary to supply the coun.
try's vital necessities will, of course
be permitted to enter our ports, it is
now necessary to reluctantly, but
drastically curtail the importation OF
supplies for the manufacture OF
-essentials-this to enable the
shipping used for this trade to be re-
leased for war purposes.
In spite of this method for OBJ
tanning partial relief, the only real
answer to the problem is ship con-
struction. This construction not
only depends for its success upon la
Dor, but the very life of labor itself
depends on this construction-this
because 100000 men are employ
ed in the manufacturing plants OF
the United States today, of whom g.
100000 are working on war materi-
ais and subsidiary industries alone.
All of these men are threatened with
forced shut downs and these shut
downs are absolutely inevitable I'M
less the ships are built. Even the
trades directly manufacturing war
supplies and the munition plants
themselves face a limitation of their
output.
This is plain on its face, for not
only are the ports and docks jammed
with supplies for overseas, but there
are in the sea coast terminals alone
more than 10000. freight cars load
ed with supplies for Europe-literal-
ly mountains of materials for which
there is insufficient shipping tom
mage.
mo greater surplus of supplies
can possibly be permitted to accumu-
late in these ports even though the
estimated amount of war supplies
needed this year for overseas ship
ment will total 100000 tons.
There is but one thing ahead-a
forced slow down in American fac
tories until the ships are built.
The situation is one in which not
only the nation is vitality interested,
but one which strikes at the very
heart of labor itself. Interruptions
to business and consequent loss of
earnings to the employe will recur,
or at least production will be retar-
ded-with the same result-until
We have shipping adequate to the
task of clearing the port congestion.
For this reason, then, the well
fare of all labor, both organized and
unorganiZed, to the extent of some
100000 people now employed is
at stake in the shipyards.
The coalless day, and the frei-
ght embargo have already had a ire
mendous effect upon labor through
out the country, and the additional
force of the coming necessary cur
tailment of raw material importation
will also fall heavily upon labor
within the next few weeks.
1T is only through shipyard labor