New Britain herald., 1918-03-27
HURLEY TALKS OUT
 ON SHIPBUILDING
Gives Frank Account of What
 Was Done and Not Done

New York March 27.-America's s effort to meet German submarine war, whose full menace has just been revealed in British admiralty figures on sinkings of ships was outlined here last night by Chairman Hurley, of the shipping board, in frank statement setting forth the shipbuilding situa- ton in the United States.
 Before the National Marine league, MT. Hurley disclosed that despite de- lays, the country soon will have 730 steel and wooden ways turning out slips and that the government S mammoth steel shipbuilding program of eight million tons on March l was 2S per cent on It's way to completion. This does not mean that 28 per cent aFe in the water. but that construc- ton as a whole had advanced that far. Eight per cent of the vessels actually have been put into service Mir. Hurley said.
 The three government fabricating yards near Philadelphia, when in full operation, will be able to produce, MT. Hurley said, more ships in a year than all the yards of England, here- tofore the greatest shipbuilding coun- try in the world
 High Point Delayed.
 The high point in the curve of pro- duction has been delayed, MT. Hurley pointed out, by a number of causes. &AS radually, these are being overcome, %He declared, and before many months the peak will have been reached.
 When the high point of the curve finally has been reached and the mag ritude of Americas shipbuilding pro- gram is realized" he said, ''it will be a continuous performance of pro- duction and launching"
 "UJnless we get out men to the b4ttle front, we will not win the war and therefore it all comes back to ships" said MT. Hurley. Upon the shipping board has devolved the re- sponsibility of supplying this need and supplying it under the most ex- StTaordinary conditions that ever ex- isted, at 0 time when every other in- dustry is being taxed to it's utmost capacity in the matter of materials and labor to provide war necessities
 'Tbe handicaps have been many. We were not a maritime nation. With the exception of a few widely scat tered yards. merchant marine con- struction had almost become lost art with us. Then came this sudden call at a moment when the navy was undergoing the greatest expansion in its history-when most. If not all. of tho established yards were feverishly engaged In rush construction on dreadnaughts, destroyers, submarines, fuel ships, tenders and other auxiliary craft and when munition makers were absorbing that part of skilled labor which had not been called to government navy yards or private shipbuilding plants. So it was a case z>of not only working from the ground LID, but Of first securing the ground upon which to make a start some of it marshland which had to be filled in before launching ways would be laid. Therefore, we who are engaged . ir the work appreciate the magni- tGde of the task. I doubt if the mag nitude of the task is generally appre- ciated. I am not here to emphasize that magnitude. I am here to tell you of the situation as 1t is.
 ] Ships Not Built Overnight.
 ''I wish to remind you gentlemen, that ships are not built overnight. When we took hold of this job of shipbuilding, we found there was no shipyard in existence with which we could place an order. The old yards
 
 with the necessity of creating an en- tireIy new industry. We had to es- tabnsh the yards first, get the ship builders to take charge of them, and train the men to build the ships.
 There were 37 steel shipyards in America at the time of our entrance into the war. We have located S1 additional steel and wood yards while IS other yards have been expanded. We are building in the new and ex- banded steel yards 35 new steel ship ways, or 26 more than at present exist in all the shipyards of England. If we had been content with doing the job in small way, we might have built a few new yards and added 8 little to our capacity. A few ships might have been finished more quick iy; but it was the spirit and will Ot America to do the job in big way and the judgment of the country will be vtndicated by the results wher all these new ways are completed and are turning out ships. Many of these ways have actually been finished. The new industry we have created vii make America the greatest maritime nation in the history of the world.
 "It took Germany 10 years to bui1c LID her mighty military machine. II less than eight months we have bull LID shipbuilding machine, whicl when it gets into full swing, will de feat the military machine of Germany
 "It took Henry Ford, with all hi genius for organization and stand erdization, 6 years in which to de yelop his enormous production. I has required 20 years for the Unite States Steel corporation to develo It's activities to the point where tho