The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-10-01
United States Greatest
of All in Shipbuilding

80 SO
creasing output of tonnage from
American shipyards. All records for
fast shipbuilding are now held by
| them. Before the war from nine
| months to year were required to
! build a 3,500-ton steel seago1ng' yes
! sci, from year to a year and half
to build a 5,500-ton steel vessel, and
from year and half to two years
to complete a vessel of 5000 tons
and over.
In July and August of this year
only thirty-four calendar days elapsed
between the keel laying and delivery
of the $500 lightweight ton steel
, freighter Crawl Keys. This worlds
record was made by the Great Lakes
Engineering Works, Of Ecorse, Mich.
The keel of the Crawl Keys was laid
on July II. The vessel was launched
in the record breaking time of six
teen calendar and fourteen working
days. On August 13 the Crawl Keys
was completed, and on the following
day it was accepted by the shipping
board and placed in commission.
Only thirty-seven calendar days
were required in May and June to
build the Tuckahoe, steel collier or
$500 lightweight tons. This sensa-
.tional pace for wartime shipbuilding
was set by the New York Shipbuild-
ing company, of Camden, N. j.
A worlds record was made when
the Tuckahoe was LAUNCHED 80 per
cent. complete ON June 5 in twenty
seven days, two hours and fifty min
utes from keel laying. Another
do fnn douS
later when the Tuckahoe, ready for
service, was delivered to the ship
ping board. The Tuckahoe was car
rying coal to New England on the
fortieth day.
Shipyards and Shlpways.
When the present shipping board
began it's work, in August, 1917, there
We're only sixty-one shipyards in the
United States. There were thirty
seven steel shipyards with 162 ways.
About three-quarters of their capaci-
ty had been pre-empted by the naval
construction program, while private
orders overflowed the remaining
ways. In the twenty-four wood ship
yards there were only seventy-three !
ways.
The largest shipyards in the world !
in September, 1913, were those OF !
The United States The Clyde river, |
in Scotland, historically famous as !
he greatest Of all shipbuilding To- |
calities, is already surpassed by two !
districts on the Atlantic /
coast and by two on the Pacific |
coast-by Delaware river and New
trk bay In the east, and by Oakland /
larbor and Puget sound in the |
vest. One yard, Hog island, on the
Delaware, is equipped to produce
more tonnage annually than the pre-
var output of all shipyards of the
United Kingdom. 1t has fifty ways.
There are now 2O3 shipyards in
he United States. The list COM
orises II steel, III wood. 2 COM
,osite, and z concrete shipyards. OF 1
.hese, 155 are completed, So more
han half completed, and only Is less
han half completed The great planti
It Hog island is 95 per cent. COM
in one year. Its site, |
when the United States entered the
var, was a swampy marsh.
Every month of the past year has Il
ldded to the number of American
ota1 is 1,020-more than double thef
otal of shipways in all the rest of
he world. OF the 927 shipways that
ire for the Emergency Fleet corpo-
alton OF the shipping board, $40 are
listed today as completed, and only /
II are to be added There are 40
completed ways for the construction
# steel ships, 400 completed ways
or the construction of wood, COM
,osite and concrete ships.
Employees.
The records of the United States
Board Emergency Fleet
corporation show that there are now
approximately $4,000 employees in
he shipyards. There were less than
5000 shipworkers in July, 1916.
The weekly payroll of the ship
ards building ships for the United /
states shipping board is s1O,500, 900.
Program and Contracts.
Here is the program of ship con-
truction which the shipping board ]
las placed with the rapidly expand /
ng shipyards of the country: il
Dead.weight /
Tons
,249 contract ships, totarg. .13,212,712 4
AZ concrete ships, totalg 301,50O
4o2 requisitional ships -. 2,79o,792 s
1913 ships .............. 16,sO5.o {
The SHINING hoarJ bo. ~. - i,