New Britain herald., 1918-03-27

large as mas been unQ61taRen DS LiS Emergency Fleet corporation.
 Tt has been an uphill struggle. am willing to confess there have been times when we have been discouraged, not at the magnitude of the task, but through a doubt of human ability to accomplish the stupendous work Ill the short time allowed.
 How to Show Results.
 There are two methods for con- putting the construction of tonnage to show what is accomplished. One is by showing the tonnage in the water; the other is by showing the tonnage under construction. But when a great many ships are put under construction at the same time, the question that should be asked IS, how are they all progressing; how near to completion is the vast pro- gram Here is the answer.
 '"The total amount of our steel con- struction program on March 1 was S,205,70S deadweight tons. This IS made up of 5,160,30 deadweight tons under contract with the Emergency Fleet corporation and 3,o45,4oS dead weight tons of requisition vessels.
 "Of this total steel construction, 2.121, ,568 deadweight tons. Or ap- proximately 2S per cent. has been completed. That means that in addi- tions to the building of our big new yards, We have also been building ships. That is, the program for steel ships has advanced 28 per cent. to- ward completion. Of the amount of steel ships under contract and under acquisition, 655,45 deadweight tons, or approximately 8 per cent. were ac- n1 1atp {n March 1 of this year, nearly a month ago. This amount of floating tonnage exceeds our total output in 1916, in- cluding steel, wooden and sailing ves- sels, but approximately 50 per cent.
 Tn the yards which we have al ready completed and those which are nearing completion the prograss will be cumulative from this time on. Thus while we have been building the yards and training the new forces necessary to construction, we have also been building the ships.
 Notwithstanding the difficulties of organization, the handicaps of bad weather conditions, transportation enlbargoes and railroad congestion, nearly as much tonnage has been constructed in American shipyards in the past three months as by all the
 
 combined.
 T have referred to the necessity of providing additional facilities for the building of ships. At the outset the 37 old steel yards began increasing their capacity until they now have 195 ways as against 162 eight months ago. Other parts of their plants have increased in proportion. We then made provision for additional steel yards, some of which have been given financial assistance. Thirty addition al new steel sh1pyards are thus being erected with a total of 2o3 shipbuild- ing ways. Thus we now have in the aggregate 67 steel shipyards either wholly or partly engaged in Fleet corporation work. These yards will have a total of 39S steel building ways Of these, 35 yards with 258 ways, are on the Atlantic and Gulf coast. Nineteen yards with 66 ways are on the Pacific, while B yards, with "A ways, are on the Great Lakes.
 Handicaps of Program.
 Our program for building wooden ships has been beset with many dIr- faculties and handicaps which could not we'll be foreseen. A year ago, wooden shipbuilding in the Uniteo States was almost a lost art. We found 24 old wooden shipyards with 73 shipways. The capacity for wooden shipbuilding has been increased until we now have S1 wooden shipbuilding yards with 332 ways completed or nearing completion.
 Assuming that these ways will each produce two standard ships per year We should turn out about 2,3O0,- joh nf eh{ ping annually. These 332 wooden shipbuilding ways, now nearing com pletion, added to our 398 steel build ing ways, will give us a total Of 730 berths upon which to build steel and wooden vessels. When you consider that we had only 162 steel building ways a few months ago and 73 wooden ship building ways-a total of 235- an increase is shown of 495 wooden and steel berths on which We can build ships.
 With our total of 730 wood and steel ways, we will have 52t more berths than Sir Eric Geddes in his re- cent speech stated England has at the present time.
 "Our program on wooden ships was delayed by the fact that we were unable to provide the necessary big timber in sufficient quantities from the forests east of the Mississippi river. This situation, which has been a serious handicap, I am happy to say, is steadily improving.
 ''The situation giving us the most concern is the completion of tur- pines and engines. The very rapid expansion of the shipbuilding pro- gram caught the turbine and engine manufacturers totally unpreparod. Building Concrete Ships. ''The proposal to build ships of concrete was at first regarded as a fascinating absurdity. On March 14 there was launched from tho yards of the San Francisco Company the first concrete steamship, a vessel which the builders christened Faith. We hope she will exemplify the name.