The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-03-07
Necessity of Speeding Up
Program Overwhelming,
Sir Joseph Maclay Says
BRITISH OUTPUT
is FALLING OFF
Workers in England, Controller As
Next Harvest.
Next Harvest.

Next Harvest.
LONDON, March 1.-THE necessity
for more shipbuilding is overwhclm
ing" said Sir Joseph Maelay, shipping
controller, "and only the United
States can help as. But the situation
is not hopeless if your country can
make good its expectations. Only, the
United States must realize the reality
Of the crisis and how much depends on
her"
Figures of shipbuilding in Great Brit
ain have been recently given officially.
In 1917 200 steamships of over 1900
gross tons, aggregating l067 500 gross
tons. were completed, as against 5lG,
600 gross tons in 1916. Recently, how
ever. the figures have been far less
satisfactory. In November % vessels
of over ] 900 tons, or l30,375 gross ton
mage, were built. In December p YES
sells of total of 1873 tons, and in
January only /, totaling 55,5sS tons
This, it has been explained officially,
was partly due to the transfer of some
OF the inadequate supply of skilled
labor from construction TO repair work.
However, no explanations and no re
organizations of what ships are left can
avoid the conclusion that new ships
and more new ships are now the vital
need of the allies, and the shipping con-
trollcr laws the utmost stress on the
/ value of the service that American
sluPbuilders can now perform.
! 4" Remember he said Gin 1917 the
net shipping losses Of the allies were
sos vessels That is a fleet large enough
to import all the wheat this country
needs. and from 50 to = per cent Of
MI the food it has TO import. Remem-
her. too, that the submarines are still
sinking considerably more than twice
the number of ships that are being
turned out in the British shipvards, and
YOU viii see how urgent this matter is.
then, every day, the number OF Ameri.
can troops. we are glad to say. is grow
ling on this side of the Atlantic, but
EVERY additional soldier of yours oven
here puts a permanent additional strain
lon shipping in keeping him Supplie(
Z with food munitions, and clothing
The Atlantic at present is the netl
OF the bottle. On your side are bound
less supplies of men, food. and mate
rial: on this side a boundless demand
for their help. but everything mus
pass through this narrow neck, and i
is literally truc today that every new
: ship launched in your yards mean
. more American soldiers in tn
trenches.
''But what about the English ship
building! he was asked.
I'VE are doing our best, but we al
handicapped. while YOU are still fresh
Al the beginning of the war Euro
, Ipean allies were faced by other an
more inSistent demands. First, Their
: was the army, then the navy, then mu
, uitions. and our strength was commit
l ted. Only later did the shipping situa
ton become serious. Now our men ar
{ war-weary and their nerves have bee
: strained by more than three years q
hard, relentless toll 1t is inevitabl
2 that their output should have suffered
no country at the beginning ha
shipyards To outbuild the submarir
losses. Great Britain could not hay
done this at the beginning of the wa
apart from the necessity of efforts
other directions. 1t must be for Anne
lea to do it now, and it will be bett
- and more economical to rely on yol
help. You may not have had enoul
shipyards, but YOU are the first indu
trial country in the world. and ha'
ample resources in men and steel.
Suppose we withdrew large numbe