The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-11-09
Ships Built Cheaper Than Was
Believed Possible Before
the War.
ADDS WEALTH TO NATION
Great Saving In Cost and Maintenance.
Of ships by Adopting standsrd
slxes and Pstterns+ona
Hauls Cut.

Washington.-An item which event
uaily will appear In tremendous ng-
ures on the credit side Of the great
war ledger TO help offset some OF the
staggering figures of the debit side Will
be the added wealth to the nation OF
the huge American merchant neet
which the demands of the war have
brought Into existence and which. pes
simists to the contrary notwithstand-
ing. will not pass with the passing OF
hostiiities.
The United States Ia turning out at
this time not only many more ships
than ever before In the history of the
nation, but many more than any other
nation ever turned out In the same
space OF time. And. too. they are be-
ing built cheaper than before b war
1t was believed within the range OF
possibilities. And the great secret Of
this rapidly of construction and econ
omy of cost Is summed up In one word
-standardization.
In times of peace the building Of
merchant ships In the United States
was not quite a lost art. but IL certain
ly was far from being one Of the great
and important industries here. The
United States government was keep
ing hands OF and there was little en-
couragement for private capital to go
into the enterprise. But when the war
came all was changed. A great feet
Of merchant ships became necessary
for the successful prosecution OF the
war, for the conveyance OF troops and
supplies to the countries overseas. The
United States government undertook
the task. Time became al important
factor and then It was discovered that
lack OF Standardization was q serious
handicap and must be overcome IL rap
Id progress and economy In cost were
to be considered. Standardization was
necessary and Standardization was put
into practice.
Benefits Of standardlxstIon.
The manufacture Of clothing. hats
and shoes Is largely standardized a.
to sizes and patterns. For this rea.
son q standardized suit Of clothes OF q
pair OF shoes costs much less than o
called made to order apparel. II 10 be-
cause Standardization permits Of the
use Of l~abor-saying machinery. plus
quantity Of production. Other familiar
examples OF successful Standardization
are found In the dollar watch and the
corresponding thing In automobiles.
Americas problem, then. 10 TO make
q dollar ship. so to speak. or. IL you
prefer II. q seagoing oliver" some
thing easily replaced In whole or In
part. but at the same time Q thorough
ly sound proposition from the stand
point OF utility and economy. This
means Standardization all along the
line. The more nearly the fabricated
shapes for hulls and all ship machinery
and ship equipment conform to
standard sizes OF patterns. the greater
will be the saving In initial cost and
maintenance Of ships
II Ia the purpose Of the United
States Shipping Board Emergency
Fleet corporation to effect this. some
thing II has already accomplished with
respect to many things The fact
that no such thing existed when
emergency shipbuilding began made
early progress slow. There were not
only the problems Of organisation. but
the further complications always at
tending large construction enterprises
before materials and methods havs
become fully standardized.
Long Hauis Eliminates.
ruAaw as.nH. ~Ltx-tlnr 40 g. ~~x~gAsa
to let contracts on a geographical as
well rs cost basis. thus eliminating
long distance hauls- Under the old plan
II was sometimes necessary to ship
boats and RATS from Vancouver.
Wash. to Bristol. Pa. This meant
high transportation cost.
In the early days blocks came In
200 different sizes. Blocks and fittings
have been so cut In size as to increase
plant facilities about IS per cent.
Manufacturers are now concentrating
on production where formerly a large
part of the business included the max
ing Of new dies with attending In
crease In cost.
In the case OF costly machinery.
such as boilers and engines. Standard
zation has eliminated many intermedi-
ate sizes. Nautical instruments.
plumbing fixtures. winches, windlasses
in fact. all Of the thousand and one
things that go to make a fully equip
ped ship-wili be entirely standard
lied whenever II Is possible to accom-
plish IT, Standardization has invaded
even the galley and Is being applied to
stewards outfits. There will be NO
longer miscellaneous sets Of equip.
ment that may meet the requirement.
Of n ship but not those Of another
Linen. bedding and furniture are be