The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-02
MIR. SCHWAB'S WORK
 AS SHIPBUILDER
By HOLLAND


 l New York, August 1.-(Special. 1.-The
 Rev. Dr. Charles A. Eaton, who has re- gently returned from second tour which i took in all the shipways and shipbuild- ! ing plants of the United States, speaks with enthusiasm of the relation of Charles M. Schwab to the amazing
 speeding up of ship construction through
 out the country
 l pr. Eaton says that MT. Schwan's in- l fluence and especially the intimate per sonal relations between himself and the workers bring about results which, met l aphorically speaking, represent the addi- 1 tional work of thousands of men. Fur thermore, MT. Schwab has no illusions | respecting our shipbuilding capacity He l is a master mind at assimiating details l from them the meaning that is contained 1 in them. He seems to know intuitively whether reports which are made to him 1 contain any errors or are based on un- l justifiable expectations and he is able to | eliminate these feature so that he arrives quickly at accurate general conclusions.
 That undoubtedly is the reason why
 Mir. Schwab now feels justified in saving
 that within another F months the United States will have under navigation so
 large fleet of cargo and soldier-carry-
 ing vessels as substantially to eliminate
 the danger of losses occasioned by sup-
 maine attacks
 1 If we only had the ships. Mir Hoover
 would be able greatly to enlarge his of | fer to the American people so far as the use of wheat is concerned. For nothing | but lack of tonnage prevents a large ex- port of wheat from Argentina and Aus | tralia to Great Britain, France and Italy, This will be accomplished while at the same time the movement of troops ana supplies will continue upon a scale as
 large as, if not larger than. that which
 is characteristic by the present movement
 of troops and supplies from the United l States to our allies across the seas. | SCHWAB AND THE ARTISANS l It is undoubtedly due in considera be
 measure to the influence of Mir Schwab l that the danger of extensive strikes
 among shipbuilders and the workmen who
 manufacture machinery, especially boil CTS, which the ships are to be installed l has been in great measure averted There was apprehension lest the threatened l strike upon the great lakes ships would cripple severely lake shipping. Although MT Hurley, chairman of the shipping board, so acted as to make it possible i to call off the threatened strike, never
 theless the influence of MT. Schwab was
 also of great avail in bringing about sat | isfactory understanding whereby this strike was avoided
 A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT Nlr ic h ;l l that the United States has now become within a year, the greatest shipbuiding nation in the world He was undoubt- | edly correctly quoted, because the ship | ping board has statistics which tell of wonderful construction of ships accom- l plshed by the United States in the past | year. The launching of nearly 100 ships | or July 1 will probably become chief anon" the traditions associated with American shipbuilding since We entered tho war. But there must be many sue- cessve launchings of ships if we are to I have the abundant supply of tonnage which MT. Schwab predicts we will have before another year is passed. The mer- geDcy fleet corporation authorizes a tatement of this kind to be made: "ln | spite of the remarkable performances in !, the American shipyards this year, in I spite, also. of the launching of nearly | 100 vessels July 4, and furthermore, in spite of the encouraging progress now being made in all the American ship yards there is continual need of new ships, We must have ships. The need | cannot be borne home too forcioly or l too often. The shipbuilders should keep 1 it constantly in mind. The need should I be preached in every shipNard and in every shop where material for ship con struetion or operation is made"
 | An appeal of that kind, however, seems ! unnecessary, for Dr. Eaton reports that l the shipbuilders both upon the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts are not relaxing l in their efforts, and also that the large army of artisans who are now occupied
 in making boilers, engines and other ma chnery which are to be installed in the
 ships seem to be increasing their vigor. Few, if any, slackers are at work in l these shipyards. The men are taking pride in their work and a spirit of honor able emulation characterizes the ship
 builders in every shipyard in the United States.
 l Before the war. or at least before the United States declared war against Ger
 many, the state of Maine still retained some of the prestige which was gained i in her shipvardS years ago. There some