Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-02-07

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"ccnerai coethais's original plan was
the construction OF yard with ffty
shipways upon which zoo vessels All
exactly alike should be constructed.
The TASK has been immensely ccmpii-
Gated By the necessity Of working upon
Its construction during the most severe
winter known for many years instead Of
during the fine weather Of the autumn
as we had originally planned. After
starting work upon the yard. the task
was still further complicated and In
creased In magnitude by the addition OF
a second type OF vessel OF 5000 tons. thus
requiring the doubling OF many facili-
ties.
"It Is impossible to estimate the cost
OF such proposition conducted under
Its many Inherent difficulties, but we
believe that the original estimate sub
100000 for the year, which was con-
CURED In by the best judgment OF the
officers OF the Emergency Fleet Cor
poratlon and the engineers OF American
International Shipbuilding Corporation
would have been sufficient IL the work
could have been commenced at that
time. and as then contemplated. Diffl-
culties I'm transportation and labor
which could not be foreseen and the ALL
starting the work made II necessary to
perform the heavy part of II during
! most severe winter weather will very
materially Increase the cost OF the work.
The total estimated cost OF the first
| fifty 1900 ton boats at $1100.000 each
Is S55 100000. The fee for construct
ing each boat is $4,000 with certain
penalties which may reduce II to SAL
| 600. one-half payable when each boat IL
one-haf completed, and the remainder
when it Is accepted by the Govern
ment. The second lot Of seventy 5000
ton boats at an estimated cost of ST.
$4,000 each totals si15,5oO.OOO. The
/ fee per boat is ss2,50O. perhaps re-
Y duced by penalties to s65.0OO. The ag-
gregate estimate for the boats and yard
| Is s20O,500,00O. large part Of which
| Will be expended in Philadelphia for
| labor. equipment and supplies. in ad-
ditlon 10 a probable expenditure for
necessary housing for laborers OF per-
haps s10,000,00O or $12.000.000 This
represents the largest development the
greatest effort and the quickest expend-
iture of that amount of money ever
experienced by Philadelphia.
"we receive ns fee or compensation
for the construction OF the yard.
For building the ships. we are to re-
| ceive fees aggregating approxima ~
$500 900, which Is 3.3 per cent upon the
total moneys to be expended. From this
gross compensation must be deducte ed
excess profits tax which will probably
reduce 1t by one-half and also the
salaries of executive officers, large
stam of highly paid men. and certain
other expenses. The net fee to the cor.
poration will work out to be something
like 1K per cent. If indeed 1t eventually
averages that much. There are no In
direct profits of any kind.
we have estimated that we can de
liver twenty-five Of these boats in thir
teen and one-haf months from Sep
tember l3. 1917: twenty-five more IL
fifteen months; another twenty-five II
eighteen and one-haf months a fourtl
twenty-five in twenty months. and tn,
last twenty In twenty-five months from
this contract date which will require "A,
average delivery of one ship every tw,
days during the eight and half month.
specified.
The total tonnage 80 far ordered /
$4,000 deadweight tons. capable whei
constructed of earning at rates fixed an,
approved by the shipping board charter
ing committee for steamers of 6O0O ton
or greater deadweight capacity approx
imately $40 per ton per month. or, NOR
| exactly S3O Oi,lSb per day, or Sg,21 b, 80
per month. You can therefore readil,
see the importance of saving time as
commercial proposition. as If we cal
expedite time Of construction by on
month we save more than $4,000, 900 70
each months operation of the fleet
which is only the commercial value o
these vessels What they are worth 70
purposes of winning the war Is beyon
computation.
; Much of the work. due to It's urgenc,
and the need for speed, must be handle,
by subcontracts, which have been give
, to the most experienced and reliabl
contractors having organizations an,
. equipment Immediately ready. All sub
contracts are on a cost -plus-fxed-fe
basis, the fee being calculated at
, per cent of the estimated cost of tn
work done. with certain allowances 70
depreciation of the contractors equip
ment. These contracts. as part of tn
, yard work, bring no profit Of any kind {
, the evaporation.
l.. -"All wages and salaries are fixed b