Evening journal., 1918-08-07

Is west from the Statue OF Liberty.
have seen-under a parching MONDAY
sun that cast no shadows and in the
weird midnight shadows and in the
flaming arc light-the sooty gnomes and
Vulcans OF another race hammer and
rivet in iron and steel the cstafalques
of Kaiserism, some OF the floating
hearses OF Germany's military hopes.
In the Kawasaki dockyard, streach-
ing It's 40 acres OF factory space almost
a mile along the waterfront OF Kobe,
1900 japanese shipbuilders are work
ing night and day for liberty.
Whatever the motive or means Of
their labor, the result In the same. They
are lighting Kalserism just as truly
as are the boys in khaki on the line in
France.
They are helping build the Victory
Fleet that Is carrying Americas war
power to the doors Of Germany.
Here the smoke Of the stacks, the
scream of the factory siren, the steel
laden cars slipping along miles OF
tracks, the swOoping electric cranes,
the stralning workmen bending in their
sweat, the redhot fires ana the white
hot metal the ribs of steel thrustlng
into the air TO be covered with flesh
Of steel and become the hull OF a ship,
the incessant deafenlng, staccato chat
ter of the automatic riveters (machine
guns of Industry that makes as much
noise and play almost as important
part as the machine guns OF the bat
tlefleyd)-these sights and sounds trans
late into a vivid picture that all can
understand, the dry phase Of the famous
Agreement Of which Amerl-
cans have read so much, and seen so
little effect.
In fact this scene IS the Ship-Steel
Agreement In action.
And IT is worth travelling hundreds |
OF miles, as l did travel, TO see-in Or |
der that American savers and Ameri- |
can spenders and American shipyard |
who know so well the su-
preme effort they are putting forth,
may know also the extent to which |
their japanese ally Is helping. and
take some encouragement from the |
sight.
The Kawasaki Dockyard has ways for
the construction OF seven ships at one
time. II has wisely adopted o standard
slze-the 9,OOO-ton ship-and can thus
attain all the speed afforded by stand
ardlzatlon and the quantity production
Of each separate part, from propeller
shaft to smallest bolt
II Is now completing 9,0OO-ton vessels
in a total time OF three months, from
the laying Of the keel TO the last ham
mer tap and the last dab OF paint
Seven ships on the ways at one time,
and a three months building period,
that means more than two 9,0O0-ton
ships month.
"Glve us the steel and by speeding
up processes which we have already |
worked out we can easily cut our
months and eventually 10 two months" |
Kiyoml Kadota, chief foreign secretary |
Of the Kawasaki company told me in
gulps and gasps Of sound above the
brain numblng noise Of hundreds Of riv-
sters driving home bolts in two great
steel hulls, one on each side Of us.
That would mean 42 ships, or 37s,0O0 .
.ons, in one year-practlcally the |
amount covered in the ship-steel agree
nent.
I'VE count on finishing 3S vessels this
year, including a few smaller craft .
planned before we completed our stand
lrdlzatlon on a 9.000-ton basis" Kadota
continued.
There are three 9,OO0-ton vessels now
under construction in the Kawasaki /
yards. They can be completed with
Japanese steel. When they are COM
pleted the United States gets them. Also
when they are completed the Ka-
wasakl yards must have American steel
before It can build more.
The Kawasakl company has Its own
steel foundry al Kyogo, and makes its !