New-York tribune., 1918-03-02
Hog Island to
urn Out so
Ships in 1918
Continued from page

San Francisco, briefly sketched his own
career, in order to show the committee
that he was man who knew whnt he
was talking about, and then told the
story Of the evolution Of the fabrica-
tion idea step by step, until it had won
over the Shipping Board and the great
decision to spend half billion dollars
on plants and ships.
-Absolves Shipping Board
incidentally, ne absolved the board
from the charge of unnecessary delay
in reaching decision in such weighty
matter, except as the Denman- Goethals
controversy stopped progress for a time.
Taking up the allegation that the
Hog Island yard will cost twice as much
as the original estimate, Mr.. Connick
showed how at the time the estimate
Was made he had explained to the
Emergency Fleet Corporation that it
wasn't worth the paper it was written
OF that under the circumstances it
was merely guess, and had since be-
come worthless as q guess, because the
factors on which the guess was based
had been altered by the Shipping Board
and by conditions beyond the control
of man.
The cost-plus-fee contract was cham
ploned as the ideal type of contract
and the particular sample Of the type
involved in the Hog Island enterprise
was defended as fair and croditable to
all concerned.
AS to the charge of delay Mr.. Con-
nick said there was no delay, that the
to CtoI
ule, that every one of the 120 ships, bar
ring the unforeseen, would be delivered
on time and, he hoped, ahead of time.
He promised twenty-five 7,500-ton ships
and twenty-five 8,000-ton ships this
year, half the number by November 81
and balance by December Is. He said
the whole 120 Of the present contract
would be ready before July /, 1919.
Tribute to Labor
Mr. Connick detailed at length the in
credible difficulties through which
progress had been driven in the worst
winter in ninety-elght years, and was
loud in his praise of labor's patriotic
cooperation.
The men have gone down into those
ice-water trenches of the island" he
said "and worked until their muscles
would no longer respond to their will.
Then they have come out and backed
up to a fire to warm themselves up
Then they have gone back INTO the icy
water. and they kept it up til! they
were exhausted and had to quit. Down
here you call that ineficiency. | call
1t patriotism.'
For more than two hours Mr.. Con-
nick unfoldcd the tale of the great idea
of fabrication and the tremendous out
putting Of energy and skill that is real
| nrl Ian l,,r. ba+
it was a national job that would re-
dound to the honor Of the country, oil
the Shipping Board and all who are
taking part in it.
For the most part the members of
the committee were content to listen
to the absorbing tale OF great work
greatly done, but there was some lively
spaGring between Mr.. Connick and Sen
ator Nelson. The latter kept quizzing
AIR. ConniclS about these enormous
salaries" and the alleged waste of
money. The Senator insisted that the
international was like
"hired girl who wasted her mistresss s
money in buying household supplies
because it was not her own
Objects to Big Salaries
country, the country that is paying the
taxes and footing the bills" said the
Senator, don't like these big salaries
and these big fees. You fellows think
big salaries are all there is in life.
You ought to be doing this job for
else than the money there is
in it. You ought to be doing it for the
sake of your country"
and we absolutely" was the
answer.
The Senator agreed, however, with
Mr.. Connick that there was no such
thing as waste, if speed were attained.
and he added "lf you will hurry up
and give us the first ships in five or six
instead of eight months, it will
cover Il multitude of sins"