New-York tribune., 1918-03-14
Sizes for Timber Frames
for Eastern Yards
Reduced
Southern Producers
Promise Cooperation
Pledge Material for 300
Vessels More Than Pres
entSchedule Calls For

WASHINGTON, March 13.-Renewed
.#orts to hasten the wooden shipbuild-
ing programme were launched to-day
bv the Shipping Board.
Announcement was made that au
thority had been given to Southern
yards TO use smaller timbers in ship
frames. thereby obviating the necessity
for bringing large timbers from the
Pacific Coast.
Architects of the Shipping Board are
now engaged in designing modified
Ferris type ship, contracts for $50 of
which will be awarded to Gulf coast
builders as soon as ways are available.
Southern pine manufacturers, in con-
ference with officials of the board to-
dsy. pledged the industry to produce
timbers for at least 800 of the modified
Ferris ships a year, in addition to
schedules on which the mills are now
working.
The new plans call for frame tim
hers of maximum width of twenty
four inches instead of thirty-four
inches, as required by the original spe-
cifcations. Pacific Coast yards will
continue to use the original design, as
the larger timbers are plentiful there.
A circular letter to all wooden ship
builders was made public by James o.
Eeyworth. manager of the division of
wood ship construction, in which he
called for new methods of building by
which more men can be employed on
each ship.
Ships Countrys Greatest Need
"This is no time to work on the old
basis for wooden ship construction. :"
the letter said. "The country needs
ships more than anything else. We
must have them. Production must be
speeded up. Real cooperation between
double our production in the next six
months"
Surveys of the timber resources avail
able for shipbuilding are being made
on the Pacific Coast, and will be COM
menced in the South at once by John
H. Kirby, of Houston, Tex. Through
these inquiries the Shipping Board ex-
poets to eliminate the delays due to in
accurate estimates by lumbermen of
what they can produce.
The order permitting the use of
smaller tirnbers follows urgent protests
from Southern pine growers, who have
NAtdS si+SS nave pASillJ VI
lumber of sufficient size. and that the
boards insistence upon the big timbers
required by the original specifications
for the Ferris type was unnecessarily
holding up the building programme.
Mr.. Heyworth's letter called atten-
ton to the wide difference in the
number OF men employed on a ship at
one time by different yards. While
some yards work as many as 500 men,
others work as few as 125.
Ferris Plans Are Accurate
"ln the Ferris standard type ship"
the letter said. "the plans are so ac-
curate that much of the woodwork can
be done with safety by saving to the
exact dimensions. We have records Of
yards where they have put as high as
S80 men on ship to advantage. In
one yard this has recently caught up a
delay Of over two months.
"Shipbuiders in each district should
form an association and meet at least
once in every two weeks. Remember a
week now is equal to one month in or
cinary times. The meeting should be
% illustrate by photographs and draw
ngs. or papers, o. brief talks, the adj
vantages certain yards are obtaining
By their methods Of construction. A
general comparison can be made to
show now many of the yards are being
operated along better lines than other
yards. 1t is your duty to the soldiers
aoroad to take the utmost advantage of
Ais fact and act accordingly.
This division is developing engi-
aeers' travelling principally for the
purpose Of arriving at how the yards
are doing it best. Cooperation with
Mese engineers will help, but real CO.
operation between the shipbuilders OF
saen district can double our production