El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-03-27
$50 Ways Are
Building Ships
For The Allies
100000 Tons Are 28I
Percent on Way to Com
pletion, Says Hurley.


delays, the country soon viii have $50
steel and wooden ways turning out
ships. This was stated here last
night by chairman Hurley Of the ship
building board in a statement given to
the National Marine league. He said
that on March 1 the governments
5000, 900 ton shipbuilding program
was % percent on its way 10 com
pletion. This does not mean that %
percent was in the water but that
construction as a whole had advanced
that far. Eight percent Of the vessels
actually have been nut into service,
Mr.. Hurley said.
The three government fabricating
yards near philadelphia, when In tull
operation, will be able to produce, M
Hurley said, more ships in year than
all the yards OF England heretofore
the greatest shipbuilding country IN
the world
Unless we get our men TO the bat
tie front we will not win the war
and therefore IL all comes back to
ships" said Mr.. Hurley. Upon the
shipping board has devOlved the re-
sponsibility Of supplying this need
and supplying it under the most eX-
traordinary conditions that ever eN-
listed, at a time when every other IN
dustry is being taxed to its utmost
capacity to provide war necessities.
Many New Yards Built.
There were 81 steel ship yards In
America at the time Of our entrance
into the war. We have located 81 ad-
ditional steel and wood yards while
IS other yards have been expanded
We are building In the new and ex-
banded steel yards 255 new steel ship
ways, or 20 more than at present eX-
list in all the shipyards OF England II
we had been content with doing the
job in a small way, we might have
built a few new yards and added
little to our capacity. A few ships
might have been finished more quick
"; but II was the spirit and will OF
America to do the job in big way
and the judgment Of the country VIII
be vindicated by the results when
these new ways are turning out ships.
Many Of these ways have actually
been finished The new industry We
have created viii make America the
greatest maritime nation in history.
Big Organizations Take Time.
1t took Germany 20 years 70 build
her mighty military machine. In less
than eight months We have built UP
a shipbuilding machine while when II
gets into full swing, viii defeat the
military machine Of Germany.
1T took Henry Ford, with all his
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izatiOn. 16 years in which to develop
his enormous production.
Figures On Production
"The total amount OF our steel
program on March 1 was
s ,2o5.I0S deadWeight tons This is
under contract with the Emergency
Fleet corporation and 3,0z5,40S dead
weight tons Of requisitioned vessels
"Of this total steel construction.
2,121,56 lightweight tons has been
completed. That means that IN addi-
ton TO the building Of our big new
yards, we have also been building
ships That IS, the program for steel
ships has advanced % percent toward
OF the amount OF steel
ships under contract and under re-
QUESTION, 65,f56 deadWeight tons, or
approximately eight percent were
lctually completed and in service on
March 1. This amount OF floating
tonnage exceeds our total output in
1916, including steel, wooden and sail
ing vessels by approximately so per-
,ent
Building wooden ships.
Our program for building wooden |
ships has been beset with many diff |
,ulties and hadicaps which could not
veil be foreseen- A year ago wooden ]
in the United States vas
almost lost art We found "a old /
wooden ship yards with 73 ship ways |
The capacity for wooden ship build 4
ng has been increased until We now
nave 81 wooden shipbuildlng yards /
with g. ways completed or nearing |
completion.
Assuming that these ways will
Zach produce two standard ships a |
-ear, We should turn out about $780, |
100 deadWeight tons OF wooden ship
ping annually. These 332 wooden |
ways, now nearing. com |
lletion, added to our 396 steel build ]
ng ways will give us total OF Ts0 l
ierths upon which to build steel and /
wooden vessels, an Increase OF 495 !
wooden and steel berths.
With our total OF $50 ways, we /
Feu have 81 more berths than Sir /
Eric Oeddes in his recent speech i
tated England has at present.
Faith In Concrete ships.
The proposal 10 build ships OF con-
rete was at first regarded as a fas-
inaungabsurdity. On March Il there I
vas launched from the yards OF the
rete steamship, vessel which the
.uilders christened Faith. We hope
he VIII eXemplify the name.
NOW. as to labor; our strong right I
.rm- There has been much talk OF
onscripting labor Of forcing IL into
ne snipyards as our soldiers into the
amps. 1 am fully aware that I am
lying in the face Of a growing popu-
ar sentiment that men should be
rafted into the industry which sup
,orts the battle lines, but I wish to
ut myself on record as being opposed
o the conscription OF labor. I do not
relieve CONSUMPTION necessary. for 1 |
relieve labor itself viii produce con-
it1Ons which will render idle all