The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1918-02-20
War Can Be Won By Construction This
Year of 100000 Tons Shipping;
Overcome Subs
MAY TIE UP ALL
LABOR IF FAIL
Ships Must Be Built If Plants Employing
100000 Men are Allowed
TO Operate
special 70 the Exprese.


Washington, Feb. 2O-William
Blackman, director of labor for the
emergency fleet corporation, has is
sued the following startling state.
ment regarding the present labor and
shipbuilding situation, as it affects
the business Of the country and the
war.
This war can be won through the
construction this year bv the United
States and her allies of 9,800,000 tons
Of shipping. This amount will not
only overcome the submarine losses
but will also leave the margin nee.
essary to care for the transportation
o. 100000 American troops and sup
plies over seas.
Partial relief, but aa military
sense only, is being obtained through
the limiting of imports, and the
transfer of ships to army use from
ZIG 1893 VIAL hlpOit LIduSo uHucI
the presidents orders. This work is
now being undertaken by joint or.
ganizat'on on the part Of the ship
ping hoard and the war trade board.
Willie raw material absolutely neces-
sary to supply the country's vital ne
cessities will of course be permitted
to enter our ports, it is now neces-
sary to reluctantly but drastically
curtail the importation of supplies
for the manufacture of non-essen.
tials This to enable the shipping
used for this trade to be released
for war purposes. In spite of this
method 70 obtaining partial relief,
tho only real answer to the problem
is ship construction. This construc-
ton not Only depends for its success
upon labor but the very life Of labor
itself depends on this construction.
This is because 100000 men are
in the manufacturing plants
of the United States today, of whom
6,2oC,G00 arc working on war mate
rials and subsidy industries alone |
All Of these men are threatened with |
forced shutdowns and the shut doHne
are absolutely inevitable unless the |
ships are built
Gwen the trades directly manu- |
featuring war supplies and the muni- /
ton plants themselves face a limita-
zion of their output. This is plain
on its face, for not only are the ports
and docks jammed with supplies for
overseas, but there are in the sea-
coast terminals alone more than 30
900 freight cars loaded with supplies
for Europe. Literally mountains of
for which there is insuffi-
cient shipping tonnage.
Must Relieve Condition.
mo greater surplus of supplies can
possibly be permitted to accumulate
nthese ports even though the estt.
mated amount of war supplies need
ed this year for overseas shipment |
will total 100000 tons. There is but
one thing ahead: A forced slow
down in American factories until the
ships are built. The situation is one
in which not only the nation is vi
tally interested but one wien strikes
at the very heart of labor itself. In-
terruptions to business and conse-
1uent loss of earnings to the employee
viii recur or at least production will /
be retarded, with the same result
until we have shipping adequate to
the task of clearing the port conges-
lion.
'For this reason then, the welfare
Of all labor, both organized and un-
organized to the extent of some 49,
100000 people now employed, is at
stake in the shipyards. The coaIless
day and the freight embargo have
already had a tremendous effect up