New-York tribune., 1918-07-21
Petition To Be Sent Wilson
Asking Right to Build
More Boats for u. S.
Would Conserve Steel
Victor Coxhead Says New
s+vle Of Vessels Would Save
Time and Labor

A, alleged refusal by Edward N.
Hurley, chairman of the United States
shining Board to approve q proposal
of nr;vate capital to build forty con-
.rete ships in addition to the forty
ubich the government has contracted
FIR has led to the tentative organiza-
+;or here of the International Concrete
shin Association. Victor CoNhead,
nresident of the Puget Sound Cement
& Lime Company, of Seattle Wash.
was made temporary chairman.
The members of the organization are
10 meet at the Hotel McAlpin Wednes-
dsv night to approve a report to Presi-
dent Wilson on the unsatisfactory
condition of the concrete ship building
situation that has been drafted by a
comittee of engineers, of which Ed
ward H. Beckert. of New York, is
chairman. The other members of the
committee are Harold Brown, II. r.
Cuntz. Alexander Brociner and John T.
Pell, all of New York.
Offered Aid to Hurley
Mr.. Pell explained yesterday some
of the circumstances that led to the
organization of the concrete ship ad-
vocates. He said that he went to
Washington recently and laid before
Chairman Hurley a proposal of a
syndicate of American shippers to place
contracts for concrete cargo steamers
to be operated under the American flag.
The enterprise, he said, was to be
financed entirely by private capital and
that they were seeking 10 assistance
from the government.
The syndicate, however. wished to be
allowed to operate the ships for at least
three round trips to Europe before
they should be commandeered by the
that the ships be allowed to carry War
Of 60 per cent of the ships
capacity; the rest of the cargo
space to be devoted to the freight OF
the men building the ships. Mr.. Pell
said Mr.. Hurley refused permission OIL
the ground that the propelling ma
chinery for these ships could not be
spared. Mr.. Pell said, in contradicting
this, that ne had letters from reliable
concerns offering to supply the neces-
sary propeling machinery without in
terferng with the governments present
shipping programme.
1--WE are facing a shipping crisis"
Mr.. Coxhead said. at is literally i'm
possible to produce sufficient tonnage
OF steel and wood. We require, ac-
cording to the Shipping Boards figures,
our tons of shipping for every ran
that is sent over there.
Want to Save Steel
"We are radical enough to believe
that the sensible thing for the govern
ment to do would be to devote all its
energies to building concrete ships.
Five of these craft can be built with
the same amount of steel that goes into
an all-steel ship.
"Not only is it increasingly difficult
for the government to get steel with
which to build its ships, but those
fabricated ships that have been turned
out at top speed are limping into port
with three to four feet of water in
their hulls and whole kegs Of rivets
Sheared off under the stress of heavy
weather. With concrete ships there
would be no waste through maintenance
and the older the ships grew the
tighter and more seaworthy they would
become.
we want the President to know the
truth about the situation. We don't
believe he is getting the truth now