The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-03-09
1S5 CAULKERS
 DELAY 90 SHIPS
 IN PUGET. YARDS

Washington, March 9-With high officials of the Allies and the United States impressing more and more the absolute need of ships to make possi- ble the American military offensive in Europe, the shipbuilding program has encountered another serious delay through the unWiIlingness of a small group of organized laboring men to give a full measure of cooperation in speeding up production.
 It was disclosed yesterday that a number of wooden ships on the Pa cific coast are ready for launching and are being held on the ways be- cause they cannot be caulked for the water. In the Seattle or Puget Sound district a union of 1855 caulkers has refused to permit apprentices to work with the men, and have paid no heed to insistence that the union be in- | creased to meet the situation which demands at least 500 caulkers. Appeals to William L. Hutcheson, leader of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, by the Shipping Board for aid have brought the response that | while the Carpenters union has greatly needed men listed and ready | for this work, that the organization feels it must reach an understanding on demands made for representation | on the Labor Adjustment Board of the Emergency Fleet Corporation be- 1 fore it will be free to act.
 These cau1kers are getting base | pay now of $7 day for eight hours and time and a half for overtime. Their average is said to be $10 day and they are insisting on overtime as a condition of employment, and in ad- dition have asked a base pay of $l0 a day for an eight hour day.
 1 The Shipping Board and Emergency Flee Corporation have appealed to the Puget Sound caulkers in vain, and officials are preparing to advertise for patriotic union men to go to the yards. This procedure has been held up for days in an effort to avoid an open rupture with the caulkers' orga- nization in this district. There, how ever, seems no other solution.
 Samuel Gompers, president of the American Federation of Labor, and a large majority of other high officials of the Federation and the big interna- tional unions are doing all in their power to speed shipbuilding, but 8 number of groups are obdurate. The cauIkers are affiliated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Join CTS.
 There are 225 wooden ships building on the Pacific coast it was said by Shipping Board officials today an6 there is sufficient timber and other materials now available to increase the number to 400 if labor were available. Instead of making this in crease, however, it seems the number now under construction may have tc be cut down unless the labor question can be settled.
 Fifty of the coast vessels could De put in the water in March, it is said if caulkers were available to finish the Iseams on time.
 Officials here, however, are despair ing of getting them in the water for al least another month.
 In an endeavor to enlist the aid oi
 the Puget Sound District union, Will liam Piggott, district manager of the
 Seattle district for the Emergency Fleet Corporation, sent this letter to O
 H. Brown, president of the union:
 Dear Sir-We beg to call you1
 earnest and patriotic attention to the
 very serious conditions which have
 prevailed in this district for the last 6t
 days, which conditions are now becom ing more serious than ever because o.
 the fact there is not a sufficient mum
 Der of caulkers in the northwest to fin
 ish the wood ships now under con
 struction and those that must be com pleted later in order to win the war. ''The wood shipbuifding program O
 the Emergency Fleet Corporation calls } for at least 1s2 ships to be launched between now and the end of Decem , Der, 1918. and at least 100 more al 2 rapidly as they can be built. .Thi' extensive program during this tim' 7 when the need for ships is imperative is progressing as satisfactorily as cal be expected for the caulking.
 Tt is estimated that it will take ap | proximately 1000 man-days to caull one vessel or total of 1e2,ooo man , days to caulk all the vessels whici
 must be put into the water befOr'