The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-10-19
BUILDING SHIPS.
What is Being Done in Some Of the
American Ship Yards.

L
vessels already have been sent down
the ways at Orange, twenty-four
others will be ready for launching be-
fore Christmas, and contracts have
been placed for construction of Six
ty-one more at the earliest possible !
date The tonnage Of vessels launch
ed, building and contracted for here
totals 1900. i
Before the program is completed
here more than half million acres
of yellow pine forest will have been
laid bare.
The shipbuilding program brought
prosperity to this little town, whose
population has nearly doubled since
America entered the war; Fifteen
months ago the industry was little
known or understood here. One or
two small yards. located along the
banks of the sluggish Sabine River
were devoted to repair work on tugs
and small launches.
Then came the call for u bridge
for the Atlantic" Almost over night
the river banks sprang into llfe Inc
ring of axes reverberated through the
forests nearby The hum OF indus
try banished the festive alligator from
his old haunts and the steel-ribbeu
skeletons of ships began rising al
most in the midst Of a wilderness
The snipyards now employ approx
nateIy 1000 men who draw wages
totalling s225,o0O weekly. Notwlth-
standing more than a thousand homes
have been built in eleven months
workmen still are forced to live IN
! improvised shanties and tents "hlle
| housing facilities are beng increase"
with all possible speed.
The National Shipbuilding Com
pany of Texas has launched SIX SHIPS
| has eight on the ways and contracts
for eighteen more, all for govern
ment use except two of those already
| launched which went to the British
! Cunard line. The Southern Dry DocA
& Shipbuilding Company has launch
ed one ship, has five on the ways anG
contracts for five more, all TOR gov
ernment account; the 1nternauoha
ShiDbuilding Company has launched
eight. has ten On the ways and con-
tracts for thirry-eight more, all or
the Italian government; and Ed.
Weaver & Sons has built one and has
on. on the ways.
The National yard is building tnr
n.w tvpe of vessel Of 4,940 tons each.
,:bc first two CT these ships, which
are classed by authorities as among
the innovations of the war, are now
on their maiden voyages. Approx
r.afe!y 1900 dead weight tons larger
than a Ferris type V ssel, the new
ship requires nearly 100000 fewer
! feet of timber &C build and fewer
steel bolts. It was designed by A. A
Daugharty, an engineer who at the
outbreak of the war was building an
oil refinery here. His employers We're
in need of tankers to transport crude
oil from Mexico, and Daugharty de-
signed a tanker 315 feet long, with
4S-foot beam and 25 feet depth OF
hold. His design was radically dlf-
ferent from the common type having
the boilers and engines in the stern
and his propeller drive shaft was only
10 feet, as against a drive shaft o:
119 feet in the Ferris-type vessel. a
fore peak tank balances the weight
The emergency fleet corporation Of
ficials were impressed with the
Daugharty idea and awarded the
company a contract for twenty-siX o
the vessels.
Workmen ut the National yards
Claim worlds record Of setting up
the seventy-nine frames for Daugh-
arty ship No. 242 in thirty hours ana
thirty-five minutes and have challeng.
etl other yards to equal the record. a
Pac- -fic coast company held the pre-
vious record OF forty-four hours -or
framing a ship.
One of the greatest problems con-
fronting directors Of the shipyardE
here has been protection against Ger
man agents. On Independence DaE
the torch was put 10 the shipyard OF
the Orange Maritime Corporation b!
an enemy agent, resulting in the yard
and three large vessels being destroy
ed. Now armed soldiers patrol every
foot of every yard, while agents OF
the department of justice round up
all suspicious characters.