Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-10-10
Every Six Minutes a Merchant
Vessel Moves at an
American Port.
Every Minute of Time and Pound of
Cargo Noted and Thus Each Yes
sci Is Used to Utmost to
Speed War Plan.


merchant vessel arrives and another
departs from American ports. From
north Atlantic seaportA there is a
departure every eleven minutes-one
for Europe every forty minutes. This
rate Of operation does not include YES
sells in the service Of the army or
navy.
The merchant fleet Of 1900 ships
under the control of the United States
shipping board is run as a railroad, on
a time schedule. The duty of measur-
ing ships performances, with their
tasks, is lodged with the planning and
statistics division Of the shipping
board headed by e. II. Gay, formerly
dean of the Harvard Graduate School
of business.
Obviously the division must know
the tasks in detail, ana SO it co-ordi-
mates with the war industries and war
trade boards in determining and pro-
viding for the country's needs from
abroad. It works on month to month
schedules, or as far in advance as it
is feasible or possible to forecast.
Works With Ali Departments.
In planning the use of ships the di-
vision works with the food adminlstra-
ton in determining the shipping re-
quirements for food; with the war de-
partment in correlating shipping with
the requirements of the line Of sup
plies for the western front; with the
war industries board in seeking solu-
ton of the problem Of bringing neces-
sary raw imports into the country, and
with the war trade board in preparing
the lists of essential imports and ex-
ports.
AS the country has gone more and
more on war basis, it has been re-
garded necessary to limit the list of
essential imports to less than 100.
Data on the ships and their trade pro
vide the basis for operation Of the
vessels under the shipping boards con-
troll. Likewise records are kept of
neutral vessels coming to this coun-
try or linking up with it's foreign
trade.
Thus the division checks daily about
1000 vessels, 1900 of them being those
of the shipping board, 5000 engaged
directly in American commerce and
$500 scattered over the globe and
trading for the most part with the al
lies Or their colonies. Roughly, one
fourth of the merchant ships Of the
world are watched by the shipping
board.
Charts for Each Ship.
Ship performances against tasks are
recorded by progress charts" which
show at glance what the vessels have
set of charts is divided into ten di-
visions-one each for movements of
vessels, turn-arounds, ships charts of
commodities, individual commodity
charts, summary Of imports, individual
trades, summary Of trades, ship charts
of exports, performances in ports and
dock performances. Copies are dis
tributed every ten days to govern
ments which require constant informa-
ton about the movement Of supplies.
BY these movement charts any in
formation regarding locations and
movements of vessels is accessible,
and from past performances one may
forecast the time of future voyages.
The summary on shipping and trade,
prepared every ten days for the war
industries and war trade boards and
the food administration, helps shape
the larger policies underlying the use
of American ships in war time. The
charts tell whether the ships allocated
to a certain trade are enough, too
many Or too few; whether they bring
in too little or too much; whether
they are on time, ahead Of time or
behind time, and whether the trade
movement is too slow, too fast or just
right. The charts also serve to guide
the ship control committee in the as
signment of vessels to various trades.
By comparing import requirements
against deliveries the charts show
when vessels may be transferred from
one trade to another or released to the
army