The Washington herald., 1918-09-21
SLACKERS ARE
DELAYING THE
SHIP PROGRAM
Piez, Of Fleet Corporation,
Tells Senators About Hog
Island Situation.
CROWDER IS TO ACT
Rigorous Application Of
Work or Fight" Order to
Stimulate Shirkers.

The work or fight decree is to be a
supreme law OF the land through the
PRONUNCIATION OF regulations by the
Provost Marshal Generals ONCE from
this time on to the end of the war.
Men who have obtained deferred
classification as essential to an essen
tial industry. and who do not work
steadily and honestly at their tasks.
will be combed out Of the ranks OF
the real workers and will lose their
classification. This means that they
will have to account for themselves
to their local draft boards and proba-
bly, will have to serve at useful tasks
in uniforms because they failed TO
voluntarily give their country their
best efforts in time OF need
The facts about the new regulations
that are being drawn were brought
out before the Senate Committee on
Commerce yesterday during an in
curry into the state OF affairs at the
great shipbuilding plant at Hog
Island, where slackers among the
workers threaten seriously to hold
down production OF ships far below
the normal capacity OF the yard.
Pies e witness
Charles Piez. vice-president of the
Emergency Fleet Corporation. told
the committee about the hunt for
slackers in the Hog Island yards
The slackers are of two kinds, he
Indicated. and are not confined to
shipbuilding plants. but are present
in most Of the essential industries.
One class consists OF those who have
obtained employment for the sole
purpose Of escaping the draft and
are useless in such employment. and
a second class who. having obtained
employment, are deliberately shirk-
ing the work they are able to do and
fmpairing the efficiency of the or
ganiZation.
It is planned to reach the military
sIackers through an examination OF
their claims to deferred classification
other than their employment in es-
sential work. The industrial slack
ers will be reached by a regulation
providing that any man employed in
war work. and having obtained de-
ferred classification on that ground,
shall lose such classification il he
absents himself from his work moro
than three days a month without
good reasons such as personal illness
or other cause affecting the indi-
vidUaI and his work.
The Emergency Fleet Corporation
said Mr.. Piez. ''in cooperation with
the draft authorities. will sift all
charges Of Stacking. and il they are
yell founded. will at once dismiss the
slackers, who will then be put into
the army. I feel certain we will take
care Of that situation without any
trouble"
Hog Island. with its 5000 employees,
appears to have attracted more than
its share of shirkers and slackers, sc-
Cording to information given the
COMMITTEES. Baseball players, puEi-
lists. BARRIERS, actors and men of like
caIlings. together with men who had
never engaged in regular work of
any kind. have fiocked to this plant
on account of the great demand for
labor Of all kind. After having es-
tablished their status in ii g draft as
in essential employment. these men
have deliberately laid down on their
jobs. and are now worse than use
less to the industry. II Is this class
which influences the record Of alb
senteeism from work which runs par
ticularly high at the Hog Island
yards.
the duty OF the government to pro-
tect men honestly engaged in essen
tial work against such stacking, and
the members of the committee
seemed pleased to hear that the
provost marshal gneraI has interested
himself in combinE out the useless
from the useful in essential industry.
Mr.. Piez repeated to the committee
the statement that he has made pub
lie before about the prospect for pro-
duction of ships at the Hog Island
yard. On account of the ineffiCiency
of many Of the employees, and slack
ing. the officials OF the yard are far
behind their program.
They will never accomplish what
they hope at the present rate Of
progress" said Mr.. Piez- They hope
for forty-eight ships this year. but
with their labor problem, and basing
my estimate on experience with other
yards. will be satisfied II the yards
produce twenty ships this year"