The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-03-02
ALL NATION DEPENDS
ON BUSY SHIPYARDs.
Shutdown of Work I'm Building Mer-
chant Vessels Imperils Jobs OF
Millions, Says Biacknan.
LABOR VITALITY INTERESTED
Forts Arc damned With Material
Awaiting Shipment and Showdown
of Manufactures Inevitable Unless
This Can Be Moved,

no less than the building of ships In
depended on to win the war, William
Blackman, director of labor for the
Emergency Fleet corporation, tonight
warns the workmen of the nation.
They face a shutdown in every indus
try il enough ships are not built
Iquickly. He said:
This war can be won through the
CONSTRUCTION this year by the United
states and her allies of . 500. 900 tons
| Of shipping. This amount will NOT
only overcome the submarine Losses
but will also leave the margin necss-
sary to care for the transportation OF
100000 American troops anG sup
plies overseas.
Partial relief, but In a military
sense only, is being obtained through
the limiting of imports. and the trans
fer OF ships to army use from the Iess
vital import trades. Under the presi-
dents order, this work ts now beinS
undertaken by Joint organization or
the part OF the shipping board and the
war trade board. While raw rnateri-
ais absolutely necessary to supply the
country's vital necessities viii, of
cocrse, be permitted 10 enter our
pcrts, it ts now necessary 10 reluctant
ly but drastically curtail the iuporta-
ton OF supplies for the manufacture
of nom essentials---thIs to enable The
shipping used for this trade to: be re-
leased for war purposes HI
In spite of this method for obtain
! Ing partial relief, the only answer 10
/ the problem is ship construction. This
! construction not only depends on la
Dor, but the very life Of la Dor itself de-
Ponds on this consrrGction--rnis be
cause $4,000. 600 n1eh are employed
! IN the manufacturing plants or the
/ United States today. OF whom $500
1000 are working on YEAR materials and
subsidiary industries alone, All of
these men are threatened with forced
Shutdowns and these shutdowps are
absolutely inexitable unless .tha. ships
are built. Even tho trades directly
insrufa curing war supplies and the
rnunitiona plants themselves face
! Limitation OF their output.
This is plain ON Its face for not
only are the ports and docks iafnmed
with supplies for overseas, but there
are. in the sea coast terminals alone,
more than 30,o0o freight cars loaded
/ with supplies for Europe--literaily
mountains of materials for whfcf, there
/ Is insufficient shipping tonnage.
No greater surplus of supplies can
possibly be permitted to accumulate
In these ports. even though, the est
mated amount OF wareupplies needed
this year for oveweas shipment VIII
total 100000 tons.
There is but one thing ahead
forced showdown in American factories
until the ships are built
The situation Is one in whtos, moi
only the nation is vitality interested
but one which strikes at the very heart
of labor itself. Interruptions to hsyst
ness and consequent loss OF earnings
to the employee will occur or at least
| production win be retar6ed-vtst, the
same result--untii we have shipping
adequate to the task of clearing the
port congestion.
For this reason. then. tina veYTays
| OF all labor. both organized and unor-
gauized, 70 ~ extent of some fst00.
oCo persons now employed, In at gtaks
in the shipyards.
me coaiiess day. and the freight
embargo have already t1aA L trernend
Gus effect upon labor throughout the
country, and the additional force ~
the coming necessary curtafineut Of
raw materials importation win also
fah heavily upon labor within the next
few weeks
ut is only through shipyard tabor
thas relief to labor throughout the ma
tfon can come. therefore,. uncailed-
Tor strikes. not emily threaten therssfe
ty OF our armies In Francs but the
reduction in employment which i.
very hearS of labor itself SfrvuFk fhs
raced by nilitonseof rnen noe Engaged
directly in shipyard work
For this reason, a sfrfpyard strf,vs
| Is In effect a lockout aimed at all Ia
Dor in the country. ana threa tens the
very life OF organized -lAhor itseK.
The peak~load requirement Tor
shipyard workers WIN be 100000 rnen
on these men depepd, the ability OF
other labor TO obtain steady eytfplov-
ment In other words. il a group Of
shipyard workers tie mp the shipyarsis
or fail 20 give n full days work not
only VIII the resulting stoppawe of
each mans work tie up from fifteen
TO twenty other yard workers and
throw them out of implement but
this stoppage will also effect the di-
rect employment Of the $500, 900 war
worseers as we'll as the employment
OF the entire 100000 work ers
throughout the country.
Because OF this fact. the labor
leaders of the country. including sam
uei Gompers, president of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor. have enter
ed into an agreement with the navy
department, the shipping board and
the emergency feet corporation. for
the prevention OF strikes--an agree
ment which has been kept with
scrupulous care by It's signers. ana
enforced by a board. the. very per-
sonnet of which insures fairness.
II wish therefore. now that the
president has personally taken action
in the carpenters strike, to point out
to employees and to the members OF
organized labor throughout the coun-
try, that their own interests are vital
ly at stake in this shipping matter.
end that the whole force OF their
mighty influence must. for their own
protection, be used to keep the ship
yards running full time and block
any attempt to paralyxe the nations
business through strikes and trust the
labor adjustment board to deal. fair
w with them
Manager Walter McCredies incw
with Salt Lake. says that if ia. were
not for the war he would have 4
complete team OF ex-Porrland players
IN. ~ psrhxn hal -.