The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1918-02-28
MUST BUILD YARDS FIRST
Men of Kenosha Are Urged to Enroll
for service With the Understanding
That They Will Be Called Just as
Soon as Nation Can Use Them.

Kenosha men who want to serve the
government periodically by working
in the ship yards must be patient The
government has no facilities for the en-
ployment of these men at the present
time and they must wait patiently until
new shipyards can be built and new adj
ditions made to existing ship yards.
Hang on to your jobs in Kenosha
aud if you haven Il job get one and
keep working. until the very day that
YOU are called by the government to
help build ships, This is your real pa
triotic duty"
This was the message of P. e. Pope,
one Of the Federal Inspectors of ship
yards who spoke to crowd Of between
six and seven hundred Kenosha laborers
at the armory on Tuesday evening
| Inspector Pope told the Kenosha
workmen that there was a demand for
their labor and Tat the government
expected them to answer that demand
periodically. Ee declared that with
out ships to transport men and food and
munitions to, sueo le that All proeAga-
| tions that America was making 10 take
part in the war were futile. He de-
clared that at present America was way
behind in her ship building projects aud
| that there was no reason to believe that
the amount of tonnage demanded
would be built during 1918. He declared
that the fault was lack of organization
and lack of facility to build ships.
He declared that skilled labor of
every kind wotl0 be needed sooner or
later to carry out the big projects of
the government along ship building
lines but that it was impossible to say
Just when this labor could be used.
"We want you men to enroll for the
service of building ships. You are not
to work for the government in private
ship building yards with the under
standing that government regulations
viii be made for fixing wages and con-
ditions of work. When you are en-
rolled you will be subject to call at any
time The call may come tomorrow,
it may come in two weeks or two years
| and if we are able to sink Germany in
the bottom of the sea it may never
come What we want is to know where
patriotic men who are willing to aid the
government are and when we want
them we shall expect them to respond
promptly"
Mr.. Pope spent considerable time dis
cussing the various scales of wages to
be offered in the big ship-building
plants. He declared that employment
in these plants offered rare opportuni-
4 ties for workmen to better their condi-
ton. He spoke of the night schools
which were opened for the instruction
Of all the men in the plants and de-
clared that with application men could
learn a new trade and profitable
trade and be paid excellent wages all
the time they were learning it.
He emphasized the fact that the call
was one for patriotic action rather than
for financial advancement of the work
man. He declared that if the men who
shoulder a gun and go to fight are
working for dollar a day and their
board that other men should be willing
to support these men in the lines back
home at fair compensation.
! Mr.. Pope painted a rather pessimistic :
picture Of the activity Of the submarine
and he declared that Germany was in
creasing her production of submarines
even more rapidly than England and
America were increasing the output of
tonnage. He declared, however, that
the plans now being worked out would
eventually make this nation the great
ship-building yards Of the world and
that men who learned ship-building IN
the various lines would be assured
profitable employment in the future.
There was. a Question box" at the
end Of the. address which the men took
| part with vigor. Most Of the questions
fired at the speaker were questions in
regard to wage scales and working con-
ditions. One Of the men in the audi
ence fiercely criticised the Kenosha
laborers for giving so much time to the
discussion of wage scales and declared
that It was time FOR men to accept en-
pIovnent at these yards with view of
| helping the government rather than
with view of boosting their wages
He was cheered Justify but the argu,
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