The sun., 1919-01-02
ARE OUR SHIPYARD MEN so
INEFFICIENT?
One OF the Reasons Put Forward for
the High Cost OF Vessels Built in
America Even in Normal Times.

the pay received by British shipyard
workmen, and our men are not as eff
Client In shipbuildlng as Britons are
man for man, hour for hour, our men
are not equal to Brltons. As labor in
the shipya>ds constitutes about one-half
the cost of the finished ship. all other
things being equal. IL American work.
men were as efficient as British the diff
ference in the American ana British
cost OF building ships would be at least
rs per cent. more here than there: but
II 10 nearer. in normal times. TO from 50
per cent TO 80 per cent, or even more |;
Just now II is 100 per cent higher here
than there, This OF course on the as
sumption that materials cost the same
In each country.
In THE Sun OF December Is "Ship-
builde-." writing from Quincy. Mass.
the homo of the big Fore River Ship
building Company, owned by Charles NJ
Schwab's Bethlehem Steel Company,
says in concluding q letter on that
Subject,
We have TO compete with England In
many industries. and once tho American
nus hanio focuses his attention on this
I
| cheaply as England or any one else.
! In my judgment. It win take years
! for the efficiency OF American shipyard
workmen to average the efficiency OF
British shipyard workmen. and this on
the assumption that men In our ship
! yards are steadily employed and even
then we shall be handicapped with
wages double in our shipyards those in
: British.
In the first half OF 1914 ship plates
cost IN the United States about IS a
ton less than similar plates cost IN
| Great Britain. Ten years previously
they were 81 a ton higher in this coun-
try than In Great Britain. / assume
that the cost difference In other steel
shipbuildng materials was about the
\ same
| This country does not benefit by
cheaper materials because the lower
! railroad rates on exports OF steel and
the lower export rates Of the steel itself,
as compared with domestic rail cates
and domestic consumption prices,
equalire cost.
! The only way for us TO build ships
in this country ssr cheaply as they are
built In other countries is for demand
for them TO be created and sustained
and the supply confined TO the United
, States. We started IN 1888, under
President A-thurs administration, to
build our new navy. At that time Will
lam f. Chandler OF New Hampshire
was Secretary OF the Navy. A demand
! was thereby created for American war
| ships and the supply was confined to
American shipyards. Nobody knew
anything about building modern wa
ships in this country. except theoretI-
cally, We started lin the raw" so to
speak. But. because of the creation OF
| the demand and limiting the supply TO
| this country. in his last annual mesa &c
TO Congress Tin December 1886. speak.
Ing OF our warshlps. Grover Cleveland
/ said
| 1t IL gratifying to state that our ships
ana their outfits are believed TO be equal
| to the best that can be manufactured else
where. and that such notable reductions
have been made in their cost as 10 justify
the statement that quite number OF yes
| sells arc now being constructed at rates
| as low as those that prevail In European
shipyerds
Inc uei"anu lot american DUNK war
s"'PS o'"us"' ne" american snipSaros
into existence; experience gave builders
! practical knowledge. steady employ
ment gave workmen efficiency. and thus
American cost fell TO the level OF for
ejgn cost, American warships, notwith-
''"nu,ns' oe". eauai 10 'he pest ou'i'
at 'nat ufle' "heh
N'e" P'ao,,Va''! nothing
a''H' 'ioH''" Na'Sn'i, ou'Iuins' "Hen Ia
", was anu !'le'eI'Fe '"-
~ ''' '''l'! y. ""s.'p" i"' ''e
,''l'I 'V"'' nav! H'u Dee" '"'o"'' open
W "o'''"i"e 'o"'pe'''''''' N"'s''p pu'ln-
'"'' "o"'" 'o' u"' ue>e'oPeu IN '"'S
,'N"''H ''''"' cost "o"'u nave
' y ''''"'''''' Us - Wa. ''e ""'""
N''' expense WIN" e"'S'eh'F WAS
P.uu'i'- e'o.'o''y o' CONSTRUCTOR
~ us 'o"'ne Amer 'odh res's'-E ana
! en'o''''e"' u american puiit ehips' anu
."'' oE IA" SUN preferences
| io' nan st'pS III QUITE our carry
ms az W es'do'ish oe'i'anu LOT Amer
'Ia" ''- ,la"' e"'pS 80 eons'ai' as 10
e..e ou, "o'hn'en eNper'ence enough 10
",,l'' e''e'e',Y' anu III ,''''e VIC may Dc
N'le PVuuVe "'e't"an' so'ps as
>"o.pi! :" 'ts country as 'ney are
sh,r. uoor.I ;. ,o 80, $500,
a,.a,,,
H. "hlIe cas- now our Wnrkmen are
practically or comparatively, ineXpe-
rienced ard therefore inefficient. in
comparison with British shipyard work