The Washington times., 1919-10-20

Aefbt fnerchant vessels 70 be con-
verted into troop and animal trans-
ports This conversion. which vsx a.
most rebuilding. was completed on
al three ships In the unpfecedented
time OF four days and nights. and
both army and navy officers expressed
their astonishment that any plant
should have the organization and CO
pscity TO finish a job of these dimen-
sions in such a short period.
IL was no surprise. therefore, that
the War Department should turn to
Robins when a bigEer emergency
arose in 1917 and send 70 the Erie
Basin plant the first ships TO be made
ready to carry troops TO France The
work was done in record time and the
newly ntted trnsports sailed out OF
New York harbor in the first convoy.
Robins converted nearly q score Of
vessels into transports. and when all
work OF this character was nnipt~t
started out TO make amazing records
for big and unique repair work
The demand for tonnage was never
more acute than during that period
and vessels never futoudeo for At
}sntic service were sent from The
Great Lakes TO Erie BARN 10 be
,lengthened- The George Il. Warren,
1 L. V. Stoddard, and the George Haw-
ley were some CT the vessels changed
In this way. They were also COR
verted from freighters into bulk efi
carriers and oil fuel burners.
Making Over Tive German Lsnevs.
The work of transforming the ,L~-
viathan into a transport was assign
ed TO tho Tietjen & Lang plarr
The same yard handled the George
Washington. the President Lncoln-
the Mount Vernon. the Hamburg and
most OF the German ships that we're
impressed into th~ country's serv3cr
4 Many OF these vessels had been &C.
riously damaged by their German
crews The damage extended 70
practically every part of the chips.
/. from the treating Of rope with
hydrochloride acid. so that ~ vould
snap Immediately weight was ap-
piled. TO the smashing Of cast iron
cylinders. some of which were more
than nine feet iu-diameter. Hammcr<
and other foreign objects were found
In the machinery where they would
do the most damage once the engines
were set I'm motion. Connecting rods.
boiler stays and piston rods were
found sawed halfway through: bob
ers needed renewing because they
had been ruined by dry-hrtIT.
| Ground glass was found in oil cups.
| gun powder in the coal. metal life
RATS had been punctured 90 that In
an emergency they would be marc
+, likely to prove death" RATS
Triumph over Sabotage.
There were other evidences OF van
! dalism, but great as the damage was.
! IL was not enough 20 battle the inge-
uuitx. of the American experts called
to investigate and suggest means 10
restore these ships 70 usefulness. one
OF whom was George J. Robinscn.
vice president OF the Robbins Com
pany. The damage in each case Was
discovered and in record time twas
repaired. and when sent to see Ter
a forty-eight-hour test run under fun
power. American engineers demon
strated that their skill had triumph
ed over these acts OF diabofical sabot-
age, and not only so but these ships
showed greater efficiency after their
restoration than they had exhibited
under German operation. Department
heads at Washington computed that
the repair Of these ships had saved
twelve months in time. enabled us to
transport at least 100000 troops TO
France and effected an economy
conservatively estimated At S2o.ooo--
600.
The Saratoga, sunk on Staten Island
while carrying troops was salvaged-
renamed Mercy and converted into .
hospital ship. The coasters Ei RE
and El Dis, renamed Housaf snic and
Roanoke. were converted INTO mine
layers and sowed mines in the North
Sea barraee. The Belgian relief
steamer limo. which caused the Hail.
fax disaster. came to Ttet5en 4 Langp
with thousand holes in her huiiand
was made as good as new. So
Scores of yachts were transforned
into scout patrol vessels and some OF
them, the Mona, Corsair. Aphredits.
Atlantic. reconverted to their pre-war
condition by the Tebo company.
Bearing in mind that in 1917 reoo's
consisted of nothing more than tbrse
wharves. storehouse, a small ofssce
and two small drydocks, n has made
an enviable record
The Quintard Iron Works made dur-
ing the war fourteen 1-4eo l. II p.
engines, as well as other engines. for
the Shipping Board the Canadisr
government and for shipowning cor-
porations.
When the armistice was signed TIE
plant Of Clinton Drydocks, Inc-. In
Brooklyn, was almost completed. ane
today has three sections OF the S,Sse-