The Pensacola journal., 1919-11-16

|chantmen and fifty naval It is inter-
|esting to compare the total of ninety
ships for twelve months of 1913 with
seventy-nine ships for seven months
of 1919. This corresponds to gain of
80 per cent in construction under peace
conditions over war conditions, and
this gain was made under an eight
hour day. whereas in 1913. twenty
four hour shifts was the order. 1t
means that American shipbuilding
may be likened to SNOWFALL rolling
down hill, becoming larger and larger.
knowing faster and faster once the
start has been made.
Shipbuiiding in One Family.
OF course there is a reason for
these things and the reason Is in
Bethlehem, Pa, where blast furnaces
flare up into the smoke-grimed sky
and the nights and days are filled with
the crash of sprawling steel mills.
There, is the headquarters of Bethle-
hem shipbuilding. an organization
comparable to an army general staff.
with its sensitized finger tips extend
ing out to the combat units, the great
shipyards. For in Bethlehem, the ships
are designed and their raw parts are
made and everything that goes into
them is purchased-this. for the yards
of Fore River, Mass, Moore, N. j.,
Harlan. Del, Sparrows Point, Md. and
Union in California.
Before the United States entered the
war. Charles M. Schwab. the genius of
steel, conceived the idea of rounding
up the oldest American shipyards in
one organization and modernizing
their production. His plan was eco
nomic construction. BY controlling
the raw materials that go into ships
he kept the prices down for the yards,
and gathered shipbuilding all in one
big family. And behind him was his
Bethlehem steel organization with iron
mines in Chill and Cuba, a steamship
line that brought the ore to America;
and five miles OF blast furnaces, coke
ovens. rolling mills, finishing shops,
iron and steel foundries. forges and
ordnance plants, briefly. little indus
trial world able to supply the ship
yards with everything that goes into
la vessel.
1t was not until August 3oth, 1917
that the amalgamation was effected
and on that day five great yards, with
fifty-one building ships were rolled in
to one-the Bethlehem Shipbuilding
corporation. And because of this CEN
coming from one source. with it's trans
formation into ship parts accomplish
ed by one organization. with one pur-
chasing agent for all the yards, with
production entirely standardized,
Yankee shipping has been able to work
its wonders. AS an official of the
company said: I'VE have a gang of
$4,000 men building ships. All our
supplies are bought from ourselves, so
to speak. and in the United States"
The physical value of the yards is
about $100,000,000. An approximate
100000 men are on the payroll, three
fifths OF whom are labor. One months
payroll is seven and a half million dol
lars. Six and a half million rivets are
driven every thirty days. About $18.-
000, 900 is expended on raw materials
every year.
Dry Docks Lifting 10000 Tons.
Service to shipbuilders is just as i'm
portant as it is to automobile owners.
With its great dry docks along the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Bethlehem
is ready to take care of Yankee ships
disabled at sea. At the Harlan plant
in Delaware, there is already one grav-
ing dock and a floating dry dock is
now completed. Likewise at Sparrows
Point in Maryland where the floating
dock has a lifting capacity Of 10000
tons. There Is another at Fore River
to look after the New England coast
Out on the Pacific coast there are two
craving docks. one of them over 1000
feet long. 1t is the only dock in the
west big enough to handle a battle
ship and the navy has to use 1t. Four
floating docks on the California coast
amply look after the needs of Ameri-
can shipping in the Pacific.
This repair work is Of extreme inn
portance with America regaining her
place on the seas. Green men can be
taught to build ship but repaid men
must have long experience. The Beth