The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-06-03
Chairman Johnson of Ship
workers Committee to
Washington and Philadel-
phia to Report.
MEN ARE BOOSTERS
FOR PENSACOLA
Local Advantages For Ship
building Are Rated as
Above Those at Hog ISL
and and Other Northern
Points.

A mass meeting is called to be held
at the city hall for the purpose of
hearing report of the committees
headed by j. NJ. Johnson, sent to
Washington, to confer with Senator
Fletcher and the Florida delegation
in congress, and to Philadelphia to
confer with the Emergency Fleet
Corporation, by workers of the local
plant. The call for the meeting is
signed by E. w. Allen, chairman OF
the workers committee.
Among other things IL Is expected
attendants at the meeting viii be
told numerous comparative advan-
tages of Pensacola as to climate and
! location over other large shipbuild-
ing centers, all of which will be cal
culated to emphasize the Importance
or maintaining the local plant as one
or the positively permanent business
institutions of the community.
James M. Johnson returned yester-
day from his trip to Washington and
Philadelphia as head of the comuittaa
to the Emergency Fleet Corporation
and the Florida delegation in con
gress and arrangements were at once
made for the mass meeting at the citv
hall at o'clock tonight to hear his
report. President Allen OF the union
stated that Mr.. Johnson's trip was a
satisfactory one and that the report
10 De given at the open meeting would
be most interesting
Witnessed Launching at Hoo I.I.nd
While in Philadelphia, Mr. johnson
| witnessed the launching of five sbins
at the Hog Island yard He declared
that the event was undoubtedly the
most impressive of its kind in the
history of the country.
his inspection Of the Hog Island
| plant, however, led him to assert that
It's adoption for ship building. from
the standpoints of location, general
Inake-up and climate. is in no wise
superior, If equal to Pensacola's.
The Hog Island yard is, of course.
much larger than the Pensacola
yard said Mr.. Johnson but with
size its superiority ends. In fact 7
visited a number OF yards along the
Delaware river, and for good location
and thorough equipment none of them
can be compared with the yard AT
Pensacola
MI Johnson declared that the cli
mate at Philadelphia is as hot as IN
the south, and in winter is distinctly
at disadvantage to Pensacola's as
locality for ship building. '~Tbese
facts make me feel certain" he said
that IL we can hold the yard at Pen
saocla we can beat the world produc-
ing ships"
In spite of the fact that the ships
launched at Hog Island were smafier
than the ones launched at Pensacola
by 1,200 tons, Mr.. johnson admitted
that the launching which he witness
ed was very educational to him. All
five Of the ships were launched in
side a space of so minutes In other
words, the men who handled them an
peared to have worked the problem OF
launching down to an exact science.
Mr.. Johnson was quite extrayaRant
in his praise OF the courtesy and the
general ability and standing of Uni
ted States Senator Duncan u. Fletch-
er, of Florida. He felt that no one
could be more keenly alive to the best
interests Of Pensacola and Florid f.
generally and serve those interests
with more efficiency than it was evi-
dent to him the senior senator
doing, and he expressed a strong con-
viction that the senator ought to sue
ceed himself as a result of the cam
paign soon TO ensue.