The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-01-28

Il must 10 Carried III American Duilt
ships. flying the American flag. the
audience applauded,
Graphic charts showed the impos-
sibility of building ships as fast as
the Huns were destroying them by
iother methods. which led to the plan
Iof making standardized ships by as
isembling parts made in many steel
mills from which they are shipped
realized at Hog Island, was the
I topic of the lecture last evening.
keokuk is on the Job.
"The brains back OF the Drawn"
said. They have built the largest
shipyard in the world in less than
twelve months, at low cost, praised
to the skies by Philadelphia papc:,
which previously roasted it mel CT
lessly.
i September 13. 1917, the contract
(, for $500, 10000 in toto was signed
for building OF a yard bigger than
any six in the world and fifty la cge
ships were signed. Later. more
ships of another. kind were added to
the contract, which added greatly to
the cost and work of building the
yard itself.
Men from Keokuk and other places.
well trained, were collected 400
strong in less time than ever before
In the history of the world.
One picture showed what the
, work was on which estimates
were asked by the government and
another showed what was actually
done--many times as much for sixty
percent higher cost than the esti-
mates. Time was said to be vital,
and work started week after the
contract was signed.
In spite of almost insuperable OBJ
stacles on job 80 large nobody
could comprehend it, the work went
on rapidly.
All Of the immense electric work
on Hog Island is in charge Of r. B.
Rowland, formerly of Keokuk, and
when Mr.. Blood mentioned this fact
and told of Mr.. Howland's making
good in tremendously big job, the
audience broke out into spontane-
GUS applause.
Both Wages and Patriotism.
The wages paid at Hog Island are
the same as in other eastern ship.
yards and are fixed by the govern
ment, the lecturer said, common
labor getting forty-six cents per hour,
and the best riveters $50 per week
on piece work. The pay roll is
million dollars week. put into en-
vclopes in a frame building.
During, construction. $4,000 meals
a day were served at thirty cents
each. intended to be cost, but with
a profit of $3.50 on 100000 meals
during one period.
I'VE tried to make the men under
stand that the front line trenches
ran right through Hog Island" Mr..
Blood said, with reference to the pat
r.iotism the men displayed all the
time-for instance, they bought two
or three million dollars of Liberty
bonds of each loan and subscribed
enough money to buy three OF the big
ships they were building.
I'VE built in twelve months mod
ern industrial city with only two
things lacking cemetery and
saloon said the lecturer. as he
turned from pictures of the yards to
pictures of the ships made there.
The Needs Of American Commerce.
1.-The American International cor
poration Is building the ships for
fixed fee which is about two and one
half percent of its cost and then the
takes half of that as
tax" said Mr.. Blood.
Now $50 ships are contracted for. |
of which fourteen have been launch
ed with fifty others on the ways, |!
many of them nearing completion.
The equipment Of these $50 ships |
is itself stupendous job. and they |
are completed ready to take on cargo |
at the Hog Island shipyard. !
Launching will soon be at the rate |
of two week. and in December Ave !
ships were launched in five days, /
worlds record.
we are turning out ships at |
rate never dreamed of two years |
ago, and they are needed to carry |
commerce under the American flag |
to all parts OF the world" was the |
summing up OF the achievement at
Hog Island.
Facts Louder Than Words.