The Mena weekly star., 1921-08-25
WOODEN SHIPS BIC
 LOSS TO NATION
Government Loses Nearly 200 NH lion Dollars on Original Cost Shipping Board to Sell Fleet
 for S730,O00.

Washington, Aug 22.-For the nrice virtually of the original cost of one of them, the United States ship hing board has decided to sell the fleet of wooden ships, which have been a white elephant on the governments hands ever since the close of the war, for about S7oO,0O0.
 There are 2S5 vessels in the fleet; of these 205 are to be sold to the Ship Construction air1 Trading Company of New York City for S430,500 or at the rate of S2.I00 each. The other eighty go to separate bidders for approxl- mately S300,000.
 This is a ridiculously low figure, and the members of the shipping board recognize that it is a low figure, but the vessels are being sold at the price, members of the board assert, because the new and old boards have adver- tised three times for bids and have re- ceived only one bid for the entire fleet. It cost close to $700,000 each Go build these ships during the war
 Only One Bid for Entire Fleet.
 Bids for the sale of the wooden feet were opened for the third time July 30. There was only one bidder for the entire heet-the Ship Con- struction and Trading Company of New York. l. offered to take the ships at $2,100 each, ''as it." that is, as the vessels stood, where they ride at anchor, most of them is a secluded z To, ,.txrn.s hafxuanfl fllH Point Comfort and Richmond.
 Chairman Lasker said recently 1t was costing the government near $50,000 a month to take care of the ships. Two tugs in the James river have to be used to pump water out of them and keep them from sinking. There is also a force of men taking care of the ships. They constitute a veritable white elephant" on the hands of the government, in the opin- ion of members of the board
 While no other firm bid for the whole fleet, there were bids for the purchase of about twenty of the wooden ships which were in best con- dition. These scattering bids were a little better than those for the whole fleet. The bidder for the whole fleet, to whom the board contemplates sell ing them for $2,100 each, assented to the elimination of 20 ships to be sold at higher prices and the board has al- so conditionally reserved from the sale fifty other vessels, for use as pontoons to be used in building the proposed new bridge across the Hud- son river If the pontoon bridge company wants them it can have them for S2,100 each, or S105,000 for the fifty, otherwise they, too, go to the bidder of the fleet. to which the 205 vessels are to be sold.
 Eighteen Bring Higher Prices.
 Aside from the fleet of POS to go to the main bidder and the fifty to go to the pontoon bridge concern, ten wooden ships abroad are to go to the Clinchfield Navigation Company for S50,000; five that are in best condi- tion go to Patterson Brothers of New York for 5000 each; one goes to the Union Sulphur Company of New York for 5000 and two go to another firm for ST 500 each.
 While the board was informally de- cided to accept the bid, the legal de- partment of the shipping board is now drawing up the contract to be con- sidered Tuesday, and if found satis- factory the deal will be consummated.
 According to the terms of the bid, about half of the POS vessels are to be iunked. while the rest are to be put into service, mainly in the Carribean. These ships were built to carry $500 tons each. Before completion the or ginal plans were altered, seven hun dred tons of extra bracing was placed in each vessel, cutting the carrying load down to about 2,800 tons each
 It takes forty men to run each ship. The same number of men can run a steel ship of 6,700 tons.