The log cabin Democrat., 1921-05-09
300 IDLE SHIPS
 IN JAMES RIVER
Problem of Disposal Probably Will Reach Congress Early
 in the Session.
HAVE VALUABLE MACHINERY
Marine Men Say Engines Could Be Taken Out and Installed in Other Vessels-Skeleton Crews
 Have Little to Do.

Have Little to Do.
 Norfolk, Va.-What to do with about 500 wooden and steel ships ly- ing idle in James river is a question that will probably reach the floor of congress within a short time.
 The wooden ships are mostly an- chored in the vicinity of Claremont. There are as many as six moored to- gether, side by side, so close that 1t is possible to step from the deck of one ship to another without any dan ger of falling overheard. Skeleton crews are employed and the only work they are required to do is to keep the decks and fixtures clean and stand watches. They are called upon some- times to daub little paint on the sides of the ships, but five hours out of the day they have nothing to do but play checkers, cards or indulge in any other pastime they see fit.
 There is valuable machinery in the ships that marine men say could be taken out and put to use in other yes sels. Most of the ships are equipped with the best of engines, and the gov ernment, 1t is claimed, could realize considerable money out of their sale Shipbuilders say the engines could be installed in barges that could be used to transport freight between Balti- more and Philadelphia and Norfolk via the inland waterway, orel freight carriers operating between New York, Providence, Boston and Norfolk.
 Constructive Plan Offered.
 One shipbuilder makes this sugges- ion:
 Strip the machinery from the wooden ships, then organize a cor poration, or several corporations to build steel hulls or barges on a con- paratively inexpensive plan and in- stall the engines in them. These barges would be invaluable for coast wise trade or even for trade with Cuba and could be operated at cost much less than the present steamships.
 "Of course 1t will take money to put such a plan in operation, but it does not require a large financial outlay The steel hulls can be built in any one of half dozen shipyards on Hampton Roads and with the pros- pective reduction in the cost of labor and the decrease in the cost of ma- terial, competition would be keen for the building of these craft"
 There is little chance of any of the wooden ships ever being of any ma terial service again, because only a few of them would be worth the ex- pense of repairing of sea trade. A beginning to show decay and 1t would not be surprising if several of them were abandoned altogether within year or so. It is the opinion of marine men that when the govern ment begins to discard the wooden ships completely they will be blown up with dynamite, as if they were a menace to navigation.
 The people of Claremont are divided on the benefit the town has derived by the location of the fleet near that town. The anchorage occupied by the ships is referred to as the "boneyard"
 Many go in but none come out" Is the way Robert Minter, veteran river man who has resided near Claremont since few days after the Civil war, refers to the ''boneyard."
 Last Days of the Monitors.
 Winters opinion is shared by oth- CTS, because all the old inhabitants of Claremont, City Point and other James river landings remember the fate of seven monitors that the govern ment decided to discard 25 years ago. Among these monitors were the Cat skill, MahOpaC, Ajax and Caconicus. In their day they were looked upon with the same respect as the present day dreaduaught. They were the back bone of the American navy.
 There came a day, however, when the government found 1t q burden to keep these ships in active service, so they were sent up to the James river. For seven years they lay at anchor
 
 further up the James river to a point about five miles below Richmond. There they almost routed to pieces and when they began to leak the govern ment ordered them to Norfolk to be thrown on the junk pile.
 The newest place for laying up" idle ships is the York river This his torlc stream. like the James, empties into Hampton Roads, and during the last six weeks at least 100 vessels that came into Hampton Roads did not go out again. Instead they steamed slowly up York river and anchored at point a few miles beyond Hampton. Like their sister ships in the James, they will remain until old Father Time, the tides, fishes and crabs pune