The Washington herald., 1921-10-13
Construction Group Tells
Conference Restric-
tions Must Go.
URGES DISPOSAL
OF BOARD BOATS
Shipping Committee Rec
ommends Action on
Jones Law.

conference
A report on the fourth obstacle
conditions in the mining industry
will probably be made this morning.
! With suggestions on these before the
country. measures will be taken to en-
courage follow-up action in the hope
that a general business revival may
be hastened.
Must Remove Handicaps.
Recommendations on the building
trades and shipping were the features
of yesterdays general session. RE
newed activities in the building field
require complete and prompt re-
moval of unnecessary handicaps, re-
strictions and limitations both direct
and indirect. including credit, freight
rates. priorities, undue costs in rela-
ton to labor and materials. wasteful
building codes and the like" was the
purport of the construction commit
tees report
Prompt action on the enforcement
or amendment Of the Jones act. dis
posal of Shipping Board boats. a
marine code and unified administra-
| ton, faithful enforcement Of coast
wise laws, and the carriage Of Ameri-
can goods in American ships" were
the recommendations of the shipping
committee.
Irregular Mine Work.
The railway recommendations point
ing to a readjustment Of rates and
the passage of the railroad .ill pro-
yiding for "the settlement of the finan-
cial relationships between the govern
ment and the railways" were adopted
Tuesday.
Doubtless the mining recommends
tions will embody those already
adopted with regard to definite pro-
grams OF action that will lead to
elimination Of waste and more regu-
| lar employment IN seasonal and In
termittent industries, notably the coal
industry"
Could Employ 100000.
The recommendations of the con-
struction industries COMMITTEES are
aimed at "a return to confidence IN
values in construction" 1t is
pointed out in the report that CON
sidering all branches of the con-
struction industry. more than p
OO0, 900 people could be employed II
construction would be resumed"
One way out, the report suggests,
would be through encouraging
during winter months the trans
portation of materials used in road
and other construction work. thus
utilizing transportation equipment
which might perhaps otherwise re-
main idle"
The transportation dilemma en-
tered into the report by way of a
recommendation 'in the interest OF
equal opportunity to all industry.
that the Interstate Commerce
| Commission should provide full
hearings TO all interested in mat
tiers of transportation priorities in
the future" Objection to this
clause was made by E. E. Clark.
formerly chairman of the Interstate
Commerce Commission, who de-
Tended that body with the state
ment that it had mo idea of pre-
ferring one industry over another"
Recommend Uniformity.
Uniformity in building require
ments, based on modern scientific
knowledge, would, in the opinion
| of the committee, speed up con-
struction work otherwise retarded
by the building codes which differ
fiagrantly throughout the country"
Finally, the committee recon-
mended that Secretary Hoover ZAP
point a committee selected from the
various elements. interested in con-
struction, such as financiers, labor.
engineers, architects, contractors
and material manufacturers to be
known as the committee on con-
struction development Such q
committee. it was pointed out
would be a continuation of policies
already inaugurated by the De-
partment of Commerce, the Ma
tional Federation of Construction
Industries and the United States
Chamber of Commerce.
Emergency and Permanent.
The shipping proposals were
divided into emergency and perma-
nent measures. The emergency
measures embraced ship operation
| and shipbuilding based upon an
American personnel as far as prac-
| ticable. I'VE urge the desirability
| of having American shipowners
give preference to American sea-
| men," the report reads. so far as
is practicable, we Urge the aboli-
ton of overtime work in steyedor-
ing and allied occupations in order
to distribute the greatest measure
of employment among as many as
possible"
An active program of recondi-
tioning vessels now tied up but
soon to be used, division of ship
yard work, dismantiing of the
wooden Shipping Board boats, ana
the turning over of idle shipyards
to some other Industrial, activity.
were the emergency shfpbuilding
proposals.
The permanent program took into
consideration the effect of tine war
in disrupting "all normal inter-
national financial relations, making
1t dificult. II not impossible, for
debtor nations to purchase their
needs and ereatins uncertainty and
distrust of governments as to
future international relations, caus-
ing hesitation on future under
takings."
Wants Government to Quit.
To this send the committee pro-
posed prompt action, on the Jones
act in order to extend aid TO ship
ping and to relieve it from its pres
ent uncertainty. and that the ex-
pressed policy Of the Federal gov
continaed on Page EiokS..