The L'Anse sentinel., 1921-05-20
Problem Of Disposal Probably
viii Reach Congress Early
in the Session.
HAVE VALUABLE MACHINERY
Marine Men Say Engines Could Be
Taken Out and Installed In Other
veeseis-SkeIeton Crews
Have Little to Do.


Norfolk. va.-What to do with
about 500 wooden and steel ships ly'
Ing Idle In james river Is question
that will probably reach the floor OF
congress within short time.
The wooden ships are mostly an.
chored In the vicinity of Claremont
There are us many as six moored to-
gether, side by side. so close that II
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 u little paint on the
sides OF the ships. but five hours out
Of the day they have nothing to do
bur play checkers, cards or indulge
In any other pastime they see At.
There is valuable machinery in the
ships that marine men say could be
taken on, and put to use In other ves-
sells. 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
Shipbullders 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, or in freight
carriers operating between New York,
Providence, Boston and Norfolk.
Constructive Plan Offered.
One shipbullder makes this sugges-
tion:
strip the machinery from the
wooden ships, then organize cor
poration. or several corporations to
build steel hulls or barges on COM
paratively inexpensive plan and in
stall the engines I'm 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 plan in operation. but 1t does
not require a large financial outlay.
The steel huls can be built In any
one Of half dozen shipyards on
Hampton Roads and with the pros
pective reduction In the cost of labor
aud 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
.eral service again, because only
few of them would be worth the ex-
pense of repairing Of sea trade. A
good many of the ships are already
beginning to show decay and 1t would
not be surprising IL several Of them
we're abandoned altogether within a
year or so. II 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 II they were a
menace to navigation.
The people of Claremont are divided
on tbe benefit the town has derived
by tie 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 a few days after the Civil war,
refers to the "boneyard."
Last Days or the Monitors.
Minter's opinion is shared by 9TH
ers, because all the old inhabitants
Of Claremont, City Point and other
Jamen river landings remember the