The Holbrook news., 1921-05-06
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 VesseIs-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 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 it 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 a 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 sells. Most of the ships are equipped with the best of engines, and the gov ernment, it 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, or in freight carriers operating between New York, Providence, Boston and Norfolk.
 Constructive Plan Offered.
 One shipbuilder makes this sugges- tion:
 Strip the machinery from the wooden ships, then organize a cor poration, or several corporations to build steel hulls or barges on a com 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 a cost much less than the present steamships.
 'Of course it 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 a 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 -erial service again, because only a 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 it 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 a 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