The New York herald., 1922-02-12

but there appears TO be positive evidence
OF the danger of the present ancho rage.
The ships now lie in The form OF a
blunt wedge, the narrow end of which.
composed Of four or five ships abreast.
is upstream, just below the tip OF Jones
Point. The other ships grouped down
stream in a mass twelve ships wide at
the southern end and extending dowr
the river a distance of about a mile.
The northern end is within thirty OF
forty feet of land, but the innermost
chip of the southern end Is one or two
hundred feet from shore. 1t is the lower
end, not the upper, which is believed to
be most in danger of the ice.
The reason is that at the point chosen
the swift current Of the stream Is on the
other side OF the river and will not come
directly on the head of the wedge. The
danger is that after the big ice floes
start coming downstream the flood tide
coming the other way viii make the
cakes back upstream, grinding and
tumbling over one another until they hit
the lower end of the wedge of ships,
showing them toward shore, or else push
ing in between the mass of ships and the
shore. thus forcing the vessels out into
the stream.
1t was learned yesterday that Capt.
IT. J. Fitzgerald. who is the fleet COM
mander had made the ships fast with
about all the steel hawsers they pos
sessed. binding each to the ones near
1t by half dozen big cables. The mass
is as Arm as 154 floating ships. of vari-
Gus sizes. shapes. and weights. can be
made.
That. however, is not very firm. as
was proved last week when a gale from
the northwest ripped the great bits off
tile deck of one ship and broke num-
ber of strands of several steel cables. If
wind can do this, those who fear trouble
say, the impact of, tons OF ice, urged
by the power OF the tide. can do much
mare.
The ships as they now lie present q
dingy and forlorn appearance for so
great part of the American merchant
marine. This is due chiefly to lack OF
paint. From the short little groups OF
men could be seen at work on various
odd jobs about the ships, but 1t is not
possible for the men to paint them at
this time, it is said. not only because
there are fewer than three men to each
ship to 10 all the work, but because in
winter a layer of frost gathers on the
side even after scraping which ruins
the layer of paint above it when warmer
weather comes.
In Jamaica Bay the ships lay In
groups of eight or ten, one of which
was q mother ship" with part of a
crew on board and steam up. The
same system OF mother ships is en-
rloyed at Jones Point. but all the ships
are bound together.
BY means of hose lines ready fore
and aft on all the dead" ships fire
in any one could be extinguished by the
pumps of the mother ship in charge
OF that section of the fleet. All mother
ships are oil burrers. At present about
twenty-six men are on each of the
fifteen mother ships, including q captain
and two engineers. Watchmen are on
duty on ships every hour of the day
and night.
The reason for the transfer of the
ships from the less dangerous Jamaica
Bay anchorages are stated to be that
barnacles will not foul the bottoms
In fresh water and there is less danger
of the vessels going aground. The
water at Jones Point has $50 grains
of salt a gallon, about one-third of the
amount of salt in the water of Jamaica
Bay but iron and 5cids from manufac-
turing plants along the Hudson are
likely also to cause deterioration.
About a week ago one hundred men
engaged in keeping the ships in shape
were dismissed by the Shipping Board.
leaving what somes of the officers say
Is an entirely Inadequate force 70 fight
the battle OF deterioration in engines
and hulls. The dismissal of these men
was carried out as an economy measure.
Men now employed are on the payroll
for sea duty, but officers. most OF whom
are unable to get sea duty because of
the shipping depression are on reduced
pay
Ono subject of debate on the ships
and or shore is the amount of money
expended to tow the ships from Jamaica
Bay to Jones Joint. Even the mother
ships. which had steam up, were towed
all the way. Three tugs took each ship
out of the bay two more took her as
far as Red Hook Flats. off Brooklyn.
and then single tug towed three ships
abreast up the river. The cost, at $l7
an hour tug. came clesc to $500 a
ship. it was authoritatively stated.