Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-07-14
ARTICLE 2.
Ships, more ships, and again more
ships"

ships"
GA bridge of ships to Europe"
Build ships and win the war"
These are familiar cries that will
remain indelible in the minds of all liv-
Ing Americans, reminiscent of one OF
our major war programs, and needed
as one of the main factors that con
tributed to the ending of the war in
the fall of 1918.
True, hardly any of the Govern
'ment-built ships found their way in
to commerce until after the conclu-
sion of the war; but the knowledge
on the part Of Great Britain and our
other Allies that renewals and re.
placements were so soon to come
from American yards, led them, in
spite Of Germany's submarine war
fare, to a pro1igate use of their own
tonnage; for they knew that, while
Germany was destroying their bot
toms in increasing ratio during the
spring and summer of 1918, by the
fall of that year American ships in
an amending stream would be ready.
For ten years prior to 1914 our
total annual production of ships in
American yards averaged 466, 600 d.
w. t. tons. In the period of 1914 to
1917, because of orders for ships
placed with us by the Allies, our
average annual output had increased
to 100000 d. W. t. tons. In April Of
1917 the Shipping Board began its
plans for the building of the present
Government-owned feet, and the in
crease in American production Of
tonnage was SO rapid that in the last
six months of 1918 and the first six
months of 1919 our yards produced
total of 4,553,2 98 tons.
Vision OF Marine Power Lacking.
How did we accomplish this mir
acle of production? First, let it be
said, to the amending glory of the
spirit of our nation that we gave un-
stinted of our treasure and of our
men to the building of the much
needed merchant marine feet so es-
sentiaIly needed for the winning of
the war Had we had in pre-war
days the vision Of what such a feet
would have meant to us in war, we
never would have had to make this
great sacrifice of treasure and time,
for we would, in large part, have
possessed the ships ready for peace
or wartime needs.
But neither the sacrifice of money
nor the time of men could have re-
suited in the creation of so vast
feet in so short time had we not
been willing to utterly disregard one
prime factor in the manufacture of
ships, to wit: the peace-time value
of the ships we created.
War Fleet Badly Balanced.
By this I mean that our whole
effort was directed for war
purposes, properly-to the creation
,of the maximum tonnage in the
shortest anything that could
}carry men and goods, regardless Of
cost OF construction and operation.
This, while exactly right for wars
pressing necessities, left us at the
conclusion of our building program,
with a vast tonnage untitled in large
measure for peace-time needs; be-
cause for peace needs, tonnage must
be measured by two factors; econ
omy of operation and fitness -
varying trades and purposes. Our
war-huilt fleet could obviously take
neither factor into consideration.
This, while resulting in the produc-
ti0n of ships as If by magic, had the
grave disadvantage of creating the
most sadly balanced merchant feet
the world ever knew.
That the reader may better understand
balance" let me liken ships to railroad
equipment with which all are familiar. A
railroad, to operate successfully, must have
fiat cars, must have inclosed freight cars
to take regular mixed freight, and larger
cars to carry automobiles and the like 1t
must have special cars to carry coal, and
still other cars fitted for express purposes,
1t must have refrigerator cars capable OF
taking care of varying types of commodi-
ties. 1t must have highly specialized
equipment for passenger traffic, day
coaches and parlor cars, Pullman sleepsrs
and dining cars
Must Have Passenger Ships.
The same sense of balance and equipment
must obviously exist in a merchant feet
To compare the ships which the Govern
ment owns to railroad equipment we
might say that the 1430 steel ships under
the Shipping Board consist largely OF that
type comparable to the regulation frelght
EAR, while practically none of the especial
equipment needed, such as railroads have
FOR furniture carriage, automobile carriage,
express service and refrigerator service
exists.
Again, to liken our ships to freight cars,
100 many are of wrong sizes for practical
echnicaI operation. We are still sadly de-
icient In passenger ships. These passenger
ships, as will later develop, are the very
foundation of a merchant marine for war
and peace time needs.
1t was because we were willing to sacri-
dee balance to quantity production which
was essential for the immediate needs of
he World War, that we find ourselves
with this utterly unbalanced feet, the dis
position of which is one of the great prob
lens confronting the American people.
In the next article will cover the
diversion of the War-built fleet to peace