Evening star., 1922-02-15
Gompers Urges Work Be Un-
dertaken Without Delay in
Appeal to Mr.. Denby.
ASKS IMMEDIATE START
ON OBSOLETE VESSELS
Labor Bureau to Redistribute EN-.
ployes Released on Furlough
Also Recommended.

"oih VI olsinahtllnS the capital ships
to be scrapped under the terms of the
naval treaty and the establishment Of
Ia government employment service
within the Navy Department to facili-
tate the redistribution among govern
ment departments of labor released
through operation of the international
naval Limitation agreement are the
two salient schemes designed to pro-
vide relief for the 10000 navy yard
employees recently thrown out OF work
which were recommended to Secretary
OF Navy DENLY today by Samuel
Gompers. president Of the American
. Federation of Labor. and a committee
Of fifteen representing the navy yard
workers. Secretary DENLY promised to
give the proposals his early and earnest
| considera ton.
The program submitted to Secretary
Denby follows:
Start Immediately the programs Of
| maintenance. conversion, recondition-
ing.anodernizing and modification of
existing naval crafts and equipment
and apply existing funds under the
control of the Navy Department to
cover the cost of this work.
concentrate this work in the navy
yards. especially those most seriously
aHected by recent reductions in tie
working force.
Would Rush DismantlinE.
Make all necessary arrangements
preparatory to actual dismantling
and scrapping of those vessels slated
for disposal. /. e., surveying, sched-
uling. berthing, docking, ETC. It is
understood that there are approx
mately nineteen capital ships Of the
pre-Jutland type and 100 destroyers
now in commission listed for retire.
ment. as well as twelve post-Jutland
ships on the building ways which are
| not TO be completed. Getting ready
| to dismantle these without delay will
assist to relieve the situation. All
| tkis work should be allocated to the
navy yards.
In fact, a great deal Of actual dis
inantifng and scrapptng of the older
/, vessels. such as the Maine, Missouri
and others, those which are prac-
| tically obsolete, may be started i'm
| mediately. 1t would seem that spe-
| cial action by Congress need hardly
be awaited.
Then. promptly upon the ratifca-
tion by the Senate Of the fve-power
naval pact, proceed with the dis
nlantling and scrapping.
Two of the capital ships now under
construction, that is. of the West Vir-
ginia class, on which work has been
Suspended, are to be completed In
order to replace the Delaware and
North Dakota. 1t is understood that
board of officers is making a survey
in order to determine which two are
to be selected for completion. 1t is
strongly urged that one of these at
least be one of the four now on navy
yard ways, l. e., at Brooklyn, Mare
Island or Norfolk.
Urges Start ON New ships.
Begin constructing at the navy
yards without delay those new ves-
sells already authorized and which II
is deemed advisable to build.
Complete plans as quickly as pos
sible and undertake without delay the
construction of such new auxiliary
vessels, aircraft carriers. new de-
stroyers, submarines. ETC.. which will
be required as result Of the revised
naval building program growing out
of the five-power pact. Allocate this
work to the navy yards
Establish an agency within the
Navy DepartmeI provided with ade-s
Quate personnel, which actively seek
ments and bureaus for the Navy in-s
dustrial plants. Place an official in
charge OF this office who will be in,
full sympathy with its purposes. !
Make a special and determinedS !
effort to secure maintenance. recondi-s
tioning, and new construction work
from the Emergency Fleet Corpora
ton, Army transport service, coast
guard, lighthouse bureau and riversS
and harbors board (Army engineers).s
These governmental agencies operates
and maintain considerable floating
continent all of which can be han
died with economy at the navy yards.
Eliminate from the accounts
covering work performed and from
estimates upon work to be performed
at the navy yards all unrelated over
head charges. Principal among these
/ are those which arise from the mill
tary nature of the yards. as well as
those which arise from plant and
! equipment made idle by causes or
dinarily beyond control. The slatter
classes of items are also OF a mill
| tary nature. for the excess capaci-
| ties and idle equipment of these
| plants as they exist serve the pur-
| pose of industrial reserves or in
| surance against future wars. or have
! arisen as a result of past large scale
| naval operations and protective
measures. This being the case. they
| certainly should not serve as a bur-
den upon reviving and stabilizing
production at these plants.
/ Would Establish Employment once. /.
Establish an employment clearing
office in the Navy Department with
| branch offices at each yard and in,
dustrial sstation. whose function it
will be to provide navy yard workers
laid of or furloughed at one yard
opportunity for employment. tempo
rary or permanent. at such other
wards where demand for their services
NAV develop. Such men should be
provided with transportation. ,
Navy yard employees should be re-
tanned in the service, transferred or
re-employed in accordnace with the
length of their service to the govern
| ment.
"Employes furloughed who have
been fifteen years or more in the gov
! ernments service and who are ap-
nroaching the retirement age. on the
basis of which they will be entitled
! to a pension, to be permanently fur
| iouehed until the date Of their retire.
ment, when they should be pensioned.
However. II the opportunity for work
in the governments service again
presents itself, before the date Of
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