Evening star., 1937-12-08
NEW SHIPS AID
NAVY YARD Jobs
Ordnance for Four Vessels,
Just Authorized, to
Be Built Here.

The work load at the Washington
Navy Yard will be benefited by the
administrators decision to construct
four new warships, costing $29. .884 $50
In all. Assistant Secretary Edison.
who today started the program to get
them on the ways, said the ordnance
for the vessels will be constru ted at
the naval gun factory here.
Two new destroyers will be built,
one at the Puget Sound Navy Yard
and the other at the Charleston Is.
c. Navy Yard, at combined cost of
$s,2O4,295, while the New York Ship
building Corp. of Camden, N. j., will
construct a seaplane tender and a
destroyer tender, both to cost s2O,-
68O,555. The private shipbuilder,
Mr.. Edison said in announcing the
awards yesterday. following consulta-
tion with President Roosevelt, under
bid estimates of the Norfolk and
Philadelphia Navy Yards, contrary to
the case OF the two new battleships.
The Assistant Secretary emphasized
that the Navy is building these ships
Immediately, in line with the Chief
Executives desire that the Govern
ment spend available funds now to
assist business revival and to aid firms
that build for the national defense.
Sees Lay-offS Halted.
The ultimate lay-offs of thousands
OF shipyard workers" will thus be
prevented, Mr.. Edison said. in an
nouncing the award to the New Jer-
sey shipyard. He explained that Pres
1dent Roosevelt has received MANY
letters from school children in the
Camden area, asking that the service
give jobs to prevent the lay-off of the
workers and award Government work
to the firm.
Mr.. Edison pointed out that Con-
gress has placed limit of cost on
the two tenders and that under the
law, the President is permitted to con-
struct them in private shipyards, if
that is deemed desirable In response
to query as to why the New York
Shipbuilding Corp. could underbid the
navy yards. when it did not do so on
the battleShips, Mr.. Edison said the
department did not have access to
the deliberations of the Board of Di-
rectors of a private corporation.
Sees Bid AS Favorable.
THE New York Shipbuilding Corp
submitted an extremely favorable bid"
Mr.. Edison added. The public inter-
est is well served in this, from the
financial angle. If this yard We're to
fold up, the national defense would be
badly handicapped. The bid is con-
siderably lower than other private
shipyards, and lower than estimates
from navy yards"
Describing the awarding of the four
vessels as Strengthening the country's
first line of defense" the Assistant
Secretary pointed out, the geograph-
ical areas of the Nation were taken
into consideration, because we try to
keep the work loads in all the navy
yards up"
The destroyers each will be of 1900
tons displacement. The vessels will
all be steam driven, Rear Admiral
William G. DuBose. chief of the
Bureau of Construction and Repair,
explained in revealing that the Navy
has rejected the bids for Diesel-driven
machinery.
Accepting the bids of the New York
Shipbuilding Corp, under the adjust
ment provisions for rising costs of
labor and material, the Navy Depart
ment said that the destroyer tender
will cost Sl0,737,555, while the seaplane
tender will cost s9,943 900. No division
Of cost as between the two navy yards
for building the destroyers was made
public.