The daily monitor. (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1940-1942, 1941-01-04
Seen Means to Spur
New Building Program
Navel Officers Divided on Wisdom
Of Transferring U. S. Destvoysrs

over the wisdom of placing adj.
ditional destroyers under the
British flag.
Fifty United States destroyers
built in world war days were
turned over to Britain last year
in exchange for the. right to
lease air and naval base sites
in British colonies in this hemis-
phere.
The new plan to build 200 ad-
ditional cargo ships, to cost be-
tween $500, 100000 and $780,
600, 900 was announced by the
President at his press conference
yesterday.
But he turned aside questions
a. to whether this would aid Bril-
tain in any way or result In the
release Of American ships to the
British.
Yet the facts that it will take
considerable time to build the
$500, 900 tons of new cargo
carriers and that administration
officials view the next three
months ~ q time Of grave peril
for Britain. stirred avid specula-
ton as to possible further moves.
One of the possibilities men,
ti-oned in unofficial discussion
was that some of n American
ships now laid-up or temporarily
inactive might be turned over to
Britain under the lease-iend plan
which the President soon will
submit to the New Congress.
Another was that this govern
ment might take over some /of
266 foreign merchants tied up in
American ports to escape the
war, either making them avail
able to Britain or using them to
replace American tonnage lent
or leased to the British. Presum-
ably, under such a plan the
United States would agree to
compensate the countries whose
vessels were taken, either with
money or ships, after the war.
About the same time that the
President disclosed he was MAX
ing available $36,O00,000 of
emergency defense funds to build
new shipyards for merchant ship
construction, officials made pub
lie figures showing that the
United States on November /
had an ocean-going fleet Of
1,173 ships with q tonnage of
7,218,913-many times larger
thsn the merchant fleet at the
start of the World War.
OF the tonnage built up to
November /, it was said. n ships
were in laid-up or "spot" fleets.
Laid-up. ships would require
some reconditioning for active
service, but spots" fleet ships,
presently inactive, are in condi-
ton for immediate operation.
Forty-four of the laid-up ships
with carrying capacity of about
5000 tons each, are owned by the
government and are scheduled
to be up for sale next Tuesday,
and British bid on them is con-
sidered a certainty. Ten other
vessels are currently being re-
conditioned for charter to Amer
lean ship services, but this dis
position could be changed.
Among the foreign ships which
were tied up in United States
ports on December 81 were ~
Italian, two Germans, five Bel
gian, two Chinese, Al Danish,
81 Dutch, three Esthonian, 10
Finnish, 16 French. one Icelandic,
five Latvian, 81 Greek, one Lith-
uanian, go Norwegian, five Port
ugese, three Rumanian, six
Spanish, II Swedish and 10
Yugoslavian.
Ships of countries occupied by
Germany have been mentioned
most frequently as possible SUBJ
jects of action by this govern
ment.
Mr.. Roosevelt said the 200
ships to be built under the new
program would be one simple,
standardized type. Each will dis
place about $500 tons and cost
$1,000, 900 to $1,75O,0O0.
He indicated they would be
built in new yards which will
operate insofar as possible mere
ly as assembly plants to put to-
Gether prefabricated parts and