Evening star., 1942-06-02
War Cry for Metal
May Write Finis on
DereIict Vessels
Federal Aid Urged to
CIeon Up Graveyard of
1914-191S Wooden Ships
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
MALLOWS BAY, Md, June a
World War II may finish something
World War ! started.
It's the problem of some $50
wooden ships, built during the 1914
1918 ship shortage. Since the armi-
stice the job of salvaging the metal
from the burned hulls has gone on
intermittently.
Jack s. Ewing, regional chief of
the special projects sestion of
WPB's Industrial Conservation Bu-
reau, suggested to Federal officials
in Washington today a plan to fin
ish the job in a year, getting about
100 tons OF scrap out Of each hull.
Burned to the the water line with
their hulls now mud-laden, these
ghost ships lie in a graveyard cove
on the Potomac, about Is miles
southwest Of La Plata.
Would Claim ownershir1.--
- Mr-EEsrgtold SoaAs IrHs4sf-of
the special projects section in
Washington there was no legal
ornershif'a y the boats, explain
ing they were declared public prop
erty by the Court of Appeals.
He said it would appear that the
Government, represented by the
Metal Reserves Co. or any other de-
partment, could take possession of
the hulls ''by setting UP signs in
the water or on the hulls. stating
that these are now Government
property. This would tie down own
ership so that actual salvage opera
tion could go forward without the
threat Of some one else stepping in. {"
Metal Reserves Co. Is the cor
porate agency by which the Gov
eminent transacts business in its
salvage work.
The salvage job, Mr.. Ewing wrote
Mr.. Inman, started just after the
last war. The engines and other
easily removable scrap were taken
from the ships-then anchored on
the Virginia side.
May Dive for Anchors.
The boats were transferred later
to the Maryland side, but the anchor
chains had to be cut because there
was no power on the boats strong
enough to lift the heavy anchors
from the bed of the Potomac.
That is another phase of the job
and Mr.. Ewing intends to 90 after
those anchors, getting u diver, If
necessary, to locate them.
While the boats were on the Mary
land side, Mr.. Ewing continued, the
Navy burned them within a few
inches of the water line, but the
steel bars which strengthened the
wooden construction remained jut-
ting up from the hulls.
Since then, salvage work has been
sporadic. Loose materials were
taken on the boats, Mr.. Ewing wrote,
with a furry of activity during the
depression. In those operations,
metal parts Of the hull were tossed
into the water during blasting. Mr..
Ewing wants that scrap, too.
The present salvage operator, he
said, was Frank Morgan, Nanjemoy,
Charles County. Mr.. Morgan's
father-in-law. Mr.. Ewing added,
owns the entire shore line of the
cove in which the boats rest.
Equipment Inadequate.
With very inadequate and crude
equipment" Mr.. Ewing said, "Con-
sisting of a steam engine, steel cable
and pulley rigs, Mr.. Morgan drags
the boats half way on shore one at
q time, after having by hand labor
dug the dirt out. His equipment is
not strong enough to drag the whole
hull ashore, each weighing about
500 tons.
When ashore, he burns the front
end, collects the scrap, drags the
rear end ashore, burns that. Each
takes about q week to burn"
II Mr.. Morgan got q Federal loan.
Mr.. Ewing said. he would dredge a
small pond OF the cove and float In
three or four hulls at time. Then
he would pump out the pond and
salvage all in one operation. He
would use a dredge to clean the
hulls and to get the scrap scattered
about the bottom of the cove.
Mr.. Ewing suggested the Govern
ment take ownership and hire Mr..
Morgan on . contract basis or loan
him the money for the equipment.
TT would seem to me-" he wrote,
that with ownership In some
specific hands, this operation can be
done on an economical basis, the
Government get its money back and
make the steel available for war
production"