Imperial Valley press., 1942-05-29
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison

Well build and sail EN- Wei
never fail EN-!
The victory Fleet will be COM
plete we know.
On every ocean, we'll be in mo-
ton.
The Victory Fleet will soon de-
feat the foe.
Well have a bridge of ships be-
yond compare.
Well soon be able to walk from
here to over there.
The world is cheering! The skies
are clearing
With the Victory Fleet--Let's go
This is the chorus of the new
Song of the Victory Fleet" words
and music by Leonard Whitcup,
which rang out on National
Maritime Day, May %, and from
then on in, to speed the big ship
building program-one of the most
impressive of the inspiring phases
of this whole gigantic war pro-
duction effort.
The song is one OF those
rolIsing sea chanteys that even
a landIubber building lifebOats
in Kokomo can timber up his
larynx on and get belt out
of believing or barbershopping
And when you accOmpl my the
tune with full Orchestration
and effects of riveting ham
mers, clanking anchor chains
and the blowing of full-iunged
baritone and bass steamship
whistles-matey, it does some
thing to your morale.
Morale building is the big idea
behind observance of Maritime Day
this year and this whole shipping
program is something to give your
spine a tingle. 1t isn't just some
thing to celebrate on saltwater
either. with maybe the Great Lakes
thrown in for good measure. there
were big celebrations IN the oO
shipvards where, on some 300 ways
ocean-going ships are under con-
struction Thirty-two ships Snd
down the ways on Ma % in what
was the biggest launching on rec
ord. And the three-quarters OF a
million shipyeards workers have
something else to cheer about, for
this day marked the achievement OF
the Maritime Commissions second
goal-the scheduled commissioning
of two ships a day.
pEaDy To RIDE
Not lust the launching of two
ships a day, mind you, but the ac-
tual putting into service OF two
ships all ready to carry cargo 10
Russia, the Red Sea, Australia OF
wherever.
But all the rejoicing on National
Maritime Day wasn't observed at
sea-leveI Back inland, at more than
500 factories in some 80 states,
ships are being built. Not COM
pleted ships, of course, but COM
pleted sub-assemblies. For, thanks
to American assembly line produc-
ton genius, the building OF ocean
vessels now begins WIN
the making of lifeboats, complete
with oars and ready to swing from
the davits, at Kokomo, Ind; the
making of steel plate assemblies at
Denver, the making of sWltchooaro
installations at Plain field, Conn.,
the making of turbines at Sche-
nectady, NY, and so on.
A full million men are building
narts of ships at these nland
nlants-parts so complete they can
be timed to arrive just when they
are needed, hoisted into the nuns
of the shipyard ways, riveted or
welded into place and be ready To
function.
BANG GOES A BOTTLE
These million workers are JUST
rs much entitled TO break bottle
of champagne over boiler or a
reciprocating engine, give cheei
and sing the song OF the Victory
Fleet as their fellow Workmen al
tideWater.
Perfection of this technique
for shin building has done won
ders. Originally, it was iigur-
ed that six mOnths-l80 days
would he required to build Ii
berty Ship from keel laying To
commissioning. But the TINE
WAS soon cut to los days, and
as A record of 83 days has been
set, marine engineers now fig
ure that the average time VIII
soon be 80 days. That's build
ing ships, Mister, in anybodys
language.
By the end of 1943 it will bt
400 new ships completed. Hall o.
them. 1900, will be the lO,OOO-tof
Liberty Ships that started out u
be called ugly ducklings Five nun
dred will be the modern C-typt
vessel that will form the nucleus
of Americans post war merchan
marine. Three hundred VIII p'
tankers Seven hundred will b'
smaller ocean tugs and bargeS.
Small wonder then they sing tn
interlude to this new Song OF tn
Victory Fleet. -.
In the fact'ries hear the ham
mers night and day.
In the shipyards everyone is oi
his way.
On the ocean every seaman join
the fray.
We heard the bugles blow w
We're ready, one and all.
| MARITIME SPEEDUP
From 1922 to 1887 there were bu
two oceangoing cargo vessels, othe
than tankers, built in America
shipyards. U. S Maritime Commls
sion was brought into being by tn
Merchant Marine Act Of 1886 The
came the program to build
ships a year for 10 years to reha
bilitate Americas merchant ma