Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-02-09
Maritime Commission
To Build 2,239 Ships
This Year, Land Says
Goal of Five q Duy
Due in May, Admiral
Tells House Group
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Enlarged from a 100000 900 or
ganization in 1888 to $4,000, OO0,-
600 setup in 1913, the Maritime
Commission expects to reach a pro-
duction rate of five ships daily this
May as it moves toward a goal of
5,003 merchant vessels to supply
United Nations needs.
That was the program outlined
by Rear Admiral Emory S. Land,
head of the commission, in testi-
mony made public today by the
House Appropriations Committee.
1--WE are shooting at 1880, 900
tons of shipping in l943, he told
the committee, and for 1914 I'VE
assume that if we go on we will
be after 10000 900 or more"
1871 Ships Next Year.
The daily production rate in De-
cember, Admiral Land said, was four
vessels, with prospects for five day
in May and five and one-haH next
year If steel is available. Estimated
deliveries were 1913 vessels in 1912,
with 2,239 this year and 1871 in
1914.
Most of the vessels built and pro-
jected are tankers, standard cargo
ships and Liberty ships" the lat
ter an easy-to-build vessel which
the commission hopes to improve
during the year. Relatively few are
in the small craft" classification.
There is no limit to the need for
ships in a total, global war" Ad-
miral Land testified, adding that all
contracts contained provision
whereby construction may be
halted when the time comes"
The commissions contract au-
thority, already granted or request
ed, calls for a total outlay of SILL
600 900 900, including funds for
barges and tugs.
Not Enough Brains.
Not only is the commission en-
gagged in the shipbuilding business,
Admiral Land told the committee,
but we are in the Transportation
business; we are in the housing
business; We are in the ferrying
business, we are in the truck bust
ness; we are in the bus business,
and we are in the real estate BUSH
ness. And God knows there are
| not enough brains down there to
I q ~ ri, oT L.
kind"
That there have been faults, mis-
| takes, errors of omission and COM
mission is admitted" continued Ad-
miral Land, better known on Capt.
tol Hill as Jerry and Il would be
stupid ass to come up here and
/ tell you that we are running this
with any degree Of perfection. We
/ are not. We are just doing the
very best we can with the tools we
! have"
The Tampa Shipbuilding pro-
gram, which the controller general
has called irregular" reduced the
price structure on ships throughout
the Nation in 1910 and saved the
! WV ~ A'iAiNill liiiAiioilS Va IOlldiS, al :.
miral Land testified.
That deal" he said saved the
Government millions of dollars. and
do not mean maybe; because we
broke up a price on the CO cargo
ships amongst the old-line ship
! builders, in which we rejected all
Of the bids and readvertised and
awarded the contract to Tampa at
price that was lar below their bids
And the record will show that
these other companies were wrong
IN their estimates and we were right
IN our estimates, because our re-
turns from those companies indi-
Gated they made beyond the 10 pei
cent profit, which we felt at the
time they would"
The General Accounting Office is
continuing its Investigations, the
subcommittee was told by S. B
1ulloSs, chief G. A. O. investigator
IN connection with the acquisition
character and insurance of vessel.
by the Maritime Commission anc
War Shipping Administration.