SHIPYARDS OF
ATLANTIC ARE
ENTHUSIASTIC
NK\Y YORK, Oc t. 11 Miles of ship
ways. their timbers towering above*
marsh girted bays and rivers; hun
dreds of hulls, their naked or half-dad
ribs yawning skyward; acres of giant
cranes and derricks, machine shops,
and sawmills this, in composite, is
a picture of war-driven shipbuilding
on the North Atlantic coast, where
more than 150,000 men are striving to
help make good the nation’s promise*
of a “bridge of ships" from the* home
land to its soldiers overseas.
The*se men. equivalent almost to
four divisions of the troops whose
needs they are serving, have complet
ed 05 vessels, capable of carrying
325.000 tons of cargo on a single trip.
They have* launched 70 others. And
all this in a year when preparation
rather than production necessarily has
been the task of the* ne*wly created
eastern yards.
“Make Schwab forget the* Pacific"
was the placarded message* which
greeted tin- Kmergency Fleet corpor
ation's director-general when he visit
etl n Connecticut shipyard. The en
Ihusiasm which dictated the slogan
is exhibited by a great majority of
the managers and workers in the
plants which dot the coast from
Maine to Virginia and inland waters
as far west as Lake Erie. Outdis
tanced in production early in the war
by the already organized shipbuilding
industry of the Pacific, the Atlantic
yards now are getting their stride,
and standardization of their output
a type to a plant -will speed the work.
They have performed a miracle in as
sembling materials, erecting plants
and housings, training shipbuilders,
and building ships.
In this accomplishment, which in
peace times would have occupied five
years rather than twelve months,
there has been a praphie Illustration
of the first half of the war depart
ment’s "work or fight" policy. Not by
compulsion for the shipbuilders are
volunteers men have flocked by the
thousands to the Atlantic shipyards
and have labored through days of ten |
hours. There is nothing figurative in
the sweat of the riveter's brow. Ami I
the riveter, backbone of the industry, |
is typical of his fellows. Wages are
high, from the laborer's $1,111 to the
rivet driver's $20 or $20 a day. but
emergency has compelled their pay
ment.
Production, encouraging as it is. has
not kept pace with the Emergency
Fleet corporation's program. There
are many contributing causes—scar
city of materials, transportation de
lays, inadequate labor supply and ab
senteeism of workmen. Some of the
shipworkers cannot stand the prosper
ity which suddenly has become their
lot. The result Is live days' work
where (here might be six, and a con
sequent slowing up of production.
Near the larger cities absenteeism
averages lf> to 20 per cent, tapering
down to 5 anti 10 per cent in the more
isolated communities. Managers, at
first attributing the trouble to Sun
day work, when employes drew double
pay and, in many cases "laid off" a
week day for recreation, generally
have discontinued seven-day operation
except in emergencies. But every
day’s muster still has its list of ab
sentees. obviously a serious blow to
eflicioney.
But "slackerlsm" is an offense of
the minority. The real spirit of the
shipyards is typical of America at
war. Propaganda plays its part, a tell
ing one, and by means of competi
tion in const ruction, honor rolls of
high production and noonday meetings
designed to emphasize the import
ance of the shipworkers' share in tin
national effort, enthusiasm is main
tained at a high pitch and Is reflect
ed in output.
Kvery plant has its school, where
the bridgebuilders and structural iron
workers learn to erect steel ships and
where house carpenters are taught
tin- principles of wooden hull construc
tion In both branches of the indus
try. as well, many laborers have1
passed tests which have rated them
as skilled workmen. In the yards
of the Submarine Boat corporation at
Neward the "school gangs" have con
structed and launched three 5,f>(H)-ton
steel freighters, an inspiring example
of the American way of doing things
when they have to be done.
The shipyards army, like the khaki
clad force whose going to foreign soil
called it into being, is an organiza
tion of youth. At Newark an 83-year
tdd Civil war veteran directed work
on an outfitting pier, but this case is
an exception. Less of an oddity is a
negro boy of 16 who is operating a
"gun," us yard phraeology terms the
compressed air riveting machine. Men
in the twenties and thirties, with few
er in the forties and fifties, are build
ing tin* American merchant marine.
Shipyard mechanical appliances, like
the men who operate them, largely
are a product of war time demands.
Railroads, cranes and derricks which
travel In yards and on piers have sup
planted the cruder and slower means
of carriage of former years, and a
wide use of fabricated steel parts—
wholly prepared for erection at the
mills where they are rolled has put
speed into shipbuilding
The bull riveter, an appliance which
drives 7.000 rivets a day to 1,000 by
the hand process, has made Its ap
pearance in some of the yards and
is employed to erect entire sections of
hulls, which are swung into place by
derricks. While wooden ship con
struction must remain in a great de
gree a task for the human hand, its
production has been hastened by re
sort to many new mechanical aux
iliaries.
And what of the product of this
war impelled haste? The ships speak
for themselves. Some of them lack
the finish which was the oldtime ship
builder’s pride. Equipment and fit
tings are held down to a minimum in
keeping with serviceability. But the
demand is for cargo space, and de
signs are drawn to meet it. Wooden
vessels, mostly of 3.500 deadweight
tons and averaging $600.ooo in cost,
are equipped with coal burning en
gines. Steel ships, which range from
3.500 to 13.000 tons and cost $750,000
to $3,500,000. are being adapted in
many cases to fuel oil. On every
craft is a gun platform, on the larger
ships two. grim reminders of that in
ternational lawlessness which chal
lenged American courage and resource
fulness to a performance which has
amazed the world.
The months of getting ready arc*
past in the North Atlantic shipyards.
The ordeal of selecting from thou
sands of applicants men who could
build ships, or learn to build them,
is over. The destructive labor turn
over of the industry's first phase has
been almost wholly eliminated. Erec
tion of barracks and homes at some
of the isolated centers has helped to
stabilize the labor problem. Though
supply has not yet fully met demand
for men and materials, the day of an
even balance is drawing nearer. From
now on completed ships will he reel
oii mI not in thousands but in millions
oi tons a year. A cargo bridge to
France promises to he a reality.
♦
Red Cross Takes
Over Paris Park
PARIS. Oct. 11 Buffalo Bark. !«.- j
rated just outside the gates of the
city, in the direction of Nenill.v, and
deriving its name from the character
of the outdoor entertainments given
there for years, has been taken over
by the American Red Cross as a park
for its lorries and ambulances.
It was in Buffalo Park that Buffalo
Bill's “Wild West show’’ performed,
to the huge delight of juvenile Paris.
Order jour raincoat rnudo to order
In any Rtyle you wish. $12.50 to $40,
at Tom Hubbert’s. 20-3
—+
The job printing department of the
Times is equipped with the latest and
best type faces for artistic work.
♦
Fresh Kver-Keady flashlight batter
ies Blum-O’Neill Co. tf
1,1 JL . " 1
POLITICAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
* .—■ 1 "**>
FOR j
REPRESENTATIVE
HENRY A. SLATER
(liepublican Nominee)
OF CORDOVA
election November 5th.
Cordova has never been represented in the Terri
torial Legislature and von now have an opportunity of
voting for a home candidate.
FOR
ROAD COMMISSIONER
JAMES L. GALEN
(Republican Nominee)
OF CORDOVA
on
on
—j—ii^i—^fc^^aiaBABiisrn^ir.Ta.Br~i . ,, ,,■■„• - i n—i
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IN NEW LOCATION
Keist Furniture
Company
has moved into the building next
to Alaska Steamship Co-'* office.
NEW AND SECOND HAND
FURNITURE.
Pay Highest Price for
Used Furniture.
v! X;
$: i &
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•x *x
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8 |
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IRONING WASHING 8
In these three words Is embodied 8
all the drudgery of housekeeping— Make Housekeeping a ;j:j
But if you WASH, IRON and Pleasure 8
i:|: SWEEP the . . __ 8
§j Pay U* a Visit
THOR WAY
THOR |
all of these tasks will become
a joy. - show you how to do it. 8
8 AND 8
SWEEPING g
| ALASKA PUBLIC UTILITIES |
(FORMERLY CORDOVA POWER CO.) 8
1$ TELEPHONE 13
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Aunty 1
Keating’s
:
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WHEN YOU ARE IN
McCarthy
Stop at the
Ketterer
House
The Very Finest Rooms and
Bath in McCarthy, Alaska.
.. I
Osborne Bros.
Jewelers and
Opticians
WATCH REPAIRING and
! JEWELRY MADE TO ORDER j
I '
( CORDOVA ALASKA
SILK HULL UMBRELLA
Attachable Handle, Gold and Silver-Mounted
New Assortment of j:-:
DIAMONDS
In All Sizes
PORTABLE LAMPS
Community and Rogers 1847 Tableware
PAUL BLOEDHORN I
: PHONE 43 JEWELER ANDjWATCH MAKER :
Loggers Attention!
We Pay $13.00 for Spruoe
GOVERNMENT SCALE
EFFECTIVE JULY 15
The following prices for Rough and Dressed Lumber
Are in Force:
Rough Lumber.$36.00
Sized Lumber . 38.00
We Handle Brick and Lime
Cordova Mill & Lumber Co.
I--11
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| ffi IP :■ j. . SSI! 5 J
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New Stock of
jX !;<•
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i $
ft.;
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| U HES’ AN)
j GENTLEMDTS
I RAINCOATS
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1 WILLCLAYSON j
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