Show NEW DEVICE Will SPEED 8 BUILDING I OF f SHIPS I I U. U S. S Must Construct at Greater Rate to Overcome Overcome Over Over- come com Boat U-Boat Destructions Destructions Declares Expert By fly International News Service ASHINGTON March falch 15 W V Unless some means is found foun to sink the tile German submarines submarines submarines sub sub- marines at a greater rate America America Amer Arner- ica and her allies will be no better better better bet bet- ter oft off for shipping at the end of oC this year than they are now The combined shipbuilding program of the United States and the entente nations It was estimated tonight by an official of the United States shipping board will not notI I exceed tons and the present rate of ship destruction by the boats U-boats will equal that It was said unless a better offensive against them thorn Is de de- de- de eloped Although Americas America's contribution in shipping based on contracts to date with little expansion contemplated i this year amounts to tons at an aggregated cost of about a billion bil lion and a half dollars that program extends Into the autumn of 1919 The Time most optimistic predictions by board hoard officials does not call for more than tons actually to be put In service this year car and approximately a third of oC these vessels are NEW HEW EXPERIMENTS There is ii however howo er an optimistic prospect in experiments now being mado made with a comparatively new method meth moth od of construction that of or welding the ships ship's plates in position Instead of riveting them on This method It was said tonight by a member of the emergency emer enter gency genc fleet leet corporation would turn turnout turnout turnout i out ships perhaps ten times faster than the riveting process The fleet leat is con conducting I experiments In in plate welding illg at nt the Federal Shipbuilding company's yards at Newark putting together an entire section there The officials I are prepared they say sar to spend 40 to to test the time efficiency of this process for the vitalI vitally needed I bottoms The welding idea with the several I variations had been tried here before for repair work and Is said to be bo used b by the time Germans for tor submarine build build- ing jag The process being tried by tho time fleet corporation however is said to tobe tobe tobe be be a speedier and simpler invention designed by bp A. A J. J Mason a marine engineer engineer en en- of Chicago who is serving with tho the fleet SEIZURE THREATENED In the time close race between German destruction and American production laggard yards are to have short shrift Government seizure of ot four yards described described described de de- de- de scribed as sick is being considered seriously by the tile shipping board These yards ards are somewhere between Baltimore Balti DalU more and Newark but not In either of ot those cities The Time yards alread already with contracts must produce according to schedule at l least ast or Ule they will lose their contracts as some have alread already done clone and be betaken betaken betaken taken over to federal management The boards board's general policy was reo iterated iterate this evening c. that present yards must deliver deli ships or be made to deliver them and that new yards ards with new overhead costs and new chances for Inefficient management would not be developed More 1 ways Instead will be added to other yards as needed |