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Show Chairman of the Shipping Ship-ping Board Assumes Entire Responsibility for the Failure or Success Suc-cess of the Government's Govern-ment's Merchant Marine Ma-rine Programme. GIVES COMMITTEE DETAILS OF WORK Only One Vessel So Far Completed, but Situation Situa-tion Is Said to Be Well in Hand and the Builder Build-er Has No Fear of the Outcome. By International News Service. WASHINGTON", Dec. 21. America's shipbuilding programme is a oue-man and, to date, a one-ship affair. The senate shipbuilding investigation today surprised the probers with the first disclosure and startled them with the second. Edward N. Hurley, chairman chair-man of the shipping board, was the central factor in each revelation.. After testifying that he personally approved and accepted all ship contracts as president presi-dent of the emergency fleet corporation, Mr. Hurley was questioned by Senator Sena-tor Harding: ''All the finances for this big programme pro-gramme rest in your hands?" "Yes, sii". "Not in the hands of tho shipping board t" "No, sir." "Then, if the whole thing fails, it will be your iatutj : "Absolutely," said Hurley firmly. One Ship to Date. ! Senator Nelson brought out the fact that the programme is a one-ship affair to date. "How many ships have been wholly completed since the emergency fleet corporation cor-poration took charge?" he asked. " One, " replied Hurley. ' "Only one" "One and it will be in operation the i day after Christmas." i l"here are under contract and under ! construction, however, 1127 ships of a I total tonnage of 8,573,108 tons. Chair-I Chair-I man Hurley was permitted to read a j detailed statement of the work the i sniping board and the emergency fleet I corporation have done. After emphasizing emphasiz-ing the fact that they had to wait until un-til seventy-four new shipyards could be built, Hurley was questioned by Senator Sena-tor Harding on the difficulties that stand in the way of the great programme pro-gramme that is counted on to win the war for the allies. Seven Major Problems. He named no leas than seven major problems, all of which have hindered progress and all of which may be more or less troublesome until the ships arc all off the ways. These problems, as enumerated .bv Hurley, follow: ' Labor supply, troublesome because of lack of skilled men and because of labor unrest. Shortage of materials, such as steel, on which deliveries are very slow, supi-'Mes ordered three months a?o only now available. avail-able. Transports lion difficulties. 1 Inability to find bic enough timber of the riprht kind lor wooden ships. HoK.inp" troubles, shipbuilders not be-iri be-iri able to find lode in St; for the skilled ! labor imported to their communities. I Disagreements with shipbuilders over their profits. General friction with shipbuilders that has had a tendency to delay operations. No Legislation Needed. Chairman Hurley indicated that no new legislation is absolutely necessary, bat tn.it he may require some assistance in i providing homes fur workers at the snip-yards. snip-yards. He and his organizations will be able to handle all the other troubles, he said. "The pro? cam me is well under way. now, is it noi ?" a ked Sena tur Johnson Of California. 'Svp. sir. I would nut add anything lo it nov:. We huve. it well m hand, and it is a polnp i-omern." "Are thinss corns alor-K rapidly?" "Not as iV'Pt as we blwuld like, but aF fast as co'.;M be Nrei.'fed." Hurley's Statement. Chairman T-fu "ley's stai-)r.f-nT. w'.ich had brn prepart-d at The leijUfSi of Senator Sen-ator ir;et-.'iier. i-hairman of the sr.--tte rommere committee, ave the first comprehensive com-prehensive review of the shipound j n? situation. sit-uation. AnioMe other points, he brougv.t out the foo" ing: When Admiral C'apps and I joined the emergen ry fle-i-t corporation on Jnly '7. (Continued on Page Three.) HURLEY TO SHOULDER THE BlAjViE Dfl PBMSE (Continued from Page One.) tliere were under contract SiO.000 tons of wooden ships, 207.U00 tons of composite ships and 587.000 tons of steel ships, anil 504,000 tons of wooden ships have heen placed. In addition, the fleet corporation has rendered financial aid. too, and Is directing the work of extension and development devel-opment in forty-two yards. "This programme was superimposed on a navy programme which was the equivalent equiv-alent in dollars, and therefore in shipbuilding1 ship-building1 effort, of the construction of two and a half million tons of merchant shipping. The navy programme and private pri-vate contracts absorbed practically 70 per cent of the eighteen prominent yards in existence at the entrance of America in the war with Germany. The greatest annual output of American yards prior to that time was about 615, 000 tons. Vessels Requisitioned. "The contracts of the emergency fleet corporation have requisitioned vessels which are building in twenty-two shipyards, ship-yards, so that the corporation at present is controlling work in 132 yards, of which 5S are old and 74 are new. "The first contract was let April 27. Contracts have been let as follows: Month. Contracts. Vessels. Tonnage April 12 12 42,000 May n 7(i Sr,4.200 June 20 -137 fi-12,000 July 24 13S S91.800 August 25 110 424. .100 September 12 185 1,142,500 Octotber 6 114 92!), 200 November 4fi 192 1.0M.400 December 4 C5 32G.800 ! Totals 147 30!) 6,017.000 Progress Being Made. "The work thus far has been in many cases preparatory and has carried with it the usual amount of annoyances and disappointments. This period of preparation prepara-tion is getting rapidly behind us and the period of actual hip construction in full accordance with our plans is immediately oeiore us. as an muicanon oi me progress prog-ress which is being made in expanding sbip-buiklimr capacity of the country, permit me to say that the tabulated report?? re-port?? received from the various shipbuilding ship-building companies for the nine weeks beginning with October c show that out of 109 plants reporting the total mini- j ber of employees for the week of October Octo-ber 13 was I02.7ti9, for the week ending December S, 1 49.270. an increase of -b.2 j per cent during the nine weeks. "According to the figures of t he fleet corporation 14117 ships of S.ri7:.10S deadweight dead-weight tons are tinder construction and under contract. Of t hese 4;;i ships of :?.056.'00 inns were already under construction con-struction or tinder order by private or foreign owners when th commandecr- insr order went into effect on August :!. The new tonnage of steel ships oidered is represented by r.59 ships of :i.9ri3,20ij defld-weight defld-weight tons. The wooden ships for which contracts have been piaced represent bottoms bot-toms of l.:!4 4.fO'"i dead-weieht tons and there arc in audition f if ty-er-'iit composite ships of 207,000 dead-weight tons. Sure to Increase. "The output nf the various yards will increase progressively as experincp irrows and man pow-r is increased. It idle, in malting predictions of the coming com-ing yeaCs ship pmuuetion, to lose sight of t tic greatly ainrmenled production which the newly created facilities and growing experinc1 will bring about. "As a record of accomplishment, let me add that sine the reouisiuoning ordrr went into effect June Z. foriv-nine vessel? of a total of 3 ' i . ! .", ri cm d -w e i g ! i t ions have hren completed and put into ser- j vice." Chdirman Tlur'ey deri-ribed the- pow j fabricated steel ship plan. It consisted. he said, of riv-'ting moM plate; at the J e " 1 si'.o' s and fr und i ios and s-nd ir.g ! them alo::i: to the shipyards tn tie rivcf- I to tiie trull. This s-ystpm enaiiV-s the , builders to tin n the vssc:s fi-r,ui ;. j ways at a grc-iter speed hf.n;se the i riveting can bo done faster m t the futiu- drit s tlian in the yards, he said, i Privat.' handling of the great govern - iii-n; contracts would never have- d.,nr. 1 the work, liur.'cy said, and v.nuM, more-j more-j over, :ve '-lu-t iviij' ii ir."rc. i lie estallish1td that the K'S gliipa aj- ready mentioned would cost an average of SltiO per ton. Senator Fletcher asked whether he did not think private yards could turn out ships cheaper than that. "If it were not for the emergency fleet corporation," Hurley answered, "every shipbuilder in the country could sell his ships tomorrow at from $300 to $600 a ton." John A. Donald of Hurley's staff gave some information on organization difficulties diffi-culties between Chairman Denman and General Goethals. Tomorrow Admiral Bowles, the construction con-struction expert, and Charles A. Piez, the Chicago manufacturer, recently made vice president and general manager of the fleet corporation, will be questioned. |