| Show I i Washington Round Merry-Go-Round By Pearson a Drew I WASHINGTON It hasn't had the public fireworks of the Wallace Jones-Wallace row but one of the most intense and disastrous paper battles of the war is now raging stage back-stage between the maritime commission and the navy over Liberty ships The battle has become so hot that it has been referred to Justice Justice Justice Jus Jus- tice Byrnes and Bernie Baruch for arbitration Delays caused by the dispute probably will I cost the nation exactly half a a. million tons of merchant shipping shipping shipping ship ship- ping this year The controversy has become so bitter that the war production board which sides with the navy actually sent out telegrams telegrams telegrams tele tele- grams to manufacturers of ship turbines In instructing them not to allocate any more mat materials for for maritime commission turbines Whereupon peppery Admiral Jerry Land maritime commission commission commission commis commis- sion chairman telegraphed the turbine manufacturers to ignore the W P B order However manufacture of turbines was stopped hence the delay in ship snip construction Seeds of the dispute go back to the fact that slow-moving slow naval admirals are jealous of quick up-and-coming up maritime commission experts plus possible possible I ble Me British worry about U. U S. S shipping competition after the war Chief issue involved is whether er the maritime commission 1 shall build only slow-poke slow Liberty Liberty Liberty Lib Lib- erty ships which are easier ealer targets for submarines or also build speedier C l C-l 1 C 2 C 3 and Victory ships which can operate operate operate op op- op- op erate without convoys Digging back even farther behind behind behind be be- hind the dispute the row is over the question of turbines In brief sighted far-sighted Admiral Howard Howard Howard How How- ard L. L Vickery of the maritime commission two years ago began began began be be- gan building turbines for merchant merchant merchant mer mer- chant ships Now sighted hind navy admirals want those turbines turbines turbines tur tur- bines for fighting ships One thing that gripes naval brass hats is that back in 1933 they passed over Vickery for promotion and he was eased out of the navy Since then Roosevelt Roose velt elt picked him up and put himin himin him himin in the maritime commission I where he has been sailing salling circles around his old friends in the navy ever since Two years ago he that turbines would be one of the big bottlenecks of shipbuilding and pioneered for their construction construction construction tion on a mass production basis Prior to that turbines were tall tall- each patterned to the needs of a a. particular ship so that one plant might be buildIng building build- build Ing a a. turbine of horsepower horsepower horsepower horse horse- power with another of only 1200 horsepower being built alongside it Vickery cut out these varie- varie variegated variegated gated tal tailor made sizes sized set up factories which are now making a a. standardized turbine on a a. amass amass mass production basis So now the navy which failed to plan ahead for Its turbines wants to take them away from Vickery and the maritime commission In order to get them the navy has resorted to all sorts of maneuvering A Ani Among ni o 0 n g other things the admirals have called in the British and Canadians to help decide whether the maritime maritime mari mari- maritime time commission should build fast Victory and C type ships or slow The fast ships require turbines while the slow dont The British have now sided with the navy ruling that the U. U S. S A A. A does not need to tc build fast vessels This of course has caused some people to suspect the British are thinking about postwar shipping rivalry and the fact that speedy knot 17 ships built bunt now would leave the United States in a powerful position position position po po- po- po to compete with Britain's waves the after the war Jerry Jerry Land and Vickery counter that it takes an knot Jl-knot knot l-knot Liberty ship about five months to make the round trip to Australia Australia Australia Aus Aus- and 70 days for the round roundtrip roundtrip roundtrip trip to England allowing for loading and unloading This ties up navy convoys sailor man manpower manpower manpower power and slows down the delivery delivery delivery ery of munitions Originally Liberty ships were the most practical to build because al almost almost almost al- al most no turbines were available Now that turbine cap capacity has be been n however the maritime commission wants want to use the fruits of its toil To this the navy argues that it will soon have enough escort vessels to convoy all Liberty ships safely Also the admirals contend that the submarine menace is largely licked and that it needs all these coveted turbines to build up Its fighting fighting fight fight- ing ships But the maritime commission comes back with the answer that its knot 17 turbine-powered turbine Victory Victory Vic Vic- tory ships dont don't need naval convoys convoys con con- voys go 10 too fast for submarines Also the maritime experts point to the reported heavy shipping losses from submarines in July and cite the report that subs have been disastrously concentrated concentrated concen concen- in a certain area which the navy so far will will not talk not talk about Finally Admirals Land and Vickery tell ell their naval friends that it is all very fine to talk about building up a seven-ocean seven navy by 1949 and 1949 and using maritime maritime mari mari- time commission turbines to do it But they are interested in winning the war lon long before 1949 and they think their turbines turbines tur tur- bines placed In fast merchant ships will materially help toward toward toward to to- ward an early victory These are the ar arguments ments now placed before Assistant President dent Jimmy Byrnes and Bernie Baruch in one of the e toughest tou and most vital arguments argument of the war |
