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February, 1918 and such men made progress with the officials of the Emergency Fleet corpo- ration. Agents of the government made quiet investigations and contracts were awarded with scrupulous care. In fact, the government acted with too much caution in some respects, at a time when ships and not money were the prime necessity. Men who showed they could build ships and were responsible, were kept cooling their heels for two months of the best time of the year to build ways and lay railroads, while Ad- miral Capps, former general manager of the Fleet corporation, was trying to whittle down expenses. So what chance THE MARINE REVIEW date of contract. A representative of the new company went to New York to buy machinery. There he found that he would not be able to obtain all the equipment necessary until after the time his company had promised to deliver the first boat. Much upset, he went to Washington for aid, and a leading ma- chinery builder, already booked to ca- pacity with emergency wat work, was ordered by the government to set aside some of these orders and rush out tools for the projected shipyard. This was late in May, when our war preparations along other lines were beginning to strain the facilities of machinery build- 45 finished parts. This program played a prominent part in ringing the knell of the shipbuilding speculators, for it gave assurance of a maximum tonnage with a minimum number of: yards, whereas the speculators had expected a shipyard to spring up on almost every available piece of waterfront. Many New Yards Get Orders Data recently presented by Chairman Edward N. Hurley of the shipping board, in the senate investigation of the shipbuilding program, shows how many new yards were selected for contracts by the Emergency Fleet corporation out LAYING THE FIRST KEEL AT GOVERNMENT SHIPYARD O had those who were not able to prove that they had the goods? Numbers left Washington, sadder but wiser, and 'since have exercised their talents in more promising fields than the shipbuilding industry. A few mistakes were made, for it was no easy task for the Fleet corporation to separate the wheat from the chaff and some companies will not be able to keep even approximately the promises as to deliveries they have made in .their contracts. Difficulties in Getting Tools A contract was placed with a Pacific coast company, calling for a certain number of steel ships. The company possessed only a stretch of beach and a dream--and some responsible men in its management. But it promised to be- gin deliveries within 10 months after ers. Later a system of priorities was established by the government relative to machine tool deliveries and it is no longer possible for a cargo shipbuilder to obtain preference of deliveries of machine tools over some other branches of war preparation. A number of cases like this were, of course, inevitable, for it was necessary to create many new yards and to expand existing facilities. The adoption of the standardized steel ship program, first indorsed by Major General Goethals when he was manager of the Fleet cor- poration, effected sweeping economy in the use of machinery. Existing facili- ties of bridge and structural shops be- ing utilized in this program, the con- struction of the three gigantic govern- ment yards has demanded principally equipment needed for assembling the Copyright International Film Service. N NEWARK BAY of the hundreds which were born in the excitement of early war time. Mr. Hurley stated that contracts have been let to 110 shipyards, of which 58 ex- isted on Jan. 1, 1917. In addition the Fleet corporation requisitioned vessels building in 22 yards, so that at present it is controlling work in 132 yards, of which 58 are old and 74 are new. Of the 58 yards 18 were considered of prominence when this country entered the war. Seventy-four companies were the pick of the hundreds of proposals that came before the Fleet corporation. The creation of the new yards and the expansion of the old ones, together with necessary increases in the capaci- ties of manufacturers of ship equip- ment, from marine engines to anchors, have entailed, of course, the expendi- ture of hundreds of millions of dollars.