152 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON MERCHANT MARINE, 



162 ways, were building steel vessels, and 24, with 73 ways, were engaged in wooden con- 

 struction. Today there are 203 shipyards in the United States: 77 steel, 117 wood, 2 com- 

 posite and 7 concrete. Not all of them are yet completed, but 155 are finished, 35 more than 

 half completed and only 13 less than half completed. There are 410 completed ways for 

 steel ships, 400 completed ways for wood, composite and concrete construction, and 63 steel 

 and 54 wood ways not yet completed. More than 385,000 employees are at work in these 

 yards. The weekly payroll of the United States Shipping Board is more than $10,000,000. 

 Two years ago there were fewer than 50,000 shipyard employees in the United States. This 

 expansion is in the construction of vessels. There has been, of course, a corresponding de- 

 velopment of the production of engines, machinery and equipment of vessels. There has been 

 the development of an entirely new industry in shipbuilding, hithertO' unknown in the world. 

 It is the fabrication of steel vessels. The Shipping Board has promoted the erection of 

 several vast yards for this method of ship construction, which alone are capable of producing 

 more tonnage per year than could be turned out by the entire shipbuilding industry of the 

 United States per annum prior to the war. It is inevitable that these organizations will con- 

 stitute an important factor in American ship construction after the war, and in the perma- 

 nent retention of an adequate merchant fleet under the American flag. The existence of a 

 large body of labor trained in ship construction will constitute another important factor. 



It is evident, then, that the restoration of peace will find the United States in posses- 

 sion of a merchant fleet much larger than that under the American flag at the outbreak of 

 the war. That is true even if peace is restored in the very near future. The completion 

 of the Shipping Board program, however, at least so far as the construction of steel vessels 

 is concerned, will no doubt be effected, even though peace is promptly re-established, and if 

 the war should continue another year, there may be even further expansion of this program. 



While referring to the building program, it is most important to point out that the ex- 

 perience of the great maritime nations of the world has taught them that it is necessary to 

 provide a certain proportion of passenger carrying steamers in their fleets. These steamers 

 range from the small cargo passenger liners, carrying a few passengers, to the enormous 

 high speed Atlantic liners. It is most essential, therefore, that our fleet comprise these 

 various tyes of steamers in addition to cargo vessels. 



A well-balanced fleet comprising all types oi vessels, both passenger and freight, is es- 

 sential if we are to compete successfully with the other maritime nations which already 

 have all types of steamers. Nothing will foster in this country a maritime thought and 

 spirit more than American passenger steamers ready to carry citizens to all parts of the 

 world. The ships thus provided should equal or improve upon those of the present time if 

 we are to take our rightful place as leaders in the merchant marine world. 



It may be necessary to extend the program of steel construction in order to assist in 

 making up for the depletion of world tonnage that has occurred during the war. Absolutely 

 accurate reports of the extent of submarine destruction and normal marine losses are not now 

 available. The Shipping Board has figured the total Allied and neutral losses for the period 

 from August, 1914, to September, 1918, at more than 14,000,000 gross tons. It has esti- 

 mated the total Allied and neutral construction during that period at approximately 10,000,000 

 gross tons. These figures indicate the present tonnage at something like 4,000,000 gross 

 tons less than existed at the outbreak of the war. 



But the world will need, at least for a considerable period after the re-establishment of 

 peace, the services of a tonnage even greater than that which existed prior to the war, and 



