WASTED MILLIONS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14646, 2 July 1918, Page 5

WASTED MILLIONS.

PROPOSAi;. FABRICATaaI^. $BfrPS< . ; • 'Australian. ADd NZ. pable^Associatloni , (RepeivedJuly.2jß.6oa.ro.) £6N!DO&f, -Juty;: 1, - Tlie JSelect jCam^i.ttee \of .Public Expenditure reveals -useless '• expenditure: of j nearly four pillion poundis sterling upon I. public shipyards.. The Admiralty \.em[;bai < l^^^n i ta.«cs^e/wj^u£v,^y:e^ip]at.e pf oosf, and' finally- dec*dedVtb establish 'thirty-four' berths, .averaging £120,000 a!piece, exclusive f of th# oost;.of the land. Only a i^^heviSisf^^e'fs ySCJbeen comS'pleted, though four mffiibns" "has been 'spent, .jit is nov^ founcl,: impossiblp ,i<> i. iempl^y: la%>roy Jiri^se#s' >foj^ijfcs construction, of ships, as contemplated, and as civilian labor -is,, px^actically un-. 'obtainab;le,y.it'rWas':'d'scra^d'yuot to build, the ships' an njational yards; but to develop the construction of ships in private yards.' ■•■ •: -. ."> ■ ... . . /■ ■

LONDON, May v 20: . One. of the most interesting- but least lmowri . aeyeT&pmentsV.pf ; ;the, shipbuilding effort is that of. strips; 'A ship <ig^ & r ves6ti}.Q\s~'t6&£4 poncnt parts -of in Qtlier than shipbuil<Un£ Ij&r^i '.Tn£sß. component parts arfe -■ VtraßSpo*tei4 v toshipbuilding yards, assembled ' there!- - and put^together ■ :as . complete ships, . . WhSfi the State -undertook the . re-organisatUm of the United kingdom's mercantile shipbuilding industry tho; .principle* :ttpt standardisation was naturally adoptedbecause "iw maiss production 1 of a specific object the highest possible- speed of ouV put is obtainable. A series of statidara ships were designed and contracts to build -them iwere;, giYejt out fc> the^pßir vate yards of the country. rAS supplies of steel" and labor, increased and promised a margin over and above the requirements . of «ti(ie' existing); ,contrq^ed shipyards? the- idea was carried :a st&ge further. The fabrication pf snips was decided on and the necessary •provision made. Tho aim was still f urther to increase the speed of production. As riiatters stood all the shipbuilding yards, engine factories arid boiler Shops w.ere largely occupied ,;u standard \ isliip work. There were, however, many other industrial /•establishthents. ..dping, work, .closely resembiilpg': shfp^iiildunj^f aid. marine engineer^ftigf "Among* >themv w«re bridge; .buildinff ; y^rds '.an.d = land , engine factories. * Ttie^maiorityriif' them 1 Were remote from launching- water, but..tftM& resources were so great that it was^ffeltj they ought . to /be used. ''Fabrioaittipji" solved the problem, and a. snip:. w^k: designed the material of whiclV^eouMi >ibe satisfactorily fabricated , in , the <■ bridge; yards. It ; is a -bigger vessel- -^han ; viios^ of the standard ships, and •there ■i§;;not a curved framo in it. size and weight of unit of c6nstruction are limited; so that transport > is- -easy and .powerful < gear, for placing *'it' 'in- position -Itf-'airirieccs-'---sary. To .avpicj^.thc. s^mo difficulties, as l^egards machinery,- geared (urbines have been adopted instead of reciprocating engines. Every part of the complete ship can, in fact, be* fabricated im-inland establishlments selectefcL "near • the?- steej. mills. With all' the slips .in private yards filled, it t was ..necessary, to look elsewhere for sites- for. assembling : yards. The national shipyards on the Bristol Channel were laid out for the purpose and priyate.tindertaklngs pf the same character exist or -are projected- with' the of the Admiralty elsewhere. '."«.. "ifie.;. objection has-been that Sate-owned establishments ought not Ho have been set up until it was definitely known that .the contract tindus,try could not provide the . required additional facilities. But it should not be overlooked that in carrying out its plans the State has a call on labor which is not available to contractors. The bulk of it is unskilled. Labor is, howevtjr. being trained h\~ the uso of pneumatic riveters and caulking tool?; and will be sufficiently cfcnert to, Put the, , assembled fabricated ships' together.- Tho ' 'fabrication of the material of ships arid'engineshas' now been organised over a considerable az-ea, local committees being responsible ty. certaili. districts for . definite deliveries of ':■& 'ship, or at riuinijcr of ships, in gpeftiiifed' periods. Moreover, fabricated ships aro taking shape in several assembling yards. Before long vessels of the type should represent a very considerable .addition,, to t-h^ tonnage putput. Their production will have involved, no interference either, with the contract'lndustry or its' supplies of labor and material. „ , ; . _ . : .< : . <