THE COLONIST. THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1917. STANDARDISED SHIPS.

Colonist, Volume LVIII, Issue 14409, 10 May 1917, Page 4

THE COLONIST. THURSDAY, MAY 10, 1917. STANDARDISED SHIPS.

Tna most remarkable development in shipbuilding in the history of maritime industry is now being witnessed in England. In the acceleration of construction to a prodigious extent lies the most effective means yet apparent of countering the submarine menace, and! it was to organise construction and make the utmost use of the United Kingdom's shipbuilding capacity that1 the War Cabinet created a new department and placed Sir Joseph Maclay at its', head a.s Shipping Con- I troller. Labour provides the key to the present situation. Tho provision of standardised ships depends entirely upon the attitude of Labour. It has been urged that there is still far too much tim,e wasted in the shipyards, and certainly, as a, London paper said recently, when men are found putting in only forty hours a week (including overtime) there is seen to be some truth in an assertion that present conditions ought to render it impossible truthfully to make. Admiral Jellicoe has recently appealed to the men in the shipyards and engineering shops "to put fortb their best efforts continuously and ungrudgingly to keep up the strength of our mercantile marine," this being the "first essential" to fighting the submarine menace, which is j "far greater than at any time of the war." Were all the workers who are now engaged on shipbuilding to put in good hours the effect would be wonderful. All the ships that we need could then be built, and ;t wouH not be necessary to withdraw any men from the firing line in order to attempt to jtviake good tha hours that are being lost. Standardised ships provide a way for . securing a considerably increased output, even on the present labour basis, or a vastly augmented output were less time wasted, and woro there more dilution of labour. As the scheme has developed the labour difficulties have been greatly reduced, and every shipj-ard in the country is by now working at its full'capacity or very near it. Sir* Joseph' Maclay has already placed a great . many^contracts for tho construction of standardised sLips, wJieh will shortly be assisting to relieve the shortage of tonnage. These vessels will be of about 8000 tons, will fcave engines of 2000 i.h.p.,.and a, speed of ahout 10| knots an hour when working under ordinary conditions and with normal load. Such ships are being built in various yards quicker and cheaper than non-standardised ships. Everything in regard to the {--hip and its equipment, will subsequently..-. be standardised as the hulls and engines are in the contracts so far placed, and draft specifications embracing the most complete detail are now being, ??.oni sidered for general adoption. The Institution of Marine Engineers1 has presented a guidance specification for engines based on the best practice of the day, the object in .yiew being the ultimate standardisation of parts. The effects of the new system of construe-' ! tion will olng outlive the war, and will enable Britain to resume her [position as the world's carrier in &pite of the intensified and organised competitiCii from abroad that is to be expected . Meanwhile it will maintain* a vastly augmented supply of new;, tonnage to replace the losses for which the submarines are responsible, and to overtake in some measure the inroads war necessities are making upon the mercantile shipping of the Empire.