Shortly after the armistice it was announced that the Hog Island plant would be acquired by the United States Government. The real estate, valued at $1,760,000, was owned by the American International Ship Building Company, and the government had invested about $60,000,000 in equipping the plant. At the time the war ended thirty-five thousand persons were at work and a hundred and eighty ships were in various stages of completion.
An interesting feature in connection with the endeavor to "speed up" was the competition in riveting. Early in the year in yard after yard expert riveters were reported as making extraordinary records, and prizes were offered to the winners of such records. Later, however, such contests were discouraged by Chairman Hurley and by others. The best record was made by John Omir, who drove twelve thousand two hundred and nine rivets in nine hours at the Belfast Yards of Workman and Clark. In the accomplishment of this feat on two occasions he passed the mark of one thousand four hundred rivets an hour. In his best minute he drove twenty-six rivets.
The ships constructed by the Shipping Board were of steel, of wood and of concrete, and at times considerable difference of opinion existed with regard to which form of ship should receive the most attention. The policy of the government seemed finally to favor the steel as it was claimed that the wooden type was not only more expensive, but that it was less efficient. However until the very end wooden ships in great numbers were being built.
On May 31st the steamship Agawam, described as the first fabricated ship in the world, was launched in the yards of the Submarine Boat Corporation at Newark. This was essentially a standardized steel cargo ship. "Fabricated" is the technical term applied to ships built from numbered shapes made from patterns.
President Carse, of the Submarine Boat Corporation, said that the Agawam was the first of a hundred and fifty vessels of that type which would be constructed in the yard. The parts were made, he said, in bridge and tank shops throughout the country and were assembled at the yard. "Ninety-five per cent of the work in forming the parts entering into the hull of this vessel, and punching rivet holes, is done at shops widely separated, from drawings furnished by this company, and these drawings have been of such exactitude, and the work has been so carefully performed by the different bridge shops that when they are brought together at this yard they fit perfectly and the ship as you see is absolutely fair. The construction of the hull of this vessel requires the driving of over four hundred thousand rivets, and by our method more then one quarter of these rivets are driven at the distant shops, the different parts being brought to the yard in sections as large as can be transported on the railroad. Each part is numbered and lettered and as they are shaped perfectly all that is necessary is to place them in position, bolt them, and finally fasten them with rivets."
Officials of the company said that they expected to launch in the course of time two such vessels in each week. A standard ship of this type has a dead-weight carrying capacity of five thousand five hundred tons. It is three hundred and forty-three feet long and forty-six feet wide and is expected to show an average speed of ten and a half knots. Fuel oil is used to generate steam, to drive a turbine operating three thousand, six hundred revolutions a minute. The oil is carried in compartments of the double bottom of the ship in sufficient quantity for more than a round trip to Europe. Twenty-seven steel mills, fifty-six fabricating plants, and two hundred foundries and equipment shops were drawn upon to construct the ship.
In addition to the steel and wood vessels the Emergency Fleet Corporation also constructed a number of concrete ships. The first step in this direction was taken on April 3d, when the construction of four 7,500-ton concrete ships at a Pacific coast shipyard was authorized. This action was taken as a result of a report on the trials made with the concrete ship, Faith, which was built in San Francisco by private capital. The test of this ship had been satisfactory and Mr. R. J. Wig, an agent of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, who had made a careful inspection of the Faith and watched the tests, reported his confidence in the new cargo carrier. The successful trial trip of the Faith led, on the 17th of May, to the government order that fifty-eight mere such ships be constructed. Sites for yards were leased and contracts awarded. The concrete ship turned out to be a great success.
The extraordinary success of the American ship-building program during the World War was due to the enthusiasm of the workmen employed at the government plants, and that same enthusiasm was found in connection with their work in every industry on which the Government made demands. American labor was thoroughly loyal. It recognized that in the war for democracy against autocracy it had a vital concern. The attitude of the great American labor unions must however be sharply distinguished from that of the extreme socialists who refused to take any part in helping to win the war.
From the very beginning, the American Federation of Labor took a patriotic stand. Its leader was Mr. Samuel Gompers, and it was fortunate for America that the leadership of this great organization was in such patriotic hands. Mr. Gompers had been for many years president of this great labor organization, and was so often called in consultation by the President of the United States in connection with labor affairs that he might almost be called an unofficial member of the President's cabinet. Mr. Gompers was by birth an Englishman, but he had left his home when still a boy and was thoroughly filled with true American patriotism. From the beginning he devoted himself with the greatest enthusiasm not only to the protection of the interests of which he was in charge, but to the prosecution of a successful war. He had to contend, as labor leaders in other countries had been compelled to contend, with socialistic and anarchistic organizations.
During the period of America's participation in the war there were certain disturbances caused by the I. W. W., but from such movements the American Federation of Labor held itself aloof. Occasional strikes, on account of special conditions, were easily settled. The governmental assumption of control over railroads and other essential industries had much to do with the peaceful attitude of the workmen. The very high wages which were offered to the workmen at munitions works, ship-building plants and other governmental enterprises enabled the workmen there to live in reasonable comfort, though it caused a great deal of trouble in private industry, and compelled an increase in pay to labor all over the land.