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The Romantic Story of a Year's Progress in Ship Building in American Coast Yards—Over 120 Vessels Under Construction high seas, for years decadent and neglected, made a _ fresh start in 1915. It quite surpassed itself by the tremendous vigor it developed. It established a dignity of magnitude and importance comparable with its tra- ditional greatness of years long past, when the American flag, borne by American-built and American-manned craft, was familiar in every sea where trade or commerce flourished. Modern ship building in the United States can show nothing to approach the record established during the year 1915. In their number and tonnage, the ves- sels ordered represent a tidy commer- cial fleet in themselves, a business asset that any nation might well be proud to possess. Approximately 120 merchant craft of the sea-going class, with an aggregate tonnage of more than 500,000, are actually under construction or en- tered on the order books of our build- ers. A year ago, the list of new mer- chant vessels on the ways did not ex- ceed a dozen. Practically all the tre- mendous activity displayed in the up- building of a new American merchant marine, accordingly, has fallen within the past 12 months. That the volume A MERICAN ship building for the PRR ey of this work, impressive and perhaps significant of a new era in the nation’s shipping history was not greater, has been due solely to the fact that all the available capacity has been crowded to the ultimate point. At the present time, any additional contracts accepted by the yards call for a delivery in from 18 months to two years. It is estimated that there are a score or more of ves- sels in the market at the present time, for which the owners are maneuvering to obtain the best possible delivery. That all of these contracts will be placed in due season, is confidently ex- pected. The heavily engaged position of the coast ship yards for months ahead, has caused new work to over- flow to lake plants. A number of con- tracts for ocean-going craft have been placed with ship builders at Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland and other yards at fresh-water points. The Ever Widening Circle The rejuvenation of ship building in this country has impressed its effects upon other industries beyond itself. The iron and steel trade has profited hugely from this unparalleled recovery. If the total finally could be cast up, it By C. J. Stark probably would be found that the orders for ocean-going merchant boats, alone, called for not less than 350,000 to 400,000 tons of steel. Ship builders, especially those who were enlarging or opening new yards at the close of -the year,- were finding great difficulty in ob- taining desired deliveries on steel. The great demand for ship plates has been one of the contributing causes for the strong market in this product which brought about the payment of premium prices over other heavy materials. It is manifest, therefore, that the mainten- ance of an active era of construction in home shipbuilding is of primary im- portance to every industry in the coun- try making for greater stability and strength in the home market. In large part, the vessels ordered during the past year are for American steamship and industrial companies en- gaged in the coastwise trade or in the commerce with other countries of the western hemisphere. In one _ instance, at least, the owner was an oil com- pany controlled by British capital which is engaged in business between the American coasts. There has’ been enough of over-seas and foreign ton- nage placed, however, to give the traffic arialie THE BATTLESHIP NEVADA, BUILT BY THE FORE RIVER SHIP BUILDING CORPORATION, ON HER RECENT TRIAL ‘TRIP 40