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HOTA AVERILL’ HARRIMAN, W. through the Merchant Ship- building Corp., has signed contracts with the Emergency Fleet cor- poration for constructing what is under- stood to be the largest amount of steel shipping tonnage so far ordered by the corporation from any single concern. The Merchant Shipbuilding Corp. oper- ates Mr. Harriman’s new shipyard at Bristol, Pa., on the Delaware river, and this yard is to construct for. the gov- ernment 40 9000-ton fabricated steel freight steamers. Mr. Harriman controls two _ ship- building corporations. He took over the Chester Shipbuilding Co., which owns and operates a yard at Chester, Pa., as a going: concern, some months ago, from C. P. M. Jack, «a Philadel- phia engineer, who is now consulting engineer for both the Harriman com- panies. This yard had six ways when Mr. Harriman acquired it; it now has 10, and further extensions and improve- ments in its facilities are rapidly going forward. The Chester company and plant is now at work on 28 individual contracts for fabricated steel freighters, originally entered into with private in- dividuals and shipping companies, all of which, however, have now been taken over by the Emergency Fleet corporation in its process of wholesale com- mandeering. Yard Still Uncompleted The Bristol yard, where the 40 freighters just contracted for will be built, is a new one, and, in fact, has not yet been completed. Mr. Harri- man himself, having chosen the site after an inspection of a large number of other waterfront : properties along the Atlantic seaboard, designed and commenced the erection of. the plant. The American Bridge Co. supplied the material for the shops, ways, and it will also supply the steel for the new ships. The Bristol plant has 12 ways, and it is expected that the first keel will be laid there in about three months or less. Mr. Harriman intends to have the last of the 40 freighters in com- mission within 18 months or less. The contract between the Merchant Vessel Construction Field Shipbuilding Corp. and the Emergency Fleet corporation was negotiated on a different basis from previous contracts for ships entered into by the govern- ment. The Emergency Fleet corpora- tion leases the Bristol yard, plant and facilities outright from the Merchant Shipbuilding Corp., under its terms, and employs the latter simply as its oper- ating agent to build the ships for a fixed fee per ship, the amount of which is not made _ public. The vessels, however, although gen- erally resembling the standard _ steel freighters designed by the Emergency Fleet. corporation, will be built to de- signs of the Merchant corporation. Mr. Harriman is chairman of the board. The president, R..-H. M. Robinson, is one of the best known naval architects of the United States, and was formerly a naval constructor in the United States navy. He is an intimate friend and associate of Rear Admiral Taylor, chief of the bureau of construction, and him- self has designed and built several bat- tleships for the United States navy. The designs for, the Merchant Ship- building Corp. freighters were prepared under Mr. Robinson’s personal super- vision, and include a number of special Photo by New York Shipbuilding Corp. MINE PLANTER ORDERED SINCE WAR BEGAN 377 eT CUUH#HV0DMH«O = CTT. AKKnAeaReanneRnCcisGeonnninnunniekaannnnnaaQE HO \ctivities A Snappy Summary of the Leading Events of the Month in the features not incorporated in the stand- ard types of the Emergency Fleet cor- poration. They will have a speed of 11 knots. Built Since War Began The mine planter GenERAL WILLIAM M. GrawAM, which is shown in the accompanying illustration, was ordered since the United States declared war. The keel was laid at the yard of the New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, N. J., immediately after the declaration of war in April. When the mine planter was launched on Aug. 29, she was 82 per cent completed. The GraHaM will be followed by a large number of government-owned ves- sels which the New York Shipbuilding Corp. is building. These ships are not only for the navy, but for the army and for the Emergency Fleet corpora- tion. Among these are the battleship IpAHO, which was launched late in June, 24 merchant ships for the cor- poration and 10 torpedo boat destroy- ers for the navy. To Build Steel and\W ood Ships Capitalized at $2,100,000, the Erickson Engineering Co., one of Seattle’s new- est shipbuilding enterprises, has officially entered into the field. The Erickson company is incorporated by C. J. Erick- son, a Seattle construction contractor; C. E. Erickson, his son, and Charles M. Barnett, and they propose to build not only wooden and steel ships, but eventually the machinery for the oper- ation of such vessels as well. The company is preparing shipways at the Duwamish river site secured some time ago. The new yard will soon be ready for the first keel laying. Eventu- ally the Erickson company expects to have 10 shipways in operation. Of this number, the piling already has been placed for four ways, and as soon as the woodwork is completed the keels of the first of the wooden ships to be built will be laid.