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el MERCHANT fleet of 1600 ves- A sels aggregating 9,200,000 tons, designed to carry the foreign commerce of the United States, is the mark which the: shipping board expects to reach by the end of 1918. This total includes American ships now in ser- vice, German and Austrian boats taken over when the war opened, and the ves- sels for which the Emergency Fleet corporation has contracted. oning is made for losses which subma- rine activities may cause before the pro- gram is completed. Two statements issued a few days ago at Washington give an insight into the immensity of the government’s ship- building plans. Admiral Capps stated that the government has under con- struction 1039 cargo vessels having a deadweight tonnage of 5,924,700. This list includes about 400 vessels, many of them of foreign ownership, which were requisitioned on the stocks. Most of the 1039 vessels will be completed by the end of 1918, initial deliveries being ‘expected late in November, this year. 11,000,000 Tons is Goal The additional funds asked of con- gress will provide for the construction or purchase of approximately 5,000,000 tons deadweight to be completed in 1918 and 1919, raising the total of new con- struction under contract and the pros- pective tonnage to 10,924,700 tons dead- weight. The committee on public information at the same time gave out a statement which, while differing slightly from the announcement of Admiral Capps, reveals further details of the government’s plans. The 458 ships of over 1500 tons deadweight which the United States now has available for foreign trade, aggregate 2,871,359 tons. The German and Austrian tonnage seized totals 700,- 285 tons while the requisitioned ships under construction total 2.500,000 tons. The shipping board’s own program calls for a total tonnage of 3,124,700, giving a merchant fleet of 9,200,000 at the end of 1918 compared with 1,614,222 tons on June 30, 1914, a month before the European war began. It is interesting to recall that the National Foreign Rulings on. Marine Matters No reck- — enced on the Atlantic coast ' ee aL ee Hints to Navigators RN Trade council in a report to congress in June, 1916, expressed the conviction that this country should have a: foreign trading fleet of 6,000,000 to 10,000,000 tons in order to develop’ properly American export trade and to carry 60 per cent of our own commerce. Rear Admiral Capps, chairman: of the Emergency Fleet Corp., recently is- sued the following statement: During the past two months the Emergency Fleet Corp. has awarded contracts for 118 wooden vessels of 3500 tons deadweight capacity each to 27 different shipyards. There had previously been awarded contracts for 235 wooden vessels of similar type to the above and for 58 vessels of composite construction, thereby making a total award to date of 411 wooden and composite vessels of an aggregate deadweight tonnage of 1,460,900. During the past two months the designs for machinery have been com- pleted for the manufacture of engines, boilers and other articles of equip- ment for these vessels, for which the facilities available of machine shops and boiler works throughout the coun- try have been availed of. Specifica- tions have been prepared and negotia- tions outlined and initiated for the assembly and installation of machin- ery in wooden vessels, the most of which have been or are being con- structed as “hulls only”. Great difficulty has been experi- in ob- taining suitable lumber for these ships, and it is anticipated that there will be greater delay in their completion- than was expected when this movement was begun, notwithstanding every possible effort on the part of the corporation and its contractors. Since Aug. 1 there have been award- ed contracts for 155 steel cargo ves- ‘sels of 1,076,800 tons deadweight ton- ‘nage, distributed among. six _ ship- yards. The most important of these contracts are for vessels of the so- called fabricated type, and_ special shipyards are being prepared for them. Contracts for the boilers and ma- chinery and steel construction of these 392 - ANAM . S. ; vessels have already been placed and the contractors are actively at work. in the preparation of the sites for the assembling of these ships. The best efforts of the Emergency Fleet Corp. — are devoted to expediting these great shipbuilding projects. Previous to Aug. 1, 70 steel cargo vessels of 587,000 tons total dead- weight capacity had been contracted for. These vessels were distributed among 10 shipyards. Therefore at the present time the total number of steel vessels under construction for the United States is 225, with a total aggregate deadweight tonnage of 1,663,800. Requisitioned Vessels By proclamation of Aug. 3, 1917, the Fleet corporation, under authority delegated by the President, under the provisions of the emergency act ap- proved June 15, 1917, requisitioned all vessels under construction in the ship- yards of the United States of 2500 tons deadweight capacity and above. By this act the United States acquired a total number of 403 vessels, deter- mined by the progress reports obtained from the various shipyards to be actually under construction; in many _cases, where keels had not actually been laid, engines, boilers, equipment and materials, all of which were also requistioned, are in various stages of progress, and in comparatively few cases contracts existing for vessels not actually begun, which may or may not be proceeded with, as the merits of each case, compared with what is desirable construction, are considered. The total deadweight tonnage under construction thus acquired, and on which orders have been issued to proceed with the maximum expedi- tion, exceeds 2,000,000 tons. There are now under construction for the Emergency Fleet Corp.: : Total a Number dead- of weight Type of vessel vessels tonnage Wide paula eas et CREAR 53 1,253,900 GOMmipastte: ecw eo tee 58 07,000 Site cero ce 225 ‘1,663,800 Requisitioned . 4.53.5 vedas cs 403 2,800,000 Gtand stotall 0. Ae 1,039 5,924,700 In addition to the above, congress