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192 charter the vessels to private operators at such a rate as would permit them tc operate the craft in competition with ocean carriers flying foreign flags. Such an arrangement would, of course, leave a differential in expenses which the government would have to absorb as a loss and in consequence this would be in reality an indirect subsidy which the taxpayers of the country would have to bear. Mr. Comyn thinks, however, that there would be more likelihood of mak- ing such an arrangement. effective than ‘there would be to institute a system of direct subsidy. Subsidy of some nature is imperative, he claims, if the United States is to enter into competition with other nations for ocean-borne _ traffic. This idea of the necessity for a subsidy of some nature is in accord with that of Capt. Robert» Dollar, head of the Dollar Steamship Co., but Capt. Dollar advances the proposal that the government should make a direct pay- ment to ship operators through shipping commissioners of the difference between the pay of American seamen and those of other countries engaged on ships in the same trades, but at lower rates of pay. boyd When I asked Mr. Comyn: “What is the future of the American-built concrete ship?” he _ replied simply: “There isn’t any!”, turned on his heel and walked off. But I walked right along with him; hence, this interview. Holds No Centeatis “The San Francisco Shipbuilding Co. has not a single contract for the con- struction of a concrete vessel and does not expect to get any,” he told me. The whole burden of. preparatory overhead and yard-building expense connected with the construction of the Farr has been assessed against that unique vessels with the result that the total cost of the craft now appearing on the. books of the company is in the neighborhood of $850,000. “A full 50 per cent of this amount has_ been charged off to depreciation as a result of the first year of operation,’ Mr. Comyn said, “and this was necessary to make the book value of the boat at least approach its actual operating value.” Another element which contributed to the difficulties of the San Francisco Shipbuilding Co. at the offset, which has ‘just come to light, was the aitti- tude taken by some of the members of the United States shipping board in regard to the operation of the vessel, until just recently. The building of the FairH, it is to be borne in mind, was a gamble, pure and simple. Ten San Franciscans risked . $25,000 each at the start on the speculation that a large stone ship could be floated and oper- ated economically. Kenneth MacDon- THE MARINE REVIEW ald Jr., and his brother Allen, developed a. process of reinforcement and pouring which they thought might mold steel and cement together in the form of a ship. Mr. Comyn was interested and with the two projectors of the plan formed a company which included in its directorate, in addition to these three, John A. Hooper, E. A. Chris- tenson, John Lawson, George Hind and J. H. Baxter. A yard was secured at Redwood City and the com- pany went ahead with the construction of the experimental craft with the tentative understanding that the gov- ernment was to keep its hands off, so far as the operation of the ves- sel was concerned, when it was com- pleted. It appeared to be generally ac- cepted in governmental shipbuilding circles at that time that because of the *large element of risk in the ven- ture, the company should be relieved of the war-time burden of ship con- trol, if the concreter proved successful, and should be permitted to secure a reward from the open freight market. At any rate the company went. ahead on this assumption, building the boat to its own account and at its own risk, but when it was found that the stone ship was not the fantastical chimera most persons had believed it to be, the government took charge. The com- pany was allowed little, if any, discre- tion-in the routing of the craft and the management was forced to forego an exceedingly remunerative English char- ter offer. Later, when the Emergency — Fleet corporation undertook to build con- creters at the government yard in Oak- land, the San Francisco Shipbuilding Co. was given the superintendency con- tract amounting, as I remember, to some $40,000 per ship to be constructed. There were to be eight of them. The government was to pay all of the costs, and it is paying plenty, according to Mr. Comyn. In addition, the San Fran- cisco Shipbuilding Co. was to receive an outright fee for seeing that the job was done right. The expectation, as I have said, was that eight boats: would be built, or “poured,” at this plant, but this number has been re- duced to three .with a resultant loss in _superintendency fees. The views of Mr. Comyn regarding the future of America’s merchant ma- rine reflect the viewpoint of the prac- tical ship operator and _ his position is by no means unique among the ship- ping men of the Pacific coast. Elevator B at Port Arthur, Ont., was destroyed by fire recently but there was no loss of grain. The elevator was be- ing. torn down to make room for a modern structure. Elevator A was not damaged. April, 1919: Builds Wooden Tugs for Deep Water Service The Rocky River Dry Dock Co,, Rocky River, O., near Cleveland, is completing five wooden tugboats for service along the Atlantic coast where they will be used by the United States quartermaster’s department for such~ 2 uses as mine laying and for other duty generally performed by vessels a of this type. Although the boats ; were built to government specifica- tions, they are admirably adapted for the duties usually performed by tug- boats. They will be taken to the seaboard through the New York barge canal. These vessels are 101 feet over all, 86 feet 10 inches between perpendicu- lars, 23 feet 6 inches molded beam, 13 feet 2 inches molded depth at side and are designed to develop a speed or, 12 miles an hour: They are constructed to meet Lloyds’ A-1_ specifications and have oak frames spaced 24 inches apart. The planking is of yellow pine and oak, 4% inches thick at the garboards, 3%4 inches on the top sides with 4- inch wales. The bilge stringers and clamps are made of. 5-inch material. The vessels are powered with fore- and-aft compound steam engines with cylinders 13 and 26 inches in diameter and 18-inch -stroke. The engines turn at a maximum of 130 -revolutions per minute and develop 320 indicated horsepower. The pro- pellers are steel castings with 4 blades and are 7 feet in diameter with 9- foot pitch. Edward H. Vitalius : 1876-1919 Edward H. Vitalius died recently at Flint, Mich., following injuries re-— ceived in an interurban wreck near Oxford, Mich. For many years Mr. Vitalius was a resident of Detroit. He was.born in Troy, N. Y., May 30, 1876, and came to Detroit at an early age. ae When about 15 years old, he en- tered the employ of the American Blower Co., Detroit, as a messenger boy in the engineering department. He was advanced rapidly, owing to close application to his duties, and at the time of his death he was chief engineer of the company. Mr. Vitalius had a wide knowledge of engineering problems pertaining to heating, ventilating and drying and enjoyed a well earned reputation as a designer of equipment for the auto- matic control of temperature and humidity.