For the first two years of the war or more the shipyards of the country
had lost their men and the work had become dislocated. Hulls had been on
the slips for very long periods and there was no material in existence
to finish them. Vessels were lying in the yards awaiting engines, but
the engines had never been built, because up to 1917 the Admiralty had
made use of the engine shops for naval work. There was great confusion
in the shipbuilding industry, not due to the fault of the industry, not
really due to any one's fault, but due to war conditions. The output had
been checked by urgent work being placed in the same works by different
departments. With the introduction of the Controller's Department it was
immediately realized that this policy was bad for output as a whole.
It was accordingly arranged to allocate yards or separate sections of
yards, so that one class of tonnage only would be produced. The result
is that forty-seven large shipyards, containing 209 berths, are wholly
engaged on ocean-going merchant vessels. That is entirely apart from the
large private warship building establishments, which are obviously most
suited for naval work. But there are in addition eleven--and only
eleven--other yards suitable for large merchant tonnage which have at
the present time naval craft on the stocks.
[Illustration: HENRY P. DAVISON
Chairman of the War Council of the American Red Cross Society
(© _Harris & Ewing_)]
[Illustration: The actual surrender of Jerusalem, Dec. 9, 1917, when two
British outposts met the Mayor (carrying a cane) and his party with the
white flag. The formal surrender took place next day.
(© _American Colony Photographers_)]
I now give the figures of output in the yards. In the fourth quarter of
1914 the merchant tonnage produced in the United Kingdom was 420,000.
From that date it steadily fell, and it must be noted that the fall was
concurrent with our great munitions effort. In the fourth quarter of
1915 it had fallen to 92,000. It then began to rise, and the rise is as
follows:
1916
Tons. Tons.
1st quarter 95,000 3d quarter 125,000
2d quarter 108,000 4th quarter 213,000
1917
Tons. Tons.
1st quarter 246,000 3d quarter 248,000
2d quarter 249,000 4th quarter 420,000
These figures refer to the British Isles alone. In the fourth quarter of
1917 foreign construction was 512,000 tons, giving a total output for
the world, exclusive of enemy countries, of 932,000 tons for the last
quarter of last year. Against that we have the losses due to enemy
action and to maritime risk.