I do not think I am divulging information which should not be made
public when I say that the output of guns and ammunition of all calibres
in 1917 is not far short of twice the output in 1916. I need not remind
the House of the special effort being made in the output of airplanes.
These, I understand, are nearly two and a half times the output of 1916,
and arrangements for labor and material to secure a still greater output
this year were in progress during the later months of 1917. We have been
able to accomplish what I think must be admitted as an enormous
development in the shipbuilding industry. We have reached in 1917 a
total warship and merchant tonnage output practically equal to the
biggest shipbuilding year this country has ever known. We have
multiplied by ten the number of naval craft repaired and refitted, and
in six months we have increased the merchant ship repaired tonnage by
80 per cent.--an increase of 237,000 tons per week. I would ask the
House to notice this fact, that, notwithstanding all these great
extensions of work in many directions, and notwithstanding all these
great extensions of power of the country, we ended 1917 with an output
of new merchant tonnage of 420,000 for the last quarter, against 213,000
for the last quarter of 1916. That was done, moreover, with a dislocated
industry, with yards only gradually being cleared of unfinished work,
and with large numbers of unskilled personnel in the yards.