United States Merchant Marine Academy - Midships Yearbook (Kings Point, NY)

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xg!- -U ul Q i iff , It t , . A , , .. 7:1-A if r h J. 'i lag I . I il A ' k , 1, i X5 I, k X Q ,JL 1 ss At the close of the war the United States had the greatest surplus of ship tonnage it had ever known. The immediate tie up of a great part of the war-built tonnage THE PUSTWAR WHITE ELEPHANT struck many Americans as tragic. The early armistice found the country with an excess of ships, with more on the ways, and still others paid for and not yet started. At the end of the war the world was burdened with thirty-three per cent more tonnage and twenty per cent less cargo. Hundreds of vessels were laid up, to rot and decay. Billions of dollars rusted away. The post-war cargo-less industry suffered falling freight rates, idleness, and wide-spread distress. Bank- ruptcy resulted for many companies. The sight of a great fleet of wooden ships gradually de- teriorating in one of the Hud- son coves was depressing to the taxpayer.

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WORLD CUNVULSIUN The sudden outbreak of World War I forced the United States into a position of leadership , in world shipping. Ships of belligerent and neu- tral alike were being dispatched to the bottom. After a slow start, shipbuilding accellerated rapidly, becoming 'cbig businessn for the first time since the middle of the nineteenth century. With United States' entry into the conflict, the government entered into the shipbuilding pro- gram. Yards on all three coasts were producing at top capacity, and new yards were constantly under construction. This tremendous output soon quelled the sub- marine menace. Huge sums had been spent, but the objective, winning the war, was realized. ' American shipbuilding was slowly galvanized into greater activity than at any time in the previous fifty years. Yards were enlarged, thousands of hands hired, and steel and iron orders increased. Shown here are ships being out- fitted for the emergency at the Newark Bay Shipyard. 1 V Xl rihl M 'L l ,Lf ,, ..., 13, :...L4.:..',,li! X l . 1, , ,, . 'wavy ALM a .Ji1l1J,siL.m,.,...1fa gn. A vessel constructed at the Hog Island Shipyard during World War I, to help build the 'ibridge to Frrumvfi' L Q,

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A NEW P-.DAD In 1936, the passage of the Merchant Marine Act brought order out of chaos. The nation finally adopted a permanent, long-range maritime pro- gram. Included in the Act were construction and operating subsidies. Under this Act, a crack liner, the America, was built for United States Lines. New types of cargo ships were built. These were classified hy length, and the combination of letters and numerals be- came the name of the group. C-l's, C-2's, and C-39s were constructed for many companies. It appeared that the United States was destined to have a well-ordered Merchant Marine after all. Wise planning had given the country a foundation for a great Merchant Marine. u lv uhm. i v Q I 'K I Ill' Ks x I g 3 11N 1, Es -XJ, .90 ., ,,