Liberty Ship
Hearing
Testimony Favorable
By
Louise Aaron
Marine Editor, The Oregon Journal
(SWAN ISLAND) - Employes of the three Kaiser yards, who have formed the Jewish Warworkers association, plan their first Passover Sedar for: Sunday, April 9, at 3 p.m., at the Jewish Center, S. W. 13th avenue and Jefferson streets. Open house will be held at the same time.
Invitations are being extended to about 100 service men, and an effort is being made to include any service men who were formerly employed in the Kaiser yards. Swan Islanders interested in attending are asked to get in touch with Ben Welgus, electrician leadman, graveyard shift, Marine Electric shop, or Virginia Tweed, librarian, Vanport schools.
A shipfitter presented himself at the superintendent's office.
"I'd like to get a transfer," he said.
"Where to?" asked the super.
"My wife says I've got to transfer to a foreman, where I can make more money so she can quit her job. She's getting tired of working."
they reflect favorably
and directly on Oregonship, were:
That
after four of six major changes were made in design, Oregonship built
97 Libertys at the highest production speed ever attained, and only
one very minor "crack" has been reported. All ships have had
the test of months at sea, many of them in cold waters.
That improper loading of the ill-fated John
P. Gaines caused the ship to "break her back" with loss of
10 lives in Alaskan waters, according to testimony of Edgar F. Kaiser,
general manager of the three Portland - Vancouver yards. Kaiser said
he was informed that the fore and aft of the Gaines carried sea water,
the No. 3 hatch was empty except for a few drums, some of which carried
sea water.
That 80 per cent of serious or potentially serious
trouble which developed in Oregon Ship's Libertys occurred in cold waters.
SHIP
OPERATORS TESTIFY
Most important of all, perhaps, was the testimony
of officials of lines operating the Oregonship-built Libertys, some
of which have been converted into troopships.
Testifying were: F. J. McDowell, general manager for
James Griffiths & Sons, who said his company is operating 11 Liberty
ships; William Semar, general manager for the Northland Transportation
company; R. B. Butterworth, assistant general manager of the American
Mail line, which was operating 37 Libertys January 1; E. M. Murphy,
superintendent of Alaska Steamship company, operating 30 Liberty ships;
John H. Hering, Alaska Transportation company, operating 14 Libertys.
Not one was dissatisfied with performance.
McDowell
said: "We feel that they are very good ships. We have had no major
difficulty in any regard." He added that, "excessive use in
convoy very definitely puts extra strain on a vessel." Libertys
are used in convoy. He added: "I think the Liberty ships have stood
up as well as the other ships we operate. One of our Liberty ships,
the William Cullen Bryant, (whose skipper was a spectator at the hearing)
was torpedoed through the No. 1 hold in the Carribbean. We drew the
conclusion that if she-had been a riveted ship, she would have gone
down." Questioned by Senator Harley M. Kilgore, he repeated the
opinion that the welded ship stood the torpedoing better than a riveted
one would have.
Butterworth
said: "Libertys are easy to operate, seaworthy, sturdy and dependable."
Murphy emphatically declared: "You'll never stop
cracks." Concerning the Libertys his line operates he said: "Some
of them have sustained - minor cracks, but it was never considered important."
He added that his firm has a "very high regard for Libertys, one
of the outstanding contributions to the war effort."
Hering said more weight is needed in the ship for
transport than a cargo service, especially in the No. 3 hold. He approved
artificial ballast.
BREAKS
CLASSIFIED
Kaiser went to the hearing armed with pertinent data
compiled by the American Bureau of Shipping which classified structural
failures in three groups - most serious, potentially serious and minor:
Group I. Casualties which result in either the actual
loss of the vessel or which have progressed to such an extent in the
strength deck or shell to make a definitely unsafe condition.
Group II. Casualties which occur in the strength deck
or shell or in members attached directly thereto such as in the bilge
keels or bulwarks and which in their present state are not serious in
extent but which, experience has shown, could easily progress to such
an extent as to result in a Group 1 casualty.
Group III. Casualties which occur in relatively unimportant
parts of the hull structure from a longitudinal strength standpoint
and which, due to their nature, would not be expected to progress into
the main strength or shell.
This is
how Oregonship stood in the grouping:
Of the 322 Libertys built here (which were considered in the report),
only 59 were considered to have developed structural faults. That represented
only 18.3 per cent of the total for the yard. Fourteen of the 59 were
judged to have shown most serious faults and 70 per cent of those plied
cold waters. All 14 went down the ways before the yard had reached its
peak of efficiency and before the fourth major design change had been
made.
Kaiser told the committee the bureau's report shows
that one other type ship, among the five listed, has had more major
casualties (Group I), than Libertys. Eleven others, of 15 types studied,
have had more of !he less serious (Group II) deficiencies, and 10 others
of 17 types mentioned, have suffered more minor (Group III) mishaps.
Charges of a lack of welding sequences, of abnormally
high steel plate waves, of ignoring faults noted by inspectors, of "muzzling"
by superiors and "inflated egotism" on the part of Kaiser
officials, which came out in testimony of two witnesses, were not substantiated
by other witnesses.
WELDING
SEQUENCE APPROVED
Charles R. Hudson, senior survey official of the American
Bureau of Shipping at Oregonship, approved the yard's welding sequence.
E. A. Mortensen, principal maritime hull inspector at the Oregon yard,
denied charges relative to locked-up stresses and keel plate waves which
reached a 32-inch proportion.
Kaiser, testifying the second day, said that it was
cheaper to convert the Libertys in another yard than under the mass
production system at Oregonship. Because of early planning, he said,
Oregonship will be able to go right into production of 36 troopships,
with conversion on the ways, after its 32 Victory cargo vessels are
out. This conversion on the ways will be less expensive than the procedure
for Liberty ships, he added.
The two-day hearing, with all evidence in, gave Liberty
ships, including those built here, a good record in service during this
war, a record which improved steadily as structural improvements were
made.
General Manager, Kaiser yards
General Manager, James Griffiths & Sons
(SWAN ISLAND) - Captain R. F. Balke reports that there was greater loss of war materials resulting from fires in war plants last year than from ships sunk by enemy submarines.
Watch How You Lift
Waning against improper methods of lifting, said to be responsible for many painful and disabling lower back strains, was voiced this week by safety officials and orthopedic specialists at Kaiser shipyards. These officials pointed out that a back once sprained is likely to be strained again and be bothersome for years. Many workers, they said, unnecessarily injure themselves through failure
Speaking candidly on the subject, Dr. F. J. Roemer of the Northern Permanente hospital staff said, "Members of our staff see from 1000 to 1200 patients monthly with painful lower backs partially due to heavy shipyard work and partially due to the manner in which work is performed.
"Only a very small percentage of cases are the result of a blow, fall, accident or kidney trouble," he said.
Stressing susceptibility to back strain, Dr, Roemer explained that
"Most back sprains get well in a few days with no other care than bed rest," he added. "Other treatment consists of strapping, traction, stiff belts and a springless bed. Heat and various drugs are administered to reduce pain and muscle spasm and hasten healing.
"As time goes on," Dr. Roemer concluded, "there. will probably be fewer back sprains treated at Permanente because shipyard workers are gradually learning, through painful experience, not to jerk heavy weights with their back muscles."
"When muscles or ligaments are strained and torn there is a reflex stiffening of surrounding muscles to keep injured parts still. This stiffening is accompanied by muscle contraction which causes a curvature or "list" of the spine to one side. It is the "list" which leads
