A stove manufacturer builds lifeboats

CURRENT TOPICS. A S t o v e M a n u f a c t u r e r B u i l d s Lifeboats.--(Iron Age, Vol. I49, No. I I.) Away out in Kokomo, Indiana, the Globe American Corp., a stove manufacturer, found itself faced with the prospect of either getting war contracts or going out of business. T h r o u g h the farsightedness of the executives of the 5o-year-old concern, a changeover was made in plant facilities t o make steel lifeboats, with which every oceangoing vessel is equipped, and in spite of the fact t h a t the plant is Iooo miles from the Atlantic Ocean a n d 200o miles from the Pacific, the U. S. Maritime Commission considered the design submitted by Globe American a s fine enough to be adopted as "standard equipment" for the first 312 Liberty cargo ships now being built. Previously, lifeboat design was not standardized, b u t had only to meet certain minimum specifications pertaining to size, material, air t a n k capacity, etc., as established by the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation. Globe American, anxious to get into war work, employed naval architects to design a new, improved steel boat, and through their pioneering efforts obtained a contract for I248 such boats. T h e y will be identical in every respect and are constructed a t t h e rate of one every 2 hr. The three plants are now working one eight hour shift a day. The rate of production can be increased I5o per cent. b y working 24 hr. a day, high enough to provide enough lifeboat equipment for the launching of nine cargo vessels a day. In the shop, the b o a t s are moved b y a power conveyor along the production line from the time the keel is laid until the finished craft is loaded into the railroad car. The construction is entirely of steel except for wood floor boards, seats, mast, oars, and rudder, and when shipped the b o a t s are completely equipped with clocks, releasing gear, oars, red sails, food and water, signaling and first aid equipment, can;cas covers, hood and weather cloths. There are four b o a t s t o each cargo ship, one of which is equipped with a built-in marine motor. Each boat seats 31 people, providing twice the capacity of a maximum crew of each vessel. R. H. O. W o r l d ' s L o n g e s t U n d e r w a t e r N a t u r a l Gas Pipeline.--(Manulecturers Record, Vol. I I I, No. 3.) United Gas Pipe Line Co. has finished its 2o4-mile natural gas pipe-line from the Lirette gas field 514