purpose that were then a disposal problem. In retrospect some considered this entire effort a waste. The impractical plan to mass-produce a thousand small wooden steamers was developed by the lawyer William Denman and an amateur yachtsman from Massachusetts (Frederic A. Eustis). Both men convinced Woodrow Wilson of this scheme, and claimed the famous engineer General George Washington Goethals agreed to assist them, the White House announced to the press that Goethals would take the job (without his knowledge). Goethals reluctantly agreed —because his quick resignation would lead to a public relations disaster for the president—, but he soon realized that the plan for building wooden ships was flawed (they were small, slow and could not efficiently be mass-produced). Goethals encouraged ship builders to look into the mass production of steel vessels by fabricating standardized parts across the country, a plan that would eventually be adopted. Reconstitution of the Board The President accepted the resignations of both Denman and Goethals and appointed Edward N. Hurley Chairman of the Shipping Board 27 July 1917. Rear Admiral Washington L. Capps replaced Goethals as General Manager of the EFC. Capps resigned due to ill health and was succeeded for two weeks by Rear-Admiral Frederic R. Harris who resigned over an issue of authority. EFC's Vice-President, Charles Piez then established stability by recommending that the General Manager post be abolished and that Charles M. Schwab be appointed in the new post of Director General. Schwab was thus able to give total attention to EFC matters, whereas Piez had held both posts of Vice-President and General Manager. Actions On entry into the war there were fewer than 50,000 shipyard workers in U.S. yards and production could not possibly meet wartime demands and attrition. Under the delegated Presidential authority the Shipping Board, through Admiral Capps, General Manager of the Fleet Corporation, requisitioned the shipyards and all steel ships over 2500 deadweight tons then under construction. A primary goal was to focus shipyard work on U.S. requirements rather than commercial needs of neutral and even Allied customers. Another goal was to standardize production. The shipyards protested without success. As many of the 431 ships involved were only contracts or still under construction the EFC assumed responsibility for their completion. There were international consequences, one being the fact that Great Britain had a large number of those ships also planned for war service. In the end the ships