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Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, we have assembled here to witness the launching of five MUGMAROMBIM 10,000 ton cargo vessels, which are being built by the Todd-Bath Iron Shipbuilding Corporation under a contract with our British allies, and these five vessels are to be delivered to them. There are few things today which are as im- portant as the production of ships. Enemy sub- marines have taken an exceedingly heavy toll of Allied shipping. Measures have been taken to cope with the submarine menace, and we all hope that they will be successful, but no matter how suc- cessful they are we have great need for every additional ton of shipping that can possibly be constructed. The capacity of the United States to produce planes, tanks, guns and other articles of war is exceedingly great; but all those things are of little importance unless we can transport them to the various areas in which war operations are taking place. To do that we must have ships.