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ae CRITICIZING THE NAVY. Under the caption, "Our: Navy on the Land," George Kibbe Turner, in the February McClure's, points out the defects in our navy yard system, its dependence on the fortunes of pol- itics and the remedies he would ap- ply. Millions upon millions, he con- tends, are "wasted" annually upon our yards, which even then are not in fit condition. Of the politics of the thing, Mr, Turner says: "In 1899 the navy department was well on the way towards concentrat- ing its Atlantic coast navy yards, and forming two strong naval bases at New York and Norfolk, Va.. When the flood of money for the new navy was first loosed in that year, this de- velopment of a naval shore establish- ment immediately stopped; and con- gress started reopening old yards, and building that extraordinary existing structure--our navy on the land. "One of the first of the abandoned yards to be reopened was Senator - Hale's home navy yard at Kittery, Me., which was closed by W. E. Chandler, of New Hampshire, when he was secretary of the navy. As a 'locauon for- a navy yard this is something like Hell Gate, from a navigator's standpoint. Among the first things done by congress for the new navy yard after the Spanish war was the authorization of a half-dozen million-and-a-quarter-dollar dry docks. One of these was placed at Ports- mouth--in a position that was practi- cally inland, because no_ battleship €aptain dared to go up to it. Soon after, however, nearly a million dol- lars more was secured to connect this dock with the sea by blowing out a rock known locally as "Pull-and- be-damned Point." The first bat- tleship reached the Portsmouth dock last fall. This plant, aside from the money spent in work there, has cost the United States in the. past ten years $10,000,000 for maintenance and development. "Mir Perkins, of California, has -se- cured $13,000,000 for the maintenance and improvement of the Mare island yard in the past ten years, including the cost of an excellent dry dock, capable of holding the largest battle- ship in the world. Unfortunately, it is impossible to bring a_ battleship to this yard--some 6 ft. of water being lacking. "Senator Penrose of the committee has also received about $13,000,000 for the improvement and maintenance of the League island yard at Phila- delphia during these last ten years-- this money also including an excellent Tre Marine REVIEW dry dock, with 30 ft. of water over its sill. Battleships--at ordinary draught--can reach this yard at high water. In case they were heavy with water after a naval battle, they would have to remain permanently outside, since 29 ft. of water is the most given at any tide in the channels to League island. "Senator Tillman, of South Carolina, went on the senate committee of naval affairs in: 1895. On March 1, 1899, he arose and said very candidly concerning the naval appropriation bill: "This bill is loaded down with ex- pansion in every navy yard. I am trying to get a little for Port Royal; because, if you are going to steal Leewant my share." "A few minutes later he went on as follows: 'I will say to the senator right here, that we have a little orph- an of a naval station down in South Carolina "for: which 1- am' trying, to get a few crumbs of this money which is being wasted.' "This was. spoken concerning the old maval stationvat Port: Royal, S.C. About $2,000,000 were spent in build- ing and maintaining this yard in the In 1901 it was ostensibly given up in favor of a yard at Charles- ton. "We have 12 navy yards. . Five of them--including the best and biggest plant of all--haven't the principal thing a navy yard is built for--that is, a dry dock big enough to hold the battleships we are now completing. Two of them have one fine dock apiece,, which no battleship can reach at any tide; and three of them one costly dock apiece, cut off from the sea by shoal water which battleships can only cross at certain times in the tide; and which, if they were wa- terlogged in time of war, they could not cross at all. "Tf the navy department had been allowed to develop, as it wished, along military lines, there would be now three great nayal bases on the Atlantic--one at New York to take care of the upper coast; one at Nor- folk to care for the center; and one at Guantanamo, Cuba--the key to the waters around the Panama canal, as Gibraltar is the key to the Medi- terranean, "The chief and final move in any state is the largest possible distribu- tion of wages to its citizens through its navy yard. Some very curious sit- uations result from this condition. "New Orleans, for example, was so unfortunate as to secure but $1,040.01's worth of work in the naval year of nineties. 1907. The cost of maintaining this station during that year was $97. 178.49; while $308,332.35 more was expended, with rare optimism, on im- provements. There were $41,644.37', worth of naval officers and enlisted men stationed about this establish- ment during that uneventful year; while $20,000's worth of marines guard- éa i day and night. "Key West, in 1907, had an unus- ually busy year. It did $7,126,18s worth of work, against $3,109.94 the year before. Its maintenance charges amounted to $139,908.32, but it secured only $40,109.75 for improvements. It was, however, cared for by $48,882.36's worth of naval officers and sailors, and guarded by $12,000's worth of marines. "The organization and arrangements of a government navy yard still as- sumes the principle on which it was founded and developed--that we are making wooden ships and equipping them with steam machinery and the other new mechanical devices which civilization has put into use since this system was established 70 years ago. When it began in 1842 the build- ing, repairing and equipping of wood- en ships in our navy yards were in charge of one manufacturing bureau. Then steam came and a bureau of steam engineering was established to put boilers into the wooden hulls. A bureau of equipment took charge of equipment at the same time. A civil engineering department has charge of the yards and docks; an ord--- nance department not only makes guns but has charge of fastening them to the ship. A bureau of sup- plies and accounts keeps the stores and books, and a high officer repre- sents the military authority of the bureau of navigation. Each bureau takes the best it can get in the way of buildings and equipment; it makes its own plans, which may or may not fit into the plans of its neighbor, whose work is dependent on it. "There are millions of dollars worth of wasted buildings and duplicated machinery in these plants. An in- ventory of the New York yard, 4 few years ago showed 72. separate mechanical plants, 45 storehouses and sheds, and 50 outdoor stores of ma- terial, "The Boston navy yard devotes it- self largely to the manufacture of chains, anchors and cables. On May 9, 1906, George A. Loud, of the house naval committee, presented to com- gress a report showing that out of its total product of $925,000 there was a loss of $325,000 over the cost of the