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440 system by which accurate returns could be had of the actual cost of work. He perceived that the navy yard is merely a hand maiden to the battle ship and he believed that rap- idity and economy of work could best be secured through placing all man- ufacture there under one superintend- ent acting by orders of the command- ant. At one stroke he abolished five independent plants at a yard, each in some cases maintaining a full equipment of similar general shops, besides the possible one or two pe- culiar to its own needs and he con- centrated them all in one as _ the charge of the manager of the manu- facturing department. This was a fatal blow to the pernicious extension of the so called "Bureau System." The business of the navy department, as will be remembered, is by law divided among eight bureaus. with only five of which he was concerned in this instance, viz.: construction and repair; steam engineering; ord- nance; equipment; yards and docks, for these were the bureaus. which, from small beginnings, had gradual- ly built up separate industrial estab- lishments at each yard, covering much the same ground. The consequent multiplication of tools and adminis- trative staff was both wasteful and indefensible, and at Mr. Newberry's command, its unholy career came to an end. Newberry's Division of the Manufac- _ turing Department. Mr. Meyer has divided the manu- facturing department at the yards in- to two great divisions, hull and en- gines. Much may be said in favor of this measure, although it will nev- er be possible to compare the actual working of the Newberry and the Meyer plans because the former was denied an opportunity to demon- strate its value. It offered one ap- parent advantage not possessed by the latter. Through continuity of em- ployment the naval constructors, a shore-keeping set of officers, from among whom all managers of the manufacturing departments were drawn, would probably have become, eventually, fairly good shop mana- gers. The sea-going officer, now head of the engine division for a relatively brief term of service, lacks the op- portunity and may possibly fail there- fore to reach the highest plane of ef- ficiency. The cost accounting ought to determine this difference and, in- cidentally, set up a healthy rivalry between the hull and the engine div- isions. This move on Mr. Meyer's part is 'TAE MARINE. REVIEW based on the assumed analogy be- 'tween private ship yards and navy vards... [It -tenores: the fact. that, in the former, the central control is lo- cated in the yard itself and it re-es- tablishes that of the bureaus, de- stroyed by Mr. Newberry. In the one case the main office is close at hand to supervise and direct both branches, making them work together for the common good, in the other the actual chiefs are remotely placed in Washington. Time alone will show the wisdom of this departure from Mr. Newberry's plan. Mr. Meyer has also reinvested the management of its affairs at the yards in the bureau of yards and docks (civil engineering). Since the civil engineers had exhibited an almost unbroken record of extravagance and inefficiency, the justification for this move is less apparent. j A Probably Fruitful Change. In the department itself, Mr. Mey- er has made one radical change which promises to be fruitful of benefit. He has formed four great divisions, op- eration (of the fleet), material, per- sonnel, and inspection. At the head of each is an aide, a navai officer of his selection whose province is to keep the secretary informed on sub- jects 'pertinent to his division and to recommend appropriate action when necessary. The division of op- eration concerns the employment of vessels, war plans, qualities and at- tributes of ships to be built and the general direction of the squadrons in time of war. It includes the war col- lege, the general board and the of- fice of naval intelligence. That of material embraces the bureaus of con- struction and repair, steam engineer- ing, ordnance, supplies, and accounts. That of personnel takes in the bureaus of navigation and the medicine and surgery. That of inspection corres- ponds to the inspector general's place i. the atmy. -Jt fills a long-felt want as the essence of efficient ad- ministration is frequent and unex- pected scrutiny. While opinions may differ as to whether the advantages to be derived from, say, the bringing together of the four manufacturing and providing bureaus under one con- trol may not be outweighed by the inevitable delay and red tape it oc- casions, no one can justly challenge the desirability of a remorseless in- specting board empowered to inquire into anything and everything. As to the former an earnest effort to push the work along and not to consume time in needless references and cross references may succeed in removing ae November, 1910 the doubts that still exist in certain quarters, but if the labors of the div- ision of material are undertaken in any other spirit, notably in a desire to magnify the office at the expense of accumulating papers and ham- pering the legitimate. activities of the bureaus within it, ultimate break- down is inevitable. Therein lies the danger which only broad-minded ac- tion combining force and prudence Can avail: to: escape: You will, of course, perceive that the time is inopportune for a dis- closure of the writer's identity and I therefore beg to subscribe myself, Very respectfully, ConNING TOWER. A New Concrete Pile By J. M. WricHt. Improvements in the various types of concrete piles, and their accompany- ing driving and casting apparatus, have been noted from time to time. Many cities of the United States are now requiring that concrete wharves be built to replace the old wooden ones that are fast going into disuse. The combined efforts of the physical, ani- mal and vegetable world have no ef- fect upon concrete construction, and it is well to note the great advances in concrete appliances peculiar to water-front uses. With the old wooden pile and the File Formiag Constpuct ior "ready made" concrete pile the prob- lem has been largely one of getting a bearing on bed rock, and using the foot of the pile and its supporting substance to uphold the entire load. With the advent of the concrete pile "cast in place' the problem has_ be- come one of securing an intimate re- lation between the wet concrete and the surrounding earth, so that the con- crete after hardening may become as nearly as possible a part of the earth itself. This is desirable in that it de- creases the load to be borne by the earth immediately at the foot of the ipile, and increases the skin "friction," thereby distributing the load along the entire length of the pile. If the pile has a tapering body there is an added advantage on account of the in-