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THE MARINE RECORD. ANNUAL NAVAL REPORT. The report of Rear Admiral Geo. W. Melville, U.S. N., chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineering, is in part as fol- lows: More modern vessels should be used for the practice cruise. The Cincinnati and Raleigh could be used tor this purpose, and at the same time utilized for experiments in the economy of engines and boilers and the best type ol screw propellers. This would give the young men the ad- vantage of an exceptionally valuable experience and incul- cate in them a spirit of scientific investigation. The Cincin-f) nati or Raleigh is selected as having a type of tubulous}j boilers now coming extensively into use in the service, and also as having engines with a greater cylinder ratio than has, been usual in our naval engine up to this date. An appro- priation of $100,000 for general experimental work is asked. Admiral Melville thinks that some of the time now de-f} OFM : J / owing to the increasing work.” yoted at the Academy to seamenship, in the original sense} of the term, might wisely be sacrificed to steam engineer-| ing. Smoke stacks have replaced topsails and tophamper,) manceuver than in handling canvas aloft. says: another year of experience under the provisions of the] ‘personnel bill’ finds the status of steam engineering inter-,, ests in the Navy even less fully protected, and the number, and condition of the force for their control even less satis- factory than when I made my last annual report. ““‘T am free to acknowledge that the events of the past year have brought only discouragement to those most deeply in-, terested in a successful outcome of this new law, but Iam equally candid in the belief that the cause of this discour- agement lies not in the scheme itself, but in a lack of full4 appreciation, on the part of the department, of the urgency of the need for haste, not only in providing the fullest op- portunity for the acquirement of practical engineering knowledge on the part of the younger officers of the former |; line, but in enforcing their embracement of this opportunity \ in the most effective manner by department orders. : “In a number of cases former line officers have had charge | of the machinery of vessels, during the past year, and while, ; in some instances, owing to lack of expzience, their controll; has not been marked by all desirable efficiency, in no in- stance has there been evidenced any carelessness or lack of close attention to the work. Onthe contrary their devotion to the new duty has clearly been indicated. “With steam engineering as a line duty this is pleasing to those who formerly had its entire control, and whose great- est fear might naturally be supposed to be that no efficient engineer officers would succeed them, and that the machin- ery department of ships would eventually be controlled by men of more purely practical education (machinists) incapa- ble of maintaining that constant stress toward increased effi- ciency found so needful to advance or of retaining the proud position of steam engineering of the United States Navy at the head of the marine world.”’ ‘‘The Engineer Corps was deficient in numbers before the personnel act, and now it has 100 men less while the work has greatly increased. To the colliers and small ships have: been assigned in most cases, in lieu of trained engineers, former line officers as heads of the steam engineering de- partment, these depending principally upon the machinists for expert directions. ‘‘That many casualties have not re- sulted is not, however, due to the propriety and efficiency of this arrangement, nor does it indicate asafe and commenda- ble condition, for it has only been by dint of the most anxi- ous and continuous care on the part of the depleted force that mishaps and breakdowns have been infrequent. In other words, a state of tension has existed and now exists under which it is neither wise nor safe to continue a day as it is sipping the energy of good men. Instead of building up a personnel for the day of need, stronger than necessary for the time of peace, the engineer officers and men are kept at the point of elastic limit, and a new war to-day could not fail to develops a large list of physical incapables in the en- gineering branch the moment the additional burden was put upon them. “Tt is impossible to create in a few months expert engineers from even the most intelligent officers unused theretofore to michinery. Experience daily under all conditions of ser- vice alone perfects efficiency, when combined with intelli- gence, and this experience should be given now to all line officers possible, below the grade of lieutenant-commander, both at seaand ashore. From the many we are sure to gather a fair proportion particularly adapted to the work and with natural proclivities toward mechanics. These will be the real additions to the engineering branch, and will in- crease as greater numbers come from the Academy. The others fairly well versed in time, will fill the gaps in emer- gency or war, and with a univeral general interest there will be no'need to call for volunteers to man our ships in this department. With great earnestuess Admiral Melville says: ‘‘That I should betray unusual anxiety on this question can only be through my intimate knowledge of the conditions now ex- isting and my earnest interest in the welfare of the service. My views, I can properly say, should have more weight upon this point than the views of any other naval officer or board, as these can not view the situation from as comprehensive a standpoint as can the engineer in chief, upon whose should- ers for years has been the special care and protection of naval engineering. “T regret I have failed to impress you to the point of ac- tion by my former communications. Had a series of calam- itous events occurred during the past year to make graphic i and the officer of the deck find more need of skill in quick;, Admiral Melvilleltj ‘says: cm the insufficiency of the present force of expert engineers, I ani sure potent remedial measures would have been promptly taken by the Department. But while glad indeed to have disaster averted, I can assure you that danger now exists. It lurks in the silence of seeming security, but a knowledge of its presence should increase the desire to hasten its removal. Fortune alone has postponed casualty. : “J have already suggested to have incorporated in the Regulations the best method for the needed training at sea, i. e., by departmental order to compel all line officers below the navigators of ships to alternate in duty in the engine room and on deck, and efficiency reports to be made quar- terly to note their progress and class their ability. “That I should continue from year to year to make a re- commendation for the appointment of an Assistant Chief | ; ") of Bureau, in spite of as many failures to obtain the requested action, is only explained by the fact that the need for this oflicer continues to be as great and even greater than before, | Admiral Melville thinks that warrant machinists should hoe kept in their place and not encouraged to hope that they | jnay some day constitute a full-fledged engineer corps. He “For the purpose of preventing such unreasonable ‘hopes and for promoting content, I advised in my last report that clear and precise regulations for this grade should be ‘promulgated, defining their duties and properly limiting jitheir aspirations to a full and faithful discharge thereof.’’ cause they differed in religion. The Jewess wrote to the ‘Christian that she abjured her faith to accept his, but, un- | fortunately, he wrote at the same time that he had decided ion the same course and become a Jew. So the original difficulty continued. ‘The case seems to be much the same (-with the line and the engineers in the Navy. They have sf | We recall a story of two lovers who could not marry be- | changed positions but are no nearer to assimilation than |'they were before. Our Engineer-in-Chief also admonishes the Secretary of the Navy on another subject, and declares his objections to the consolidation of Bureaus. He says: ‘‘In every large | shipbuilding establishment the Bureau system actually pre- -vails to a more complete separation of the special branches ‘of the work than has ever been practiced in the Navy. ‘Nominally there is a head of each concern, but no pretense is ever made by that head of possessing expert knowledge , regarding all the branches of the establishment. “There is at present already established a ‘Bureau of Ships,’ ; though it is named the Navy Department, and the head of “this Bureau is the Secretary of the Navy. No pretense is made by this head of having expert knowledgein any branch of the work, and for the most efficient control of the various branches he has secured to him the supposedly highest ex- pert talent in each, necessarily depending upon them for carrying out their particular details. He realizes the im- possibility of one man’s ever possessing the combined education and ability to successfully pose as an expert in all, and he has only to turn to the curriculum of a school of technology to assure himself that a lifelong study in any one mechanical art is needed to secure eminence and utmost. proficiency in it. “Hence, when the three Bureaus named seek a head for their proposed combination, it must either be a ‘non-expert’ head capable of managing all three efficiently, same neces-. sity as now would exist for retainiug separate expert sub-. heads for each division, or there must be an. ‘‘expert’’ head. capable of managing all three efficiently. “The present head of the ‘Bureau of Ships’ has for his. most efficient advisers the Board on Construction. If he freely abides by the majority vote of this Boatd he may feel. assured that he has not committed any technical errors, even if he may at times secure thereby a somewhat lesser excellence in results than the very best. The results will always be safe, and the past has shown this to be true. ‘‘The Department could not be better equipped than it is with such a Board, consisting as it does of experts in every branch of the naval profession, for it must be remembered that there is no lay member on that Board. “Ships of war are of such construction that it would not be safe to trust their design to any one man, with the pros- pect of his carrying out thereon his particular fads or experiments. “That differences should agitate the Board is not only natural but also highly proper, and is a most effective pro- tection against hasty and regrettable action. This occa- sional lack of harmony must not be confused with any real lack of efficiency, nor into a cause for recommendations having for their object the reversal of the true business principles by a combination of radically different profes- sional duties. “TJ, in common with the chiefs of other Bureaus, naturally feel a pride in the eminence of the Bureau I control, but I am honest in declaring that my opposition to the proposed combination has a reason far above personal feeling or ambition, and that reason is my positive knowledge of the fallacy of the arguments for it and the firm conviction that only confusion, greatly decreased efficiency, and greatly increased expense can possibly result. I can therefore frankly ask that you reconsider the recommendation before renewing it in this year’s report.”’ Admiral Melville gives a statement concerning the gen- eral operations of his Bureau which shows how heavily it is taxed. The approved plans for a single vessel like the Kearsarge require 595 drawings and the number for smaller vessels and torpedo boats is not much less. This is to be multiplied by the seventy vessels under construction or pending award of contract for building. Many of these drawings are submitted more than once for alteration in OCTOBER 25, I¢ details. The Chief says: the above work is too J can assure you, however, that the wonderfy casualty in the engineering department of immunity from BS) the veal of the Regular Navy is in a great degree thi result of the extraordinary ability exercised in the designing - rooms of the Bureau.’’ ; ea It has, for one thing, prevented the adoption of the Be ville water-tube boiler as the standard for the new ships. The work of repairs to ships both in commission and ordinary has been uninterrupted at the principal navy\yards | and stations, and has been almost upon a war footing co: tinuously during the year, owing to the protracted condi, tions of hostilities existing in the Hast. An urgent deficiency appropriation © for and $1,000,000 for a repair s repairs ma visits of the same ship to yards for repair work. pat items, the above number is raised to 227, while, in addition, the station at Manila has done work upon about all the vessels attached to the Asiatic squadron. j The experience last June in getting the Indiana and Mas- achusetts to sea in one-half the time it was expected that they would require shows the advantage of keeping the machinery of the larger ships in condition for service with skeleton crews on board at all times. Had these vessels been laid up in ordinary it would have been weeks before — they could have started, and their first progress would have been marked by all the delays and minor mishaps attendent upon a first trip with a green crew. : It is recommended that when there is a scarcity of officers _ and men, the number of active vessels should be reduced, — especially in our home squadrons, and skeleton crews pro- vided for all the ships of importance. A number of torpedo boats should be kept at each of the important navy yards, directing that when,ships. of the navy come to these yards for repairs, their officers and crews, in suitable divisions, should prepare and operate these boats in the harbors ad- jacent, not only to gain valuable experience in their hand- ling, but also in the use of water-tube boilers under forced- draft conditions. oo oo oo REPORTED BY THE LOOKOUT. Edward Vizenski, aged twenty-two years, a sailor on the steamer Flower, fell from the deck into the hold, receiving injuries from which he died. He lived at Ludington. The steel tower for the display of wind signals at Wash- burn is completed. It is located directly in the rear of the merchandise dock, on the high ground. Flags will be dis- played there this fall put the electric lights will not be trans- ferred from the present location until next spring. The steamer Colonial struck a bowlder on Tuesday during a fog near the light-house in Little Rapids. A hole was punched in the steamer but her captain suceeded in getting her out of the channel before sinking. She finally sank about midway between the black can and the light-house with her bow up stream. Her decks are slightly under water, There is about 100 feet of clear channel astern of — boa wreck. With the assistance of tugs all vessels can get A The Iéleanor A. Percy was launched at Bath, Me., on Oc- tober 10th, and the Evening Times, of that city, devotes much space to a detailed description of this mammoth schooner, from which the following brief extracts are made: “She is the largest wooden six masted schooner in the world, and the second one constructed, the George W. Wells, launched in Camden a few weeks ago being the first. The Percy is 431 tons larger than the Camden schooner, as the following custom house figures show: Eleanor A. Percy —length, 323.5; breadth, 50; depth, 24.8; gross tonnage, 3,401.96. George W. Wells—length, 319.3; breadth; 48.5; dept h, 23; gross tonnage, 2,970. The Percy is a craft in which time and money are not spared in the selection of the mat :rialand the work of construction. About 1,250,c00 feet of pine were needed; her masts are selected Oregon pine , 122 feet long for lower masts, and top masts 54 feet long;. All the fittings are of the most modern description. In s hort, except that Eleanor was christened with roses and pin’ zs instead of an honest quart of good wine, she is em- pha tically up to date.” —<<—$ Bad Steering Sustained by Evidence.—The tug towing the ver sels in question, having occasion to change her course to sta rboard because of a light ahead, signaled the vessels that she was about to change, and for them to follow, and after a fe » minutes made an irregular signal, and changed back to h » regular course. The officer in charge of the C., not un- d 2rstanding the signals, ordered the helmsman to port the W ‘heel, as he went forward to see what was going on, and on I is return assisted in settling the wheel hard a-starboard, * with the result that the vessel sheered to starboardin a man- ner to cross the towline of the R., and then took a sheer to port, immediately after which a jar was felt on the tug, the towline of the C. parted, and within a minute or two the bow of the R., which was on the longer hawser, struck the C.’s port quarter near her mizzen rigging, causing serious «damage to both vessels. Held, that the bad steering of the (C. being the only charge of negligence that was sustained iby ‘the evidence, that vessel was liable for the damage done to the R. The Ravenscourt, 103 Fed. Rep. (U. S.) 668.