New-York tribune., 1870-04-23
WASHINGTON NOTES.
TIE COST OF THE NAVY.


REDUCE EXPENSES.
WASHINGTON. April 20.-The amount of
money necessary be appropriated to support the naval
establishment of the country during the ensuing year
dfres up 27 81 after the Secretary of the Navy
has gone over all the items and made all the reductions
he thinks possible. This does not embrace any eSt
mates for the purchase or building OF ships or for
moving the Brooklyn NavyYard, or for dumping some
thousands scowoads of dirt into the Delaware River
70 make solid ground OF League Island, but represents
merely running expenses OF the Navy for the scai
year ending June So 1871. People usually look upon the
Army as an exceedingly expensive institution as indeed
is for il costs three times much per man as the army
Of any other great nation; hut our military authorizes
propose 10 maintain force Of $1,000 during the en-
suiug year. with an appropriation of 00OOO or about
$1,000 per man, which is economical compared with the
way they manage things in the Navy, where they spehd
S5OOOO0O force Of 0CO men, or over 5000 per man.
with the net result of keeping 4s vessels in commission
most of which are thirdrae, and none Of which com
pare favoraby with the powerful new SHIPS OF o'icr
maritime nations.
The necessity Of this great expenditure on so small
naval establishment arises from two causes FIRST tefo
are too many officers of all grades in the navy ana
especially Of the higher grades and, secondly there are
too many navyyards TO maintain In previous let'er
gave the comparative number OF officers III the nav!
I'm ls6O and 1870 showing a remarkable increase IN All
grades and creation Of high grades unknown 10 'he
service before the While this increased foree oi
still maintained NCssols III ''A
mission has been reduced TO about the old standard ana
the result is that nearly half Of the officers nave 10
proper sea duty perform After placing in every Yesse
in service many officers quarters can DC iouho or'
there are $50 remaining shore for whom the Depart
ment manages TO find some kind of duty in many cases
merely nominal, at navy yards on boards Of one kind
and another and about the various Bureaus IN wash
ington The whole number Of officers in the navy is
little over l that appears that nearly onehaf OF
them are acting as "land-lubbers or "longshoremen,
IL those be the proper nautical terms. They cannot go
to sea- for there ships to send them ill., and IN order
that they may get duty pay some duty s of course de-
vsed for them The pay Of the LOO naval officers Is
estimated at $5OD1OOO year, while the pay of all the
petty officers seamen, landsmen boys, rcinen and coal
beavers in the navy amounts to but s,6ooOOo
Ninety-six naval officers stationed In Washing
ton and all reported as being engaged on
some duty. This long list includes one vice-admiral,
eleven rearadmirals, ten conmodores, six captains,
fifteen commanders, seven heutenantcommanders,
three euenants four masters, nine ensigns six pay
masters, four assistant paymaster seven surgeons one
assistant surgeon six chiefengineers, and seven as
sistant engineers. Their united pay amounts 10 about
$OOO year. and their duties where they have any, are,
it unnecessary to not at all onerous The vice
admiral and one commodore are performing duties in
the Navy Department Of purely civil character which
by law devOlves upon the secretary and his clerks.
Eighteen officers chiefs assistant chiefs of bureaus
Two Rear-Adnlirals and Commodore on the Light
rear-adBirls and two cOmmOdOres to examine officers
for promotion. Twenty officers of all grades from rear
admiral down doing something or nothing at The
haltdeserted NavyYard One rearadmiral examines
hus of vessels when thereis any hull TO examine, which
is about twice ayear another is preparing plans for the
DaIien Ship Canal and another revising regulations for
CourtsMartia Twelve officers taking lessons OF
commodore in the army code of signals, eight are ON
duty at the Naval Observatory, besides several civilian
professors and TN officers connected with the Hydro
graphic Qce whatever that be- Beside these thero
are half dozen moro miscellaneous duty. Hi not
extrseagant assertion TO say that twenty eihelent
officers would be amply sufficient 10 perform all the work
dcse by who stationed in Washington, but as
e stock Of superuous officers on hand Is so great te
Secretary cannot be blamed Tor dividing among them
the little business there is to Co.
The fret means of cutting down naval expenditures
should be to reduce the number Of officers by musterout
down to the number required for the wants OF the ser
vice Two millions year, at least might be saved In TINS
way The second economical measure should DC 10 re-
duce the Of navyyards to threeone on the At
Iane one on the Gulf, and on the Pacific We are
now maintaining eight yards beside three or four naval
stations although all the work performed could be easily
done in ono and in every yard large force of officers
and civilian officers and employees is kept under pay
with little or nothing 20 do. In some Of the yards the
salaries Of officers and pay Of men amounted III the past
year to much than the entire value o the WORK
turned ont
As an iJlust,.ion OF the army Of officials kept at unm-
nortant wards TO supeIntend little repairing aud keep
watch Of TIVE or three rottng hulks aud rusty monitors,
give the following list Of the officers now on uuy d. INC
washington Yard one rearadniral, two captains lour
com-nar1ers one acknowledgements, TWO surgeons
one sssstant-surgeon, two paymasers one sssistaht
pay1nzster two chiefenGnoers, and two asSstahteh-
neors The unsophistcated reader must not imagine,
bowever that these officers personally look after the
business of the yard They have under them the clV'l
officers engineers superinendents, DC, whose name Is
Region who do the sctua superntendng ana dfecphg'
language OF the old doggere IL taxes TWO men
70 hold another mans hair" Here is st OF Shese
civilian Intermediates between tho Naval officers and
working men at the Washington Yard and about the
same number are employed at Portsmouth, Boston, Nor
folk Pensacola and Mare Island and greater force at
Brooklyn and Philadelphia; one civil engineer, one
draughtslnan and clerk TO same, one
receiver of stores, enc writer " same,
one clerk of pay-rolls, two clerks to coHmandahts'
one chief accountant clerk to same one tatekeeper
ono mail messenger one messenger to commandant
suI,crutendent OF smiths department ono superntend
ent OF galey-makers department. equipment clerk,
three store and time clerks two naval constructors one
assistant naval constructor, one clerk OF storehoues
inspector Of timber two clerks 10 naval constructor
draugLtsman and three cesks &c chief engineer one
ccIk to paymastor, waiter 10 same, one clerk 10
inspector OF provisions and clothing, and number OF
ordnance superintendents, Be-. who not specified
Prom this long list Of officers and officials OF high and
low degree, the inference would naturally be that the
amount OF work done at the yard IS immense. The fact
however is just the contrary The proportion between
officers and work rs inverse end direct One small
wooden vessel Is hauled up for REPAIRS perhaps 100
men are doing odd jobs in the shops.
The official kept at yards as great
as would required II the yards worked to their
full capacity. There are, for example, naval officers
at Portsmouth, 80 at Norfolk, and at Mound City, Hi
nos which, IL seems must forever remain a naval