The New York herald., 1870-04-13
The Brooklyn Navy Yard.

w nave suuclent NUMBER OF navy yards, ntteu
with all the appliances for building and repair
Ing ships Of war. These we have not; for
although on paper we possess seven navy
yards not one of them can be called first
class. During the late war these yards were
found to be so inadequate to the require
ments of the service that we had to resort
to the private ship yards Of New York to
enable the Navy Department to Gt out the
vessels necessary to carry on naval operations.
The Portsmouth IN. H.) yard is only large
enough to fit out six ships at one time; Boston
could perhaps equip twelve; New York,
twenty; Philadelphia, six; Washington, four;
Norfolk, six; Pensacola, none, as the latter
was entirely destroyed. In sudden emer-
gency, then, we could equip in all these yards
about ffty-four vessels. This is the state of
affairs; and yet under these circumstances our
legislators propose to sell the most important
navy yard in the country, that Of New York,
worth all the others combined, without making
any provision for establishing another in the
vicinity of our chief city.
There is wild scheme on foot to establish
substitute for the New York yard at New Lon
don. and do away with the former altogether.
This, it done, would be quite in keeping with
the unwise legislation that has characterized
the action of Congress towards the navy.
Such project as the one we have referred to
would, If carried out, satisfy the country of
the disposition of Congress to break up the
navy altogether. New London is no doubt o
good enough place to build schooner or two,
or ft out navy of fishing smacks; but
when we come to constructing great ships of
war, where labor and material Of all kinds
are required at moments notice, New
London would be found but one horse
place, and small horse at that. Not
single element required for great naval
depot for building and repairing ships exists in
New London. The harbor is not defensible
against the iron ships of the present day,
which could run by the plaything called a fort,
erected in times when iron-clads were un-
known, or knock it down, just as it suited
them. The only trouble they would have
would be in getting through the mud to the
place where it is proposed to establish the
navy yard-a difficulty our own vessels
would experience in case they should
attempt to get to sea from the navy yard.
Many of our ships of war are upwards of
three hundred feet in length, and late sur
vey shows that the width of the channel where
a ship can turn is but two hundred and eighty
feet. This at once condemns the place as a
navy yard. There are no facilities for fresh
water or. timber docks or dry docks, and
although there is some truth in the great
argument in favor of navy yard at New
London-viz., that iron vessels can lie in fresh
water-it is the only advantage it possesses.
The proper place for navy yard is within
few miles of great city like New York, where
hundreds of skilled mechanics can be procured
as the wants of the service may require, and
where o great market affords immediate
means Of supplying all kinds of material.
Besides this, in time of war we must
depend upon our private machine shops
to build and repair engines for the
works in the navy yards could only be
used for ordinary repairs, not having
the necessary facilities for building. 1t may
be said that private enterprise would seek
New London, and that the moment navy
yard was established there these necessary ad-
juncts would follow but we should like to
know what private individual would undertake
to follow navy yard with his steam works
for the precarious advantage he might derive
from the repairs to the machinery of few YES
sels-of-war. Naval work is merely help, not
support, to the machine shops of New York.
1t is the great mercantile marine that supports
them, and any argument to the contrary is
ridiculous. These are some of the objections
to navy yard at New London.
The people of the State of New York are
not going to permit one of it's principal means
of defence to be taken away until they arc
satisfied that some place on the North or East
river is to be selected where the same means
of defence can be located under better circum-
stances. In case of war New York would be
the first place at which an enemy would aim,
and without the aid of navy yard and the
naval force to be found there it would almost
be at the mercy of the foe. It is true thai
war for the protection of the city; but where
would be the navy yard for them to go to in cas-
| of damage received in action if it was 10 ate(
| at New London and cut of and blockaded b,
an enemy's ships? For that is to be the fate 0
all the prominent places on our coast in cas-
Of war-that is, if our legislators take no heet
of the warnings they receive through the press
which, it seems, is better posted than those
who have undertaken to regulate the appropria
tions for our navy.
Every one knows what an easy matter it wa
for our wooden ships to run by or even
anchor in front of and capture as heavy fort
as those which now protect our great harbor {
New York; but that facility would no longe
exist if we kept in our own waters grea
naval depot, with its iron-clads, torpedo yes
sells and heavy rams ready to interpose an