The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-05-19
THE NAVY.
EXTRACTS FROM TESTIMONY GIVEN
BEFORE THE INVESTIGATING
COMMITTEE
Political Interference In Navy Yards
Abuses In the Navy.
Especial to the Chicago Tribune.l
POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS.


POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS.
Jonathan Young, Captain Of the Navy
Yard at Kittery, Maine, was asked:
Q.-Do you know Of any abuses of any
kind in the naval service, here or else
where? A.-Well, there are great
many abuses that have crept in during
the last few years. In the first place,
tho officers OF the yard have almost
entirely lost control Of the yard. they
are controlled entirely by the Bureaus
in Washington. In many instances
irregularities come to the notice Of the
Commandment and other officers Of the
yard the thing Is referred TO Washing
ton. and very generally they are not
supported as they should be. In mat
ters that seem to them right and proper.
and calculated to economic and to run
the ward for the best interests Of the
Government, they are more frequently
overruled than sustained in their
decisions. For instance, a contractor
comes to yard and wants to put on
certain things the officer Of the
department may object 70 them
on the ground that they do not
come up to the contract u Is fire.
uuent occurrence that contractors, when
they find that their goods are to be com
| planned Of as not Or proper quality, make
| the threat that they will go to Washing
ton and have it fixed NJ. and sometimes
| they make the threat that they will
I have that officer detached and sentaWay
| from the Yard, leading him to believe
| that he holds his position at their dicta-
! ton. Then it frequently happens that
| after things are rejected absolutely, an
| order comes to receive them. ] think
Won will find that that has occurred at
This ward. know it has at others, and
] 4 t1,, l,,f N
officer i'm IL very uncomfortable position.
For instance, there bias not been u naval
constructor here for some years who has
felt perfectly safe in his position, and
| felt that he could do the right and
honest thing and not suffer by so doing.
Why? Because he would incense some
contractor or influential person, and he
breads his influence. There was one
engineer turned out Of the Boston Yard
when I was there, merely because he
would not do as those men required him
to do. SO he said.
Q.-Don't the officers stan0 more in
fear Of what we may call the politicians
than they do Of tho contractors? A
| o. the contractors do their work through
them. or course, the contractors can
do little OF themselves. | say this has
crept in the last few years, and it takes
away from the independence Of the
| officers.
D.-How will the contractor carry out
his threat? Ale will go to Washing
/ ton and see some Senator or Represen-
tative and tell him that this officer Is q
very dsagreeable fellow. is not liked
| by the people round, and is standing in
! the way Of duties to be performed; or
| that 10 is coarse or ill-natured man
| Then they will go to the Secretary OF
the Navy the Secretary hears only one
side OF it. and the Consequence is tho
officer is detached. IT he asks the rea-
son why, he will hear from the Depart
ment, you are not the right kind OF q
man to get along there; you are too I'M
reasonable" and statements OF that
kind, or receive no explanation. The
complaint may be true in some cases,
but in many it is not. Now, knowing
this it is nothing unusual to hear man
say, well, / am going to do what =!
think right; ] don't care il they send
me out tomorrow
Ola man stands by the Govern
ment, UP and down, in trying to do his
duty, he does it at the peril Of being re-
moved A.-Yes,' sir, and it is felt
throughout the whole navy.
HEAVY ABUSES.
Capt. Young, in answer to questions,
stated that u magnificent new engine,
which had never been used and cost
$500 900, was sold for old iron on the
recommendation Of board Of steam
engineers from Washington. This was
done because, on the recommendation
Of Chief Engineer Wood, the compound
engine had been adopted in the service.
It is an experiment, and witness says 1t
is not settled whether these engines will
remain in the service six months or two
years longer. Witness said that the pay
or the navy is very uncertain the last
two or three months OF the fiscal year
the officers never know whether they
are gong to be paid, and the inference
is that the money for the pay Of the
navy is used elsewhere. Witness is in
formed that appropriations are trans
! ferrcd from one bureau to another II is
common talk that 100000 was taken
ont Of the bureau Of medicine and sur
gerry, and consequently there was no
money in the bureau aud they could not
get medicines for the sick. Knows OF
cases where bills have been rewritten
and dated forward into the next year.
Believes that one cause Of running
short in money is the practice Of max
ing purchases In open market.
TESTIMONY OF COMMODORE FAIRFAX.
The witness remembered one abuse at
the Boston Yard in the summer OF 1873
Many men were taken on prior to the
elections to work on the Virginia. a very
sound old ship, having never been
launched, and, under pretense Of
making room on her ways for another
ship, she was in measure destroyed
She was so sound that they found a
great deal Of difficulty in cutting her up
She would have made q very fine re-
ceiving ship, to take the place Of the
Ohio They clIt a hole through her
bilge, and employed a large number OF
men to do it, She was a live oak ship,
and would have probably lasted 100
years.
OUR WAY. AND THAT OF EUROPE.
Commodore Hall, Chief Of the Bureau
of Yards and Docks, gave his opinion as
to the general condition Of the navy,
and the character Of the eight sloops re-
Gently ordered built by Congress. He
was asked
O-What il yOur opinion OF the ma