Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-12-06
CHANDLER ON THE DECK.
HE MAKES OBSERVATIONS ON
THE NAVY'S CONDITION.

the Pacific Held to be a suficiency-
The Old Fleet and the One Building
COntrasted - The Merchant Marines
Restoration.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5.-The report of
the Secretary OF the Navy was made pub
| lie to-day. Concerning the navy yards,
the Secretary says:
Only two naval workshops should be main
/ tanned on the Atlantic coast and one on
| the Pacitc. The New london yard should be
| restored to Connecticut and the League
| Island yard to Philadelphia, The Boston
| yard should be sold or reduced in size. The
1 PENSACOLA and Portsmouth yards may be kept
| Tor naval stations. The workshop would
/ then be at New York Norfolk and Mare Is
lahu. 1hese need certain improvements in
| organization.
First of all. politics should be excluded
| from their management in accordance with
section 1916 Revised Statutes, which SAYS:
/ Nor shall any wOrkingman be removed or
| discharged for a political opinion" Secondly
| responsibility for the work must be more def
| Initely fixed, instead of being shared as at
present by the Chief Engineer and Equip
| ment Officer, all under the COmmandant
Of the station. There should be
| at each working yard super
yising naval constructor appointed
| by the President and confirmed by the Senate
! from civil life or from the navy, who should
! have direct charge of all work under the
! heads OF construction, steam engineering and
| equipments, and be held to direct and rigid
/ account by the single bureau Of construction
at the department.
INFLUENCE BANE.
Inc Secretary comments severely on the
! existing practice of securing the solicitation
1 Of persons possessed of political or social in
nuence IN behalf of officers, whether for the
/ purpose OF obtaining agreeable duty or affect
ing the restoration by legislation of
/ those which have been dismissed for
| misconduct He says that such restoration
/ demOralizes the service. Public opinion should
| sternIy condemn all who have been guilty of
uc vrroI1 auf hoo 81,
selves to efforts for the restoration of officers
removed. In discussing this subject he refers
| 10 the Presldents veto message on the FitZ
JOhn Porter bill as pointing out the uncOn-
sttutiOnalitv of such legislation. and show
| ing that the constitution has provided
! an enectual barrier to any restoration bv
! legislation OF particular officers" He re-
news his suggestion that irresponsible Occu-
! patton should be furnished the officers of the
navy by employing them in vessels of the
revenue marine and lighthouse ships. These
recommendations" he says. "are in pursu-
ance of the well considered principle that the
officers and seamen of the Ravy should be
employed to perform all the work Of the
National Government upon or in direct con-
nectiOn with the ocean,"
THE NEW CRUISERS.
He refers to the completion and launching
of the Dolphin, Atlanta and Boston, and says
that the Chicago Is seven tenths COMPLETED |
| The Secretary says: 1.-The department is con-
frmed in the opinion tnat the criticisms ad-
vanced last year against the new ships were
ance with the progress of modern ship build
ing. As to the want of full sail power and the |
absence OF sheathlng, 1t appears that the Brit
ish Admiralty is now buifdIng steel cruisers |
of the Leander and Mersey classes absolutely |
without masts or sails and unsheathed The
objections to the machinery of the Chicago
are met by satisfactory performance Of a |
vessel with machinery generally similar as to |
the peculiar features of the Boston. 1t is to |
be noticed that the same features are to be |
found IN the new Chllian vessel Esmeralda, |
the latest development of naval construction
in England. Both vessels are unarmOred |
steel cruisers with protective decks and water
tight subdivisions, and without wooden or |
copper sheathing. They have the same di- |
menslOns, being go feet long, 40 feet beam |
and of 5000 tons displacement"
He says that comparisons OF speed between |
the new cruisers and the great trans-Atlan-
tlc racing steamers are unfair, because the |
latter attain their speed only by the sacrifice |
OF qualities essential to a ship of war. The |
number OF them possessing very high speed is |
small, and the new cruisers could OVertake |
80 per cent. of the merchant steamers of the |
world.
CONCLUSIONS OF THE ADVISORY BOkRD.
The report states that the conclusions of |
the Advisory Board recommend the con-
strucuon OF one cruiser Of 1900 tons, one |
cruiser of 5000 tons. one dispatch vessel of |
500 tons, two heavy armed gunboats of 500 |
tons each, one steel ram, one cruising torpedo |
boat, TWO harbOr tOpedO boats, and one ar |
mored vessel not exceeding 1000 tons. The |
department, in adopting the recommendation, |
calls special attention to the necessity for tor
pedo boats. In general the Secretary recon-
mends the construction of seven modern |
cruisers annually for period of |
10 years. such plan, he says,
while conforming to the conservative |
ample time for adopting every new device in |
construction, would give the country at |
moderate cost navy adequate to train its |
Omcers ana maintain It's safety and honor. |
In regard to the existing navy Secretary |
Chandler says: 1T appears from the cOndi-
tOn of the fleet that at the end of fifteen wears
Df haf LIST
naming VIII be three small iron vessels, the |
MOnOcacy, Alert and Ranger. The limlta- |
ton of the repairs of wooden vessels |
should continue at 20. per cent. |
of their cost, rs the department |
has for two wears earnestly advocated. The |
real explanation Of the disprOpOrtiOn between |
the expenditures and theresults accomplished |
in the naval administration is to be found in |
the policy of attempting, at great cost, to |
rehabllitate worn out structures under the |
name OF repairs. The report recommends |
that there should be an Assistant Secretary |
and solicitor in the department. and that |
the Bureaus of Construction and Steam |
Engineering be united rs a single bureau. to |
have for its chief the most competent naval |
architect that can be found, whether in |
the navy or civil life. The gun |
foundry board was recOnvened in April 10 |
decide on full plans and estimates to carry |
out its recommendations. 1t has obtained in |
formation that there are respons b steel |
manufacturers in this country who, although
not provided at present with the necessary |
plant, are willing to construct the same and /
MAKE Bltlo lOI tOulIdGlH WIN lile government |
for the supply of material for the heaviest |
guns if guaranteed an order of su1licientmag-
nitude with positive appropriation covering |
a series of years shall be made by Congress.
THE DEPARTMENT FRAUDS.
Secretary Chandler next details the facts in
connection with the frauds in the Bureau of |
Medicine and Surgery. The amount of the |
suspected vouchers is $l24, ,S35, extending over |
the period from 1876 to 1874, but some portions |
Of the goods paid for were actually delivered, |
so that the loss is less than the above sum, |
although the exact amount has not yet been |
ascertaiued.
The Secretary presents and advocates the |
adoption OF a new plan to hasten promotion |
in the navy and the elimination of officers |
disqualified for active service. The essential |
feature is the retirement of two captains for
every captain promoted, and of one COM
mandeT fOrevery four commanders promoted.
He remarks that naval officers them
selves do not render any assistance in |
the furtherance of such plan. and calls at
tentiOn to the fact that unless the officers act
there will be danger of sweeping legislation,
by which good and inefficient VIII alike suf-
fer.
A MERCHANT MARINE.
In conclusion Secretary Chandler dwells
upon the close connection between the i'm
prOvement of the navy and development of
the merchant marine, and shows that to make
the latter commensurate with our trade, our
coast line and the number and wealth of our
commercial cities, we must have great lines of
ocean steamships of high speed and large
capacity carrying our nag to
| the most distant ldnUS ana
saving to our people the vast profits of the
carrying trade. The only way TO accomplish
this result, he says. is through direct encour-
agement given by the government, either in
the form of b0unties upon construction, or of
| payment for carrying the mails, so that Ame-
| rican capitalists will be induced to embark IN
| business. The recent enactment repeating
| the laws requiring American vessels ar5itra- |
rily to carry foreign mails, he SAYS, should be
supplemented by provision that contracts
| for carrying such mails in American lines of
steamers high
ways. should be let for terms of years to the
lowest bidder, adequate compensation there
for to be paid by the government upon the
same principle as that adopted in establish
| ing our great national post routes on land.
Blaine at Was shingtOn.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5.-Blaine arrived
on the limited express from New York