Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1884-12-06
ANNUAL REPORT
OF the Secre AIRY Of the Navy Depart.
ment Made Public.
WASHINGTON. Dec. i

says that the despatch steamer Dolphin has
been launched. Her speed is l6 knots. A
fracture OF the shaft delays the formal accept
ance-
The report says that it has been shown that
| our steel makers can readily furnish excellent
material in large quantities. its high quality
being assured by tests adopted. As to the
want of full sail power and an abundance of
sheathing, il appears that the British admir-
atty is now building steel cruisers absolutely
without masts or sails and unsheathed. The
| objections TO the machinery of the Chicago
are met by the satisfactory performances of
the Louisiana, vessel with machinery gen.
orally similar. As to the peculiar features of
the Boston, it is TO be noticed that the same
features are to be found in the new Chilisn
vessel Esmeralda. the latest developing of
naval construction in England. Both vessels
are unarmed steel cruisers with protective
decks and water tight subdivisions and with
out wooden or copper sheathing. They have
the same dimensions, being 270 feet long, ~
feet beam and 5000 tons displacement. In
both, the top gallant forecsstle and covered
poop have been done away with. Apart from
this fact, even if there were any weight to
objections against the design of the Boston
and Atlanta, they are offset by its overwhelm-
ing advantages in giving an extensive and
anobstructed train of guns, and therefore an
increased efficiency to the battery. The
comparisons of speed between the new cruis
ers and the great transatlantic racing steam
ers are unfair, because the latter attain speed
only to be sacrifice of the qualities essen
tial to ship of war. They are unprotected
and unwieldly and of enormous draft and
dimensions number of them possessing
very high speed are small, and the new
ka of tho
merchant steamers of the world. The rates
Of speed assigned to the new ships are based
on very conservative calculations of their
probable performance, and they will undoubt
edly exceed the estimates; but the first un-
armed cruisers of the new unarmed fleet are
not intended for comparison in speed with
unprotected racing ships of enormous size or
in defensive power with the modern ironclad
The steel forgings for the six-inch guns of
the new cruisers are being made at the Mid
rale Steel Works, Philadelphia, and those
for the eight-inch guns in England. There
being no plant in this country capable of pro-
ducing eight-inch forgings, the government is
compelled to employ foreign manufactures
The machine finishing of the guns is being
done partly at the Washington navy yard and
partly at the South Boston Iron Works and
West Point foundry. The manufacture of
for the new cruisers, being wholly new in
this country, is slow and difficult. and the
cost here is necessarily greater than if they
were procured abroad. The armor of the
Miantonomah is nearly completed and in
place. The machinery of the Amphitrte and
Terror is about onehalf completed, while
that or the Puritan is finished. No work has
been done on the hulls of the moditors. Com
mon prudence demands that immediate steps
be taken to remedy the defenseless condition
| of our coasts and harbors, and the most rapid
and economical measure which can be adopt
ed at the present time is to push the partially
constructed monitors to completion.
The report states the conclusion of the
advisory board recommending the construc,
tion of one cruiser of $500 tons, one of 5000
tons, one despatch vessel of 1900 tons, two
heavily armed gunboats of 1900 tons each.
one light gunboat of 750 tons, one steel ram,
one cruising torpedo boat, two harbor torpedo
boats, and one armed vessel not to exceed
! 1000 tons. The department in adopting the
recommendations. call special attention to
the necessity for torpedo boats. In general,
the secretary recommends the construction
| of seven modern cruisers annually for a
period of ten years. Such a plan, he says,
while conforming to the conservative demands
| of the national policy, and atfording ample
| time for adopting every new device in con-
struction, would give the country at moder-
ate cost navy adequate TO tram its officers
and maintain its safety and honor.
! In regard to the existing navy, Secretary
Chandler says: at appears from the coudi-
ton of the fleet that at the end of fifteen
years the only cruising vessels of the present
! list remaining will be three small vessels, the
| Monacacy, Alert and Ranger. The real ex-
PLANTATION of the disproportiOn between the
expenditures and results accomplished in
the naval administration is to be found in the
policy Of attempting at great cost to rehabi-
tate worn out structures under the name of
repairs. The practice of reconstructing ves-
sells under the name of repairs is the only
pretixt on which our over grown navy ward
establishments could be justified and it
appears that instead of maintaining the yards
for the advantage and benefit of our ships,
| the ships have dragged out a protracted
existance for the benefit of the yards"
| Concerning the navy yards, the secretary
| holds that only two naval work shops should
be maintained on the Atlantic coast and one
on the Pacific. The New London yard should
be restored to Conn. and the League Island
yard to Philadelphia. The Boston yard
should be sold or reduced in size. The
| Pensacola and Portsmouth yards may be kept
for naval stations. Works iops would then
| be at New York, Norfolk and Mare Island.
| These need certain improvements in organi
zaton. First all politics should be excluded
from their management and in accordance
with Section 1916 of the Revised Statutes,
which saws Nor shall any workingman be
removed or discharged for political opinion. -
| Second, the responsibility for work must be
more definitely fixed.
The report gives the history of the Greeley
relief exhibition, the expenditures for which
were S762, ,696. 1t is recommended that the
relief vessels Thetis and Bear be retained
for surveying purposes. In the preparation
of the exhibition there was no omission or
mishap and its success reflected high honor
and credit on the American navy. The re-
port recommends that there should be an
Assistant Secretary and a solicitor in the
department, and that the bureaus of con-
struction and of steam engineering be united
as a single bureau, to have for its chief the
most competent naval architect that can be
had, either in the navy or in private life.
Secretary Chandler details the facts in con-
nection with the frauds in the bureau of med
icine and surgery. The amount of the sus-
pected vouchers is 1924, ,S35, extending over
period from 1879 to 1884.
The expenditures in the department during
the year vas Sl7, ,292 COL. The estimates for
ordinary purposes and public works for the
next year are sl7, ,se0, ,65s. The estimates
@ba 81