Morning journal and courier., 1885-06-19
NAVY DEPARTMENT,

WASHINGTON, June lS.-Ih6 following let ter respecting the dispatch boat Dolphin was written to-day:
 NAVY DEPARTMENT,
 WASHINGTON, D. G., June IS.
 Sir-HeIewith transmit copy of the re- port of the board appointed by me on the 7th of April last to examine and report upon the dispatch boat Dolphin. desire you to ex- anime this report, and to advise me what, upon the law applicable to the case, is my duty in the premises. The facts and circum- stances connected with this examination and the matters with reference to which I desire advice are briefly stated as follows:
 Immediately after my accession to this office papers were presented to me for my signature accepting the Dolphin in behalf of the government. Upon a cursory examina- tion of the papers, made for the purpose of determining to what extent I had responsi-
 bility in the matter, my attention was at tracted to the singular looseness of the con-
 tract. There was notable absence of effec- tive stipulations, as it seemed to me. There
 was, however, one positive requirement con
 tained in the ninth section of the contract in
 tended to insure a certain minimum
 power, which provided that upon her trial
 trip the collective indicated horse power de veloped by said engines under the prescribed
 conditions shall be two thousand three hun
 dred and maintained successfully for six con-
 secutive hours provided that in case of the failure of the development of this power the
 vessel shall be accepted if it can be shown
 to the satisfaction of the naval ad-
 visory board and the Secretary of the
 Navy that this failure was due neither to
 defective workmanship nor material" This
 trial having been had in Long Island Sound
 under conditions favorable in the main she
 had yet failed of meeting this requirement.
 having developed but 2,100 horse power for
 the six hours. The naval advisory board in
 frf hic had oAoto &ba4
 of the opinion that this deficiency
 ''was not due to defective workmanship
 TOT material" but that with better coal and well trained engineer force these
 results would be exceeded. For the pur-
 pose of verifying this prediction and to satis-
 fy myself, as appeared to be my duty, l wrote upon the 2Oth of March suggesting to the contractor another trial. As the
 place of the trial had been fixed in Long Island Sound by the persons
 authorized under the contract to prescribe
 the conditions of the trial, and the terms were not more severe than those exacted by
 other nations, expected an immediate and
 It was acceded to on the 5tn of May, over six weeks having elapsed. In the meanwhile an examination of the dealings of the department with the con- tractor, and especially the manner in which the reserved payments had been sur
 
 select three competent persons to make a thorough examination for the purpose of my sdvisement to, frst-whether the contract had been properly performed; sec ond-as to defects in the vessel; third-as to the responsibility for defects observed if any.
 The result of that examination, made with
 great patience and intelligence, is herewith
 submitted for your consideration. I now desire an examination of the contract and law by you that I may be advised whether, representing the government, have on my
 or 8 broken contract. The report demonstrates that the government has not got in the Dolphin what Congress
 stipulated for and what should have been
 obtained. There are three general subjects considered by the board: First, the speed; second, the strength; third, the general workmanship.
 First-As to the speed. The act of Con gress under which the Dolphin was built provided for an appropriation for 'tone dispatch boat, as recommended by the naval advisory board in it's report of December 20, 1882" By referring to that report it will be found that the recommendation was for the con- struction of s'one dispatch vessel or clipper to have speed of fifteen knots" A refer ence to the report of the advisory board then before Congress, and the testimony which had been taken by it's committees upon the sub ject of the new cruisers, shows that for 8 sea speed of fifteen knots a smooth water speed over measured distance of seventeen and one-half or eighteen knots is required Similar vessels able to show speed of eight cen and nineteen knots were referred to be- fore the congressional committee as being in course of construction by other nations. It may therefore be said to have been the just expectation of Congress in appro- 0r hn n1T1hi considering the state of the art, that she would be able to show at least sev- enteen and one-half knots speed upon her trial. Her highest speed for six hours was fifteen knots, as you will observe by examin- ing the report of the board aad she has not six hours the 2,30Q horse power required by the contract. Instead of being a ! dispatch boat of fifteen knots sea speed, the result of these various trials indicates something be- tween twelve and thirteen knots as her probable sea speed in service. In view of the purpose for which she was built-a dis patch boat-and the state of the art with reference to the speed of such vessels, it is apparent that the contractor has not produc- ed the result intended by Congress.
 Second-As to her strength. From the | report of the board it wonld seem that the evidence on this subject is somewhat meagre g1lC absence of sufficient sea trial. The Eng ! fish rules in similar cases, as I am informed, generally provide for a run of two or three days at sea. The opinion is expressed by the board that she has not the required stiffness. This opinion is based on the vibration of the ship when under way and the yielding ob- served in her floors and the effect of an dh- equal load as Seen when a smal1 quantity of pig iron was loaded on her forward, causing her machinery to get out of line and her
 journals to heat. Her last two trials, ae-- eording to the report, were accomplished only with streams of water pouring upon her journals during the trips These facts seem to the board to indicate great structural weakness, to what extent only 8 sufficient sea trial would demonstrate
 Third-As to the general character of her workmanship. The contract provides speci- l fcally (third section): ''The material and struction of the hull and machinery and fit tings of said Vessel in details and finish shall | be hrst-class and of the very best quality. | The character of the material is substatianl1y | beyond inspection now. The general work ! manship and finish is criticised by the board, | but the contractor has been steadily at work ! at this, and expresses willingness to make I the details satisfactory 80 for as he is able. I think the department could dnuhtless deal | with that matter without legal advice
 1 The whole matter comes in the end to this: 1 The government is not receiving what it ex- pected and has right to expect from the l construction of this vessel. The question which desire answered is whether the de- partment has in the matter a bad bargain, which as simply between contracting par ties it must stand to, or has it broken con | tract entitling it to insist upon some l thing bettera In connection with this ques-
 tion, I desire to De advised what is the effect ! of the circumstance that the construction has
 been supervised by government officials, ma
 terial passed as sufficient and the workman
 ship similarly approved, from time to time during the construction. The contract pro-
 vides for this supervision and in I spection, and I am advised that it 1 has taken place as the work has
 progressed. Upon this subject I esH youl | attention to the fourteenth section of the
 contract, which provides ''that it shall not
 under any circumstances, be obligatory upor the party of the second part to accept the
 vessel or any part thereof to be constructed under the contract, unless tho same shal have been completed in strict conformati or
 with this contract under the supervision of the 1 naval advisory board and in accordance