Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-11-22
DEFECTS OF NAVY YARDS.
The brooklyn Establinment the Best

The Brooklyn Establihment the Best
OF All.
The Navy Yards of the United
States when compared with those of
most foreign powers display poverty
Of modern appliances, lack of all
necessary facilities, a want of system
In the prosecution and supervision of
work caused by political influence
and a tumble down condition as re-
CARDS buildings. docks and wharves.
Our yards have not been devel-
oped with an intelligent regard for flu
ture requirements, but everything as
been done with an eye to the present,
Cheap and flimsy makeshifts have re-
suited from dribblng Operations, that
are always most expensive in the end.
since nothing permanent is secured by
such penurious policy, A walk
through any of our yards and CONVEX
sation with the officer on duty reveals
this unfortunate condition of affairs.
Several japanese officials who re-
Gently landed in San Francisco on their
way to inspect the magnificent dock
yards OF Europe were interv ewed by
an innocent and guileless reporter,
who. imbued with the idea that our
new Navy. OF which so much has been
said, s so powerful, asked the for
eigners # they were going to inspect
the nav Yards of the United States aud
the ships now building with view to
adopting our methods and types for
the Japanese Navy. 1t is said that this
question was received with 'shrieks of
laughter" and the d scomfited report
or, whose ideas were circumscribed by
the limits of his native town and the
daily papers. was told that II coun.
tree natee no good; Japan W IL soon
have 100 lighting ships better than those
of the United States. 1t was unkind.
very unkind, in the JapS TO receive
this question with ''shrieks of laugh
ter" But, poor men. how could the
help itp They knew that our yards are
destitute Of nearly everything that
wards should contain and that the
Charleston, the most powerful of our
new ships yet launched, was bu 1t upon
the plans of their crHsier. the Naniwa
KAHN other words, we had been
adopting Japanese types for our Navy.
What. then, could they learn in coun-
try whose most powerful ship was II
counterpart of one of their tleetP Cruel
though it was, we must forgive them
for laughing. since to have controlled
themselves under such circumstances
would have required that beautiful com
mand of facial expression for which
the Egg ptian Sphynx is alone remark
able.
The Brooklyn Nav Yard, though
the best equipped of all. is not free
from the state of dilapidation that per-
wales each one. The first proof Of
careless neglect is the large area of
several acres beyond the Marine Bar
racks on Flushing avenue, covered
with scraps OF ron, old boilers, rubbish
of all nds and Overgrown with weeds.
That such state of affairs should be
permitted to exist is II disgrace to the
country that allows it. If the govern.
ment is too penurious to put this field
in decent condition It should be gwen
TO the City of Brooklyn for a park or
sold to private individuals. who could
make some use of it There is great
need of good drill ground at the
Navy Yard. Ships come in and lie for
months at the dock and the receiving
ship Vermont. with hundreds of men
on board ut times. has no fit place to
exercise the men. In foreign nav es
this instruction and drill on shore
when sailors are in port is thought to
be of great Importance in its effects
upon the tars who must be far more
mil tary then in former days This
area should be cleared Of rubbish.
graded aud improved for this import
ant part of naval education and in.
struction. With the organization OF u
Naval Reserve new barracks Will be
necessary at the BROOKLYN Yard and
there will be still greater demand for
q suitable drill ground. Such state
of affairs would not be allowed to exist
in any other country, since none is so
slow to utilize means for the improve.
ment OF it's naval establishment
When ship building facilities arc
considered the comparative helpless
ness of our condition may be fully
realized. In five of England's splcn-
did dock ards. Chatham. Portsmouth.
Sheerness, Pembroke and Davenport.
there are thirty-livc new ships in pro-
cess of construct on. all OF which will
be finished in a short time owing to
their wonderful facilities and their
skilled we'll disciplined labor Ever
thing has been built up with view to
permanencr and durability AMI no
money has been wasted on temporary
expedients In painful contrast, it is
asserted that the Maine. tho one ship
now building ut the Brooklyn Yard.
will be six or eight years on the stocks
before she will be completed for her
first cruise. The plant, tools. machIn-
cry and most of the material used in
construction have all to be supplied
and the workmen must be educated.
since there arc few OF them skilled in
modern iron clad construction. The
officers in charge of the work will
push it as fast rs possible, but the task
before them is stupendous one and
with tho facilities at hand and the in
experienced labor the delays will be
long aud frequent There could DO no
better proof of the necessity for build
ing tho Maine at the Brooklyn Yard,
for in no other wav could the plant or
the experience be obtained We must
build a few shiDs i'm the nnYy Yards TO