Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-12-08
LABOR IN NAVY YARDS.

LABOR IN NAVY YARDS.
History Of the Establishment of Competitive
Examinations for Foremen
APPLICATION or TIE MERIT SYSTEM IN TIL
GRADE OF MECHANICS AND LABoRERs-DrFFI
cULrIrs IN cHAxerSa THE OLD NETHoDs-sAr
IsTAcroRY OPERATION or THE NEW sYsrEx.
The labor question as applied to navy yards,
or the problem Of civil service in the grade Of
mechanics and laborers. calls forth series OF
explanatory remarks from Secretary Tracy in
his annual report that are interesting. He
says:
The Navy Department was called upon, at
the opening Of this administration, to start on
ito own account anew manufacturing business
the construction and repair Of steel ships The
previous work Of the navy yards on wooden
vessels was an entirely different branch of man.
ufscturs and of o much simpler character. The
hull of the old ship was merely . wooden
chamber divided into fats, and the principal
work on il was done with the saw, the adze, the
chisel and mallet, the auger and the rest Of an
ordinary ship carpenters outfit 1t was
work that required no mechanical appliances
The ship Of today Is an entirely different
structure. II is built wholly of steel Every
step in construction or In repair, every job Of
cutting or fastening, no matter how small, re-
quires the use of machine tools and workmen Of
the highest skill. Not only in the frame and the
skin Of the ship, but in all its minor appliances
o great change and development have taken
place. The war ship of the present day is one
Of the most complicated machines Of modern
times. There is no comparison between the
Aff3cultiaa Of the old and the claaaaa nf
work. They are as different as making bucket
and making o watch.
NECESSITY OF SKILLED woRKMEN.
The Secretary devotes several pages to q de-
scription of the difficulties in modern ship
building, and then he says:
To turn over work Of the kind described to
unskllled workmen is to imperil the efficiency
of our ships and to ruin the new navy, which
has been built up with such infinite labor and
pains faster than it can be acquired, and, at
the same time, to involve the government
through the Navy Department, in an extrava-
CANT and needless expenditure Considerations
of efficiency in the first place and of economy
in the second, therefore. demand that some
practical business way shall be found to Sc
cure competent workmen. 1t has fallen to this
administration to be the first to graphic with
the question, and / have considered that, no
matter how great the difficulties, 1 should not
be justified in shirking or evading the duty.
The question has been: How shall the Navy
Department get good foremen and good work.
men in its building and repair yards? 1 have
arrived at the conclusion that il can only be
done on the same plan as that which prevails
In private establishments-to give the places to
the best class Of mechanics that can be procured
for the prices the government can afford to
pay. regardless of any other consideration than
their mechanical skill
RADICAL CHANCE IN ORGANIZATION.
Tho nhfart
necessity Of which no one can deny, could not
be accomplished without a radical change In
organization Everybody knows, and it is of
no use to evade the fact, that the navy yards
have heretofore been used largely for purposes
OF political patronage. The system which I
found in existence placed the power of the ap-
potntmsnt of workmen in the hands of the fore
men, and the 1oremen were generally political
Apprentices. With such q system it was i'm
possibie that the test Of fitness for employment
- the yard should be the skill Of the applicant.
Tor those by whom he was recommended were
mot his employers and had no knowledge of
his qualifications as . workman. Nor could
the foreman, owing his appointment to local
influences, resist, even if he so desired, the
pressure Of personal considerations.
Although In the old days this system must
have entaied considerable loss to the govern
skill It did not absolutely prevent the carrying
out OF work at the yards Any man who could
bore and mortise could render some service
more or less valuable to the government But
the work which the yards are now called upon
10 perform cannot be done under that system
The workmen must be chosen for their quail
ties ~ workmen. and this can only be accom-
plishsd by excluding every other consideration
than those Of skill and competency.
COMPETITIVE ExAMISATIoN OF FonEMEy
II became evident to me, after two years. ex-
perience in the department, that in order to
obtain the kind of workmen required in the
navy yards . specific change of organization
was necessary. and plan for the selection of
foremen and other experimenting mechanics
was put In operation In April last ALI the
notwithstanding positions at the yard were de-
ciAred vacant, and q board Of officers, whose
impartial character was universally recognized
and whose members were practical men. most
OF them experienced in manufacturing, was
appointed to ind out the best mechanics to fill
the places Public notice was given, and all
mechanics were allowed to compete.
The department appointed in every case the
man whom the board reported as best among
the applicants for the position In some cases
the board reported that none Of the candidates
who appeared were qualified. In these cases
the best among the candidates was appointed
temporarily, and the department is now making
q second effort to secure thoroughly competent
men In their places.
The next step was to provide for the selection
Z OF workn,en- The method adopted, which was
put In operation on the LIST Of September last.
vas 10 open an Office at each yard, where ali
applicants could register. This Office is in
charge of q board, also composed of practical
men. either heads Of departments at the Yards
or their assistants, all Of whom are commits
stoned officers
HOW THE BOARD oPERATEa
The board CLASHES the applicants according
TO their trades, the only requirement. for regis
tration being that they shall be American ci.i-
sens and that they shall bring certificates from
previous employers that they know their trade
When workmen Of any particular trade are
needed IN any department. of the yard the head
OF the department makes a requisition on the
board. The board sends in a list of names.
ltaking them in the order OF their application.
ous giving preference to those who have had
experience In navy yard work. The head of
We department, on receiving the names frof,
the board, takes the same course that would be
followed by the superintendent of q private
establishment He sets the men to work and
finds out their fitness for employment grading
them according to their skill if they are good
workmen, and il they are no: rejecting them
altogether.
Every man whose name is sent to him by the
board must have O trial Ii may be q short
trial, but the superintendent must try him and
come to . conclusion about him. When he re-
1ects men he sends their names back to the
board and new names are supplied until he OBJ
tains the mechanics he needs The reeistra-
ton books. an well an the reasons for rs;s.t;o,,