Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1895-08-30
COST OF OUR NAVY.
1t Takes 5000, 900 to Maintain
The New York.
QUITE COSTLY ISN'T IT ?
OUR SPEEDY WAR-VESSELS COME
HIGH BUT WE MUST HAVE
THEM.


l. ernment about $500 900 a ye;
is to maintain the cruiser Ne,
q York. For the eleven month
she was In commission, endin
On June 80, 1894, the exact CO.
OF maintaining her was s327,
? i957.74. The fiscal year has jus
been completed, bat not unit
\ the Paymaster General of tn,
Navy submits his accounts to tn
Secretary in the Fall will the ex
act cost of maintaining each O
the ships Of the navy for thi
year be known. In the year end,
ed On June 80, 1894, the Balti
more followed the New York
closely in the matter of expense
The cost of running that ship
was $4,000. The Chicago
came next, the cost OF maintain
ance being $4,000. The San
francisco cost $3.50 900; the Phil
adelphia, $4,000; the Charles
ton, s25o,ooo, and the Newark
S204 900.
! The most expensive item in
1unnlng a man -of-war is salaries.
The pay for the officers and men
on the New York for eleven
months was 100000 in round
numbers. The cost of maintain.
ing the engineer department was
the next heaviest item, the fg-
ures tor that being $4,000. The
sum of sIo,o7o.Io was required
for ordnance, and S5,4o2 was
used IN equipment For con
struction and repair $5,143 was
used, and the item Of supplies
and accounts required s1o,455.
Then there was lot of Incident
al expenses, such as are charged
to the navigation or the surgery
accounts, bringing up the total
cost of maintenance for eleven
months to s527,o74.74.
The Navy Department has
made many changes recently in
the system of keeping accounts.
y most thorough plan of tabula>
ton of all things that can be of
use III the statistics of the Depart
lnent is kept, and at first sight |
the Department would seem to
be overwhelmed with figures ar
in scores of tables. The
coal consumption, fo, example,
OF every ship is tabulated for
every condition Of sailing, and
from a study of these tables many
data are obtained, and
true economy in that element of
is secured. Every kind
IF supply is measured out to the
ships most carefully, and, altho'
here seems to be a confusing
amount of red tape, it is a kind
IF red tape, so far as the accounts
Ire concerned, that pays.
When a ship is in home wa
;ers supplies are obtained from
he store~houses in the Navy
ards. These supplies have been
purchased mostly by contract. In
he fiscal year of 1894 the cons
ract supplies for the navy cost
'5.S2I,57o,o3o- When contracts
ire not made, or when it is nee
.ssary to purchase articles at
,nce and without making requi>
itions on the storehouses, sup
,lies are secured by what is call
d open purchase. The Pay
Master of ship or the Paynas
er in charge of the supplies at a
Iavy-yard simply goes shopping
or whatever is wanted, after he
las written authority to make
purchase. and what he spends
.oes into open purchase account.
Hhe number of articles required
or maintaining a navy is enor-
nous. For example, there are ,
,ept in the storehouses of the
IeW York Navy-yard no fewer
han $4,000 kinds of articles used
or running the navy, and the
'alue of these articles is about |
$500, ,ooo.-Pu6kc Ledger. ,