Daily Kennebec journal., 1895-12-02
Annual Report of the Secretary
Upon Its Condition.
Warships Completed During Year and
Those Soon to Join the Navy.
More Sailors Needed and More Baiiieships
and Torpedo Boats Necessary.

| ment for the fiscal year.
The vessels built by contract, the Olym-
pia. Minneapolis and Indiana have been
completed and accepted. The following
vessels have been completed at navy yards
and put in commission: Maine, mt thc
navy yard, New York; Texas, at the navy
! yard, Norfolk; Amphitrte, at the navy
| yard, Norfolk.
The report continues: The ram hatah
| din, completed under contract at the Bath
| Iron Works, was tried over deslgna'eu
| course upon Long Island sound on NOV.
81 Of the present year, making an average
Of 1901 knots an hour. The contract re-
| qurcments, excepting, perhaps some
| slight finishing touches, had all Deen COM
| piled with, save only that speed OF II
| knots was not reached upon the trial, and
'or this reason the department refused to
accept the ship. The company earnestly
| insists that rs the vessel and its machinery
were constructed upon the department 5
| plans and specifications, that as these
| plans and specifications were faithfully
| followed and the work well DONE the ship
| should be accepted. In the view Of the de-
| partmcnt, however, whatever may be the
| equities of the contractor, the question as
TO what shall be the final disposition of
the matter is one properly belonging to
| congress.
Progress Has Been Slow.
! Progress in construction of such ar
mored vessels as were being constructed
in government yards has been slow. The
department some time since peremptorily
ordered that a full force should be kept
always at work on each vessel building
and the reasonable expectation now is
that the Terror will be in commission
about Feb. !, 1896; the Monadnock about
the same date, and the Puritan, the re-
naming ship Of this class, by July /, 1895.
Contracts for the three torpedo boats
| authorized by tha act of July 26, 1894 We're
| awarded to the Columbian Iron Works
AMI Dry Dock company of Baltimore on
May 3, 1898. The date fixed in the con-
tract for their completion is Aug. 9, 1896.
In this connection the department is
| pleased to be able to testify its high ap-
| probation of the superior excellence Of
| the workmanship done generally by the
establishments that have built the ships
constituting our new navy. Disntcr-
cstcd and competent critics unite in say
ing that in thoroughncss and finish of
cxcelcd, and, indeed, seldom equalcd in
the world.
| More Docks Opposed.
| The department has been urged from
many quarters to recommend the CON
struction of new docks not only mt Nor
! folk. but also mt Portsmouth, n H. Bos-
| ton League Island, and ut Mare Island.
| and these requests are made in spite Of
| the difficulties which it is we'll known are
| now experienced in keeping together ut
| the several yards now open any efficient
and skilled body Of workmcn. In my
opinion to undertake all this would lie
cxtravagant, and | feel sure it would lead
to much unwisc expenditure of money liz
the future. In my opinion it would be wise
| to invest whatever moneys are to be cX-
rendcd upon the navy, beyond its current
| needs and the necessities of existing repair
plants, in the construction of new ships
| and not in building docks.
Secretary Chandler saw and pointed on.
| that we had too many navy yards among
which work was being distributed and an
| portionod, too many organizations, too
many forcmcn and leading men to sup
port. too many plants to maintain, and he
wisely closed certain of our yards. Sccra-
tarv Whitney, who succeeded him. wrought
upon similar lines. He stopped all repair
work upon ships. except at the BROOKLYN,
Norfolk and Mare Island yards conccn-
trated ordnance work at the Washington
yard and equipment work at Boston To
build docks now at Portsmouth. Boston
and League Island would inevitably en-
tail the undoing of all this work of CON
ccntrating and the doing of repair work
again ut each of these places and of course
the maintenance Mt each of separate
plant and Of an additional organization
Recommendations.
| Last year recommended an increase of
2000 men in the enlisted force of the navy.
| Congress granted authority to enlist 1000
additional men. In exercising this au-
| thority the department, having due regard
| for economy, did not enlist the men au-
! thorzed until they We're imperatively
needed. but with the completion of the
| crew of the Indiana, the entire 1000 au-
| thorzed will have been enlisted. Con
| sderng the constantly recurring emer-
! gencies of the service, and the number of
vessels soon to be completed and pnt into
| commission. the department will un-
| doubtedly require more men, and it is
therefore recommended that congress
authorize the enlistment of 1000 additional
men, which, with those already authorized
| will make the full number recommended
in my last report
The secretary concludes: We are not in
want of ordinary unarmored cruisers OF
of gunboats. but we are lamentably def
cient in torpedo boats, and we certainly
need more battleships. An inspection OF
the building programs of other nations
will demonstrate that the lessons taught
Mt Yalu and Wei Hal Wei have tended tc
confirm the belief of naval experts
throughout the world in the efficacy oi
these two classes of vessels.
] respectfully recommend the construc
ton of two battleships and at least Is
torpedo boats. The gratifying progres.
made by our manufacturers of steel and
our shipbuilders and the competition
among them has enabled the department
during the past two years to contract 70,
cunboats and torpedo boats at very large
reduction from former prices. The de
partment also indulges the hope that the
bids for the two battleships, the construc
tion of which was authorized by the las,
congress, and of their armor, will be con
I "a HI L., sha,x ~.