Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-09-11
OUR NAVY.
What il Costs to Run a Man,
of-War.
THE DUTY OF A SHIPS PAY-MASTER,
Every Kind of Supply is Measured Out
to the Ships Most Carefully-Inci-
dental Expenses.
HE DUTY OF A SHIPS PAY-MASTER.

It costs the United States Govern
ment about $500, 900 year to maintain
the cruiser New York. For the eleven
months she was in commission, ending
on June 80, 1894, the exact cost of
maintaining her was $327, 974. "a.
The fiscal year has just been completed,
but not until the Paymaster General of
the navy submits his accounts to the
Secretary in the fall will the exact cost
of maintaining each of the ships of the
navy for this year be known. In the
year ended on June 30, 1894. the Bal
in the matter of expense. The cost of
running that ship was $685. 900. The
Chicago came next, the cost of mainten-
ance being $311,000. The San Fran
cisco cost $2S3, 900: the Philadelphia,
$279, 900; the Charleston, $3.50, 900,
and the Newark, $264.000.
The most expensive item in running a
man -ofwar 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 engineering department was the
next heaviest item. 1t included the
coal bill, and $66, 900 was required for
the steam engineering account. Com
mutation of rations was the next
heaviest item, the figures for that be-
ing $28, 900. The sum of $10,97 was
required for ordnance and So, 492 was
used in equipment. For construction
and repair SO, 143 was used, and the
item of supplies and accounts required
$16, 455. Then there were lot of in
cidental expenses, such as are charged
to the navigation or the surgery ac-
counts.
The Navy Department has made
many changes recently in the system
of keeping accounts. A most thorough
plan of tabulation of all things that
can be of use in the statistics of the
department is kept, and at first sight
the department would seem to be over
whelmed with figures arranged in
scores of tables. The coal consump-
tion, for example, of every ship is tabu-
lated for every condition of sailing,
and from study of these tables many
valuable data are obtained, and true
economy in that element of expense is
secured. Every kind of supply is
measured out to the ships most care
fully, and, although there seems to be
a confusing amount of red tape. it is
kind of red tape, so far as the accounts
are concerned, that pays.
When ship is in home waters sup
plies are obtained from the storehouses
in the navy yards. These supplies
have been purchased mostly by con-
tract. In the fiscal year of 1894 the
contract supplies for the navy cost $5,-
821, $40. When contracts are not
made, or when it is necessary to pur-
chase articles at once and without max
ing acquisitions on the storehouses,
supplies are secured by what is called
open purchase. The paymaster of
ship or the paymaster in charge of the
supplies at navy yard simply goes
shopping for whatever is wanted. after
he has written authority to make
purchase. and what he spends goes into
the open purchase account. The num-
Der of articles required for maintaining
navy is enormous. For example,
there are kept in the storehouses of
New York Navy Yard no fewer than
rs, 900 kinds of articles used for run
ming the navy, and the value of these
articles is about SO, 5000
Whenever ship needs supplies of
any sort the Captain and Paymaster
sign requisition, which is counter
signed at Washington usually. and
then the Paymaster in charge of the
station is ordered to fill the requisition.
Each article is charged up to the ship
at the contract price. Sometimes it
is necessary to have the goods shipped
to the vessel, and sometimes an order
is filed from several yards. An elab-
crate system of orders and receipts is
kept, so that the complicated accounts
of the department. may be tabulated
properly. When in home waters the
Paymaster of ship has very little
active buying to do. His accounts,
however, are just as complicated as
when in foreign waters, but he is re-
lieved from many responsibilities that
come to him when his ship is ON
cruise. When he is away from home
the executive officer of the ship notifies
him that certain supplies are wanted.
The Captain signs the requisition,
and then the Paymaster makes an open
purchase. If coal is wanted he takes
the Chief Engineer with him when he
goes shopping, and is guided by the
suggestions of the chief in making his
purchases. If some other kind of goods
is needed he takes with him that official
of the ship whose department is most
concerned, and the two decide as to
price and quality. The Paymaster of
the ship has at once the duties of the
Quartermaster. Paymaster and Com
missary in the army. He has to see
that the ships exchequer is kept sup
piled with money, and his work REQUIRES