Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-07-09
SECRETARY HERBERT SEVERE
Violations of the Merit Rule at the Brook
Ign Navy Yard
Results of the InvcstiEatiOn-Tyvo
Sccrctnry's Comments.

Secretary Herbert today acted in the
matter of the charges of irregularities in
the Brooklyn aNy yard. Naval Construc-
tor F. l.. Fernaid and Civil Engineer 2. C.
Asserson are detached from duty at the
Brooklyn navy yard and ordered to duty
at the Norfolk navy yard August l. Naval
Constructor +. T. Bowles and Civil En-
gneer A. G. Menocal viii take their places
at the Brooklyn yard. Mr.. Bowles is now
on duty al Norfolk and Mr. Menocal is
with the Nicaragua canal commission.
This action is the result of report of
Lieut. J. J. Knapp. who made a thorough
inv estigaton of the methods pursued at
the brooklyn ward in the employment Of
persons for government work.
In letter to the commandment of the
yard in regard to this report, Secretary
Herbert says that the department, after
very careful consideration of the state
ments and explanations made in regard to
the matter, reSretfGlly concludes that liz
quite 4 number of instances II has not had
Il at hearty and Jealous cooperation in the
81 lCrctment of the labor regulations 1t
mad right to expect from naval officers
at the New York navy yard l take pleas
ure in saying here, however, lest the gen
crafty of the expressions used in this COM
municaton should be misunderstood, that
no censure upon your conduct is anywhere
intended or to be implied.
In no other navy yard has there been so
Inadequate a compliance with and so total
misconstructiol of these regulations as
at Brooklyn, especially in the departments
of yards and docks and construction and
leps ir. Examples only of maladminstra-
tor need be cited. The respective heads
of 1fcse departments E.tNe proceeded upon
the idea that they couId by one means or
anCt Their continue men i'll employment
long as they wished by suSpendnE them
| instead of dIscharging them, ami by trans
1errinS them from one trade, when there
was no work TO be done of that nature, TO
another trade. Tn. rules lying at the
foundation of the system provided that
laborers wanted in any trade must come
fl ON the list of applicants as made up by
the board of labor employment. These lists
covered applicants for work in the different
trades, ana the schedule of trades ii need
be, could be extended by the department;
these provisions coupled with the utter want
of any rule authorizing a transfer Of work
men in the yard from one trade to another.
ought to have made Ii plain to any one
that such transfers could not be made.
Again, when there was no work, mechanics
and liborors, instead of being dropped
We're suspended, and subsequently taken on
again without ceTtiilcation by the board of
labor employment, in direct violation of the
spirit and intent of the regulations Such
administration as this has brought the de-
rartnent numerous complaints TO the effect
that favoritism was being constantly prac-
tced at the New York navy yard, and that
the hope held out to laborers by the regis
tration rolls was a delusion lnvestiga ton
SHOWS the most satisfactory answer the
department can make to these complaints
is that Its officials could not underst and
the rules
Working Under Assumed Names.
Secretary Herbert goes into great detail
in the discussion of the methods of en-
ployment employed at the yard and is very
severe in his comments on the action taken
| in several cases. He says that the fact
that so many men in the department OF
construction are working under assumed
names raises a strong presumption of
fraudulent use of notices sent out to other
pei sons or that false names were assumed
to escape some record in the navy yard
and if false names are used in so many in
stances there must be great carelessuess
somewhere. Indeed, it is scarcely possible
that there could be many frauds of t..is
character without the connivance of the
quartermen and leadingmen under whom
these men worked"
The Secretary gives instructions for a
correction in all possible cases, and on the
recommendation of the special examining
board directs that James a. Flood, foreman
plumber; John Riddle, quarterman plumber;
James Kelly, first-class plumber; William
Kelly, first-class plumber; James Molloy
first-class plumber, and Thomas Buchanan,
first-class plumber, be discharged from the
civil establishment of the navy yard, and
that John Kane, first-class plumber, and
Seaman Wilkes, first-class tinsmth, be re-
duced to the next lower ratings.