The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1898-01-17
GREAT LACK OF DOCKS.
UNITED STATES NAVY WOULD
BE SERIOUSLY HAMPERED.
Gould Not Obtain Docking Eacili-
ties for the Warships In
Case Of War.

NEW YORK, JAN 16.-The Her
alds Washington correspondent
sends the following: In the event of
war operations the United States navy
would be seriously hampered by lack
of docks; this is particularly true of
the North Atlantic squadron. Secre-
tary Long declares that the most urg-
ent need of the navy is an increase OF
docking facilities. OF eleven Govern
ment docks-nine on the Atlantic and
two ON the Pacific Coast-three were
designed to accommodate battleships
of the first class, one at New York, one
at Port Royal, S. c., and one at Brem-
erton. Washington, on Puget Sound.
Civil Engineer NJ T. Endicott, who
returned to-day from the Brooklyn
navy yard, where he has been in con-
sultation with Naval Constructor
Bowles In regard to making repairs to
dry dock No 8, informed Secretary
Long that there is grave danger that
the key wall will give way. 1t is not
believed that the dock will be ready
for service until the entrance has been
rebuilt and at least six months and
probably longer will be required to do
this There is not only an insufficiency
of water at the entrance to Port Royal
dry dock, but the cross section of the
dock is too small to admit battleships
with bilge keels.
There is only one dock on the Pacific
Coast of sufficient size to dock modern
battleships. This is on Puget Sound,
300 miles from San Francisco. Ac-
cess to it is through narrow channel
twenty miles long, one side of which is
in possession of a foreign Government.
The battleships Indiana and Massa-
chusetts were locked some months ago,
the former at Halifax and the latter
in dry dock No. 3, just before the
Brooklyn structure developed the de-
fects. 1t is recognized by naval au-
thorities that Great Britain in case OF
war would not permit United states
men-of-war to use Canadian or English
docks, and this Government would con-
seauently be thrown on its own re-
sources. AT the present time the de-
partment has been informed that the
hulls of the battleships Iowa, Indiana
and Massachusetts are foul and their
speed has been materially decreased.
Even should Naval Constructor Bowles
be successful in making repairs, some
of the officials of the department say
that the dry dock might be found too
weak to accommodate a ship of 1l,0O0
tons displacement One of these gem
tlemen pointed out to-day that the dry
dock is built ON son of quicksand
character.
Constant driving of sheet piling," he
said, has undoubtedly resulted IN
loosening the soil. You will recall that
on January 18th the earth back of the
wing wall on the easterly side of the
dock settled, carrying with it the crane
tracks Water and fine sand entered
the pit between the caisson and the
dam, and the flow finally resulted in a
caye-in. That illustrates the weakness
OF the dock The department will not
trust one of its costly battleships in a
structure of this character until smaller
vessels sufficiently strong to stand
tumbling about have tested its
strength"
When l saw Mr.. Endicott to-day he
declined to discuss the Brooklyn dry
dock question, but from another official
who knows what Mr.. Endicott did
while at the navy yard, I learned that
his investigation shows that there Is
grave danger of the collapse Of the en-
tire entrance to the dock.
In his reports TO the Senate and
House Naval Committee, Secretary