The San Francisco call., 1898-01-16
Construction and Rapairs That Should Not Be Longer
 Delayed.
STARTLING FACTS STATED.
Only One Dry-Dock on the Pacific Coast Which Would Hold a
 Largo Battleship.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

NEW YORK, Jan. 15.-The Herald's Washington correspondent sends the following: In the event of war ope- rations 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 battle-ships 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 M. 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. 3, informed Secretary Long that there is grave danger that the key wall will give way. It 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 battle-ships with bilge keels.
 There is only one dock on the Pacific Coast of sufficient size to dock modern battle-ships. This is on Puget Sound, 900 miles from San Francisco. Ac- cess to 1t is through a narrow channel twenty miles long. one side of which is in possession of foreign Government. The battle-ships Indiana and Massa- chusetts were docked some months ago, the former at Halifax and the latter in dry dock No. 3, just before the Brooklyn structure developed the de- fleets. It is recognized by Naval au- thorities that Great Britain in case of war would not per init United States men-of-war to use Canadian or English docks, and this Government would consequently be thrown on it's own resources. At the present time the department has been informed that the hulls of the battle ships Iowa. Indiana and Massachusetts are foul and their speed has been ma terially 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 to be too weak to ac commodate a ship of 1000 tons dis placement. One of these gentlemen pointed out to-day that the dry dock is i built on soil of a quickSand character. Constant driving of sheet piling," he ! said, has undoubtedly resulted in l loosening the soil. You will recall that 1 on January the earth back of the ] wing wall on the easterly side of the 1 dock settled, carrying with 1t the crane l tracks Water and fine sand entered | the pit between the caisson and the dam, and the flow finally resulted in cave-in That illustrates the weakness ! of the dock The department will not ! trust one of its costly battleshfps in a structure of this character until small
 CT vessels sufficiently strong to stand
 tumbling about have tested its 1 strength"
 When I saw MT. Endicott to-day he
 declined to discuss the Brooklyn dry i dock question, but from another official
 who knows what Mir. Endicott did
 while at the navy-yard. l 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
 Long urged that docks be constructed ! at Boston, Portsmouth, N. H., and Mare Island, Cal: that dry-dock No. at the New York navy-yard be fitted 1 with a concrete entrance and widened
 sufficiently to accommodate our largest battleships that the present timber
 dry-dock at League Island be widened
 and provided with a concrete entrance. and that at Norfolk dry-dock be
 heightened 150 feet, which will enable
 it to accommodate all except the very largest ships. A subcommittee of the l House Naval Committee is considering
 the naval appropriation bill. and the Secretary believes that the sub-com-
 mittee and committee. recognizing the imperative needs of docks. will make
 provision for their construction, as he
 recommended