Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-16
NAVAL ENGINEERS
The Need of Them Claimed by the
Administration.
CHAIRMAN B0UTELLE'S POSITION
Said to Be Opposed to the Reor-
gan.zation Bill.
MR.. HILBORN'S STATEMENT

&C mmittee is said to be standing in the way
| o! measures for the efficiency Of the navy
| demanded by the present emergency. 1t Is
| asserted in some quarters that he has taken
| issue ret only with Secretary Long, but di-
rectly with the President, and that the sit
us.tion Is such that the administration feels
| that if Mr.. Boutelle is sustained by the
| naval committee and the House the navy
| will be seriously crippled. The trouble, ii
| is stated. arises over the reorganization
bill,' which increases the number of eng:-
| neers and provides for strengthening the
efficiency of the navy. The bill .has been
| for some years before Congress, and re-
| suited from the report of ore of the boards
| of visitors to the Naval Academy and the
| report of a board composed of seven line
and four staff officers, appointed by the
Secretary of the Navy. The bill was drawn
| up in advance of any emergency, it being
| foreseen that If ever the navy was to be
called into service such a reorganization
would be essential to the efficiency of the
service
Anxious to Have the Bill Passed.
The emergency has come sooner than 1t
was expected, and the administration is
represented as extremely anxious 10 have
the bill passed at once. The Navy Depart
ment is so short of engineers that the YES
sells in commission are represented as in
! sufficiently offic cared in this respect and
they are practically unable to officer the
Minneapolis and Columbia and the two
new vessels bought abroad. The purchase
OF any more vessels, 1t is said, will be use
less as long as this condition of affairs ex-
lists. and the way is not seen clearly to
make use of the two now purchased.
Secretary Long, Capt. Crowninshield and
Chief Engineer Melville, as was then stat
Q6 hod hca ripu hGfo fhn val
tee day before yesterday to urge the adop-
tion of the bill.
Had His Own Notions.
The President. it is said. sent for Mr..
Eoutelle. and it is asserted that Mr.. Bou-
telle fatty refused to permit action on the
measure. and suggested that he had his
own notions about the needs Of the navy.
1t is said that he has taken the position
that 100 machinists are all that are e
quired to relieve the strain, and that he is
willing to have these provided for in a
rider on the appropriation bill.
1t is said that the administra ton, con-
vinced of the absolute necessity for the
measure proposed, is going to continue
urging 1t with great earnestness, and it Is
believed that majority of the naval COM
mittee will stand by the Secretary and the
President
The contest is not a part of the old line
Is supported by both branches of the serv-
ice. and is for the betterment of the serv-
Ice without reference to the personal wish
es Of either branch. 1t enlarges and I'M
which drew up the measure was composed
OF large majority Of line officers The
bill makes one corps of both the line and
engineer officers. providing for the train
ing of both branches to do duty in both
branches
IN u g~f
When the detail of officers was made out
for the Minneapolis and Columbia it is
claimed that it was found that there was
but one chief of engineers and two as
sistants who could be assigned to each
vessel. These vessels have about 10000
horsepower each in their machinery and,
Tor various purposes, have nearly hun
dred engines. The main engines, three In
number, are placed in three separate wa
ter-ught compartments, and the boilers
occupy four mora separate compartments
While the auxiliary engines are in various
parts of the vessels.
In time of battle these water-tight COM
partments have to be closed and separated
from one another, so that three men could
not attend to all, even If the need for re-
lief during part of the twenty-four hours
IS not to be considered During the civil
war the ol1-tme frigate Minnesota, with
only one-twentieth the horse power of the
Minneapolis end with no such complicated
machinery. had nine commissioned engi-
neers. The British ships Powerful and
Terrible each carries nine commissioned
| engineers, which the admiralty regard as
too small.
When the two Brazilian vessels were
bought it was found that there were no
engineer officers available for them
The last board of visitors to Annapolis
made a unanimous report in favor of the
measure, though then the emergency had
not arisen.
What Mr.. HilbOrn Says.
Mr.. Hilborn Of California, who Is lead
| ing member of the majority of the naval
committee denies that there is any differ
ence between the administration. or the
Navy Department and Mr.. Boutelle, chair
| man Of the naval committee. He says that
| Mr.. Boutelle and the rest of the committee
realize the pressing need Of more engineers
| In the navy, and that Secretary Long and
| Assistant Secretary Roosevelt were the
only ones who wanted immediate action on
| the reorganization or PERSONAL bill. I'm
| mediate action on this bill, he says, would
| be impossible. 1t is a radical measure, he
says, which would have to be discussed
for month
Chief Engineer Melville, he SAYS, asked
| for an increase Of a hundred engineers,
which, 1t was agreed, was needed. Chief
Melville came before the committee with
| the proposition indorsed by Secretary Long.
1t was objected in committee that this in
| crease would interfere with the personnel
| bill and excite a fight between line and
| staff, and Mr.. Boutelle decided to ask the
| Secretary to appear. The Secretary ap-
peared with Melville and Capt. Crownin-
shield The Secretary wanted the person
mel bill passed, but that, Mr.. Hilborn says,
| is impossible, because it involves increases
| Of pay and corsolidates the line and staff.
Mr.. Long and his chiefs, Mr.. Hilborn says,
| discussed the situation among themselves
| and there was no disagreement between
! them and Mr.. Boutelle. Mr.. Boutelle, he
says. was ready to do the right thing, and
| he proposed to give the navy O hundred
u:achinists. instead of engineers. The ap-
| poIntment Of engineers, he says, would re-
suit in a large Increase Of that branch of
| the service, and II the personnel bill should
pass later it would consolidate them all
with the line. He said that Mr.. Boutelle
was not standing in the way Of the de-
partment.
Mr.. Butler Knows of No Disagreement
Representative Butler of Pennsylvania, a
| republican member of the naval committee
said that he had not heard Of any disagree
1 ment between Chairman Boutelle ard the
| administration on the personnel bill or in
/ any way with respect to the increase of the
engineers. He is inclined to disbelieve that
there was any disagreement. Certainly he
did not know anything about 1t II 20.