Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-30
The Present System Must Be
Changed.
SECRETARY LONGS IDEA
Has Appointed a Board 10 Review the
Existing Regulations and
Suggest Changes.

New York, May 0.-The Tribune corr
respondent at Washington, discussing the
appointment of board to reform the
organization Of the navy department,
says:
a thorough ovcrhauling system Of ma
val administration with the probable re-
suit of is radical reorganization IN
business basis has been under considera-
ton for a number of years, provoking
warm discussions among officers, but
never meeting favor with the high civil
ian authorities who feared to undertake
task of such magnitude. An invaluable
! reform in the supply system was intro-
duce6 by Secretary Whitney and this was
improved by his successors until that hu-
| Ieau secured the distinction of going
through the war with Spain without
cvoking an uncomplimentary criticism.
But the jealOuses of the other naval
bureaus have recently increased and
Secretary Long has at last adopted plan
which it is hoped will result eventually in
securing a remedy for this serious con.
| aition. Following his own method, which
was so successful under Assistant Sec
retary Roosevelt's guidance of the details,
in harmcnizing the line and staff by tho
personnel bill, Secretary Long has dele
gated to Assistant Secretary Allen the SIM
Z, pier problem of saving the navy from a
vicious burea aucracy.
10 this end he has appointed board OF
which Assistant Secretary Allen is pres-
| dent. The board is directed to review the
regulations relating to the working bu-
reaus OF the navy, those OF ordnance, en-
Cheering, construction, equipment and
yards and docks. The regulations under
consideration are those defining the du.
| ties of the burea us, the extent Of their au-
! thority afloat and ashore and giving de-
| finition to the limits Of each with a view
to fixing responsibility and preventing
duplication Of work. They have never
gwen satisfaction to anyone. Matters
| which, in a business corporation would
naturally be placed under the jurisdiction
of a ship carpenter, have for various con.
sidelations been assigned to steam fit
ter and vice versa The engineers haVo
protested that the constructors should be
confined to huls and constructors in turn
have looked upon dry docks as tools for
the repair and construction of ships. The
civil engineers have always contended
that navy yard plants under all the bu-
leaus should be under single head and
operated economically from central
station.
| The steam engine that drives a dynamo
belongs to one bureau, it's foundation to
| tl,,
ventilating fan is driven by the current
! it belongs to another. A new complca-
ton arises when the personnel law mers
/ ed the engineers with the line as it was
taken for granted that the engineering
bureau would be abolished and it's work
distributed. Progressive bureau chiefs
have invariably reached out for all there
was in sight and rivalry was intended
among scme Of the bureaus as 10 which
! should have the lions share Of the ma
ohinery branch of the navy.
! The Allen board will have to determine
whether the engineers can b. spared and
J that is The greatest question it has to an
.wer The board will also look into the
merits of e proposition to give the con-
struetors control of all our shore work,
leaving the line officers exclusively for sea
| duty and counter proposition to coniine
! the constructors sharply to hulls alone
I The longest heads OF the navy profess to
believe that a permanent board somewhat
| similar &c the British admiralty will be
j the outcome Of the investigation. A
cchene is already maturing 10 have ADJ
miral Dewey permanently installed at the
| head of a board with two-sca going rear
admirals to pass upon all matters affect
| ing the fleet, to direct the bureaus in the
design, building and repairing OF ships
and to control under the secretary's ap-
proval all matters OF detail in the navy.
| The board will meet Friday, when all the
bureau chiefs are directed to present writ
ten memoranda of the changes they de-
sire discussed.
C0nk. NeRl EOunI (Sulltv