The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-20
our UNUSED NAVY YARDS.


The controversy in Congress. as to why
the government does not use the navy
yards for shipbuilding purposes instead
of having ships for the navy built in prt-
waite shipyards, is an interesting one. The
Secretary OF the Navy is quoted as say
ing that ships can be built in private
yards al less cost than In the government
yards On the other hand. some of the
nav al officers who are connected with the
Bureau of Construction of the navy say
that ships can be constructed in the navy
yards quite as cheaply as in private ship
yards and that the navy yards are all
ready for ship building
It is pointed out that other maritime
nations build about half of their ships in
their own yards, and contract with prt-
vate shipbuilders for the construction of
the other half. There is no doubt that ma
val officers connected with the Bureau of
Construction would like to have the job
of building warships for the new navy.
They have the most implicit confidence in
their ability to turn out ships that would
equal the best In the world.
Why is it then that the Secretary of the
Navy objects TO using the navy yards for
the building of warshiDs? Is it because
he has very little confidence in The ability
of the officers of the navy to construct as
good ships as are furnished by private
ship builders or does he think that the
government saves money by having ships
built by contract?
1t is probably true that it would cost a
great deal more to have warships con-
structed in the navy yards than to have
them constructed by contract. In the first
place politicians would be all the while
interfering with the men employed in the
navy yards. Incompetent men would be
forced on the navy officials and it would
be practically impossible to discharge
worthless and unfit men. The politicians
would get their friends in good places and
would keep them there.
And there would be trouble all the while
about wages and the hours of labor.
There would be demands for an increase
of wages and for decrease in the num-
Der of hours of labor per day. Members
of Congress would be appealed to all the
time to stand by the employees of the navy
yards in their demands.
1t can be readily seen that unless there
were great economy in the navy yards
the cost of ships built there would be con-
siderably greater than the cost of those
built by contract Besides, if a mistake
were made and ship proved a failure
the government would have to stand the
loss. Now the government does not pay
for a ship until she is accepted by a board
of government experts. All things con-
sidered it is not surprising that the Sec
rotary of the Navy is averse to building
warships. in the navy yards.
There is also a strong movement in
Congress in favor of the government
making its own armor plate for war
ships. IT would cost about 100000 for a
plant, and it is certain that it could not
as cheaply as a plant owned by private
parties. The chances are that after a
plant was built 1t would be abandoned in
a little while on account of the cost of
operating it. 1t is true of course, that the
government has TO pay an outrageous
probability, cost the government consid-
erably more If it were made in a plant
owned and operated by itself. In Euro
pean countries the politicians do not have
their own way to the extent that they
do in this, and that is one of the reasons
that navy yards are proftably utilized
there.