The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-12-31
New BUILDING WANTED.
Norfolk Navy Yard work Ha1npered
by the Recent Fire

NORFOLK, Va, Dec, 3f-The admins
tratiye centre Of the department OF con
struction and repair at the Norfolk Navy
Yard wassunt1 recently. located in build
ing No. 81, oecUp ing about eco feet IN
length of the upper floor OF thai build
ing. together with portion of the lower
floor On the upper floor were situated
the Offices of the naval constructor and
his assistants. room for correspondence
and records, another fer the clerical force
engaged IN keeping the financial accounts
of the department, the requisition Office
and sample rooms. in which acquisitions
for machinery and material we're prepared
and where samples OF the various kinds
of hardware. fittings, and other articles
were kept; the Office of the Shief drafts
man, the general drafting room, the fling
cases for about 10000 plans. two blue
print rooms, the necessary lunch room,
water closets, washrooms, together with
rooms for janitc-s and messengers and
rooms for preservation of records and for
general storage purposes.
On the lower floor were situated The
testing laboratory established and used
Tor the purpose Of determining the quail
ity OF many OF the materials furnished
under contracts. 2 Photographic room AID
large room used for the purpose of
storing machinery and other articles re-
CURING special technical care and atten-
tion.
BY tbs fire Of December 1e last. all
these Offices and other rooms were COM
pletely DESTROYED. together with about
! 1000 plans and practically all the records
OF the Office. Some OF these 1t Is possible,
az considerable expense, to replace, but
Nc
and for years to come the work of the
construction department viii be more or
less hampered.
Temporary Offices have been fitted in the
adjoining building. No. g. in the space
previously used as the mold loft CT that
department: but this work has been done
| in a crude and merely temporary manner,
| for Il manifestIy would have been mex
pedle1t TO incur any great expense IN 1T
ting up such Offices and rooms IL that
building, which is as subject TO damage by
FIRE as building No 81 proved Itself 10 be.
besides which the mold loft Itself is an III
dispensa5le adjunct TO the work OF the
construction department. so that its use
| for Office purposes can De bus temporary.
With the steady increase in the navy and
the rapidly increasing importance Of the
Norfolk yard as a factor IN the work OF
maintaining ships in proper and efficient
condition for immediate service Il would
be very shortsigbted policy. It is con
tended. TO take any step short OF pFovid-
ing the construction department with a
suitable fFeproof building devoted exclu-
sigeiy 10 the various uses enumerated ~
the first paragraph.
The attention OF Congress will be at
once invited 10 the Importance of speedily
providing and properly eGuipping suit
able two-story freproof building fer this
purpose. and in order that that depart
ment may as soon as possible be again
placed in a condition for the proper trans
action Of its business IL is hoped that Con-
gress viii promptly make the necessary
appropriation of SIS. 600 for that purpose.
and viii al the same time make such an
appropriation Immediately available, so
that work on the new building may be be-
gun at once.
- the department Of construction and
repair at the Norfolk yard employs more
men than all the other departments OF the
yard put together, its monthly payroll
ayera ging $50 coo. and as the number of
men it can efficiently purchase and use
terial il can efficiently purchase and use
are largely dependent On its possession OF
| the complete facilities intended 10 be fur
nished by the erection OF the proposed
building. il will be seen that the PROPOSE
tion 10 have such building authorized
and erected at the earliest possible mo-
ment is one in which the cities Of Norfolk
| and Portsmouth, and, in fact, the whole
State of Virginia are directly interested.