Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1901-08-27
SERIOUS INJURY TO MANY VESSELS
CAUSED BY NEGLECT.

A decisive victory of widespread in
terest and consequence to the navy has
been won BY Rear-Admiral G.. w. Mel
vile. engineer-in. chief, in a contention
for line officers of the service TO be re-
quired TO perform duty in the engineer
| ing department OF warships. This will
have the effect of discouraging plans that
were being tentatively advanced to re-
establish the old engineer corps OF the
navy and will force line officers to work
in the engine rooms, thing which they
bitterly fought against. with the encour-
agement OF Admiral Crownenshield.
Since the adoption of the Naval Per
sonnel bill two years ago there has been
an unmistakable effort 10 disregard one
OF its most important features, drawn by
Vice-President Roosevelt. then Assistant
Secretary OF the Navy. which provided
that with the merging OF the old engineer
corps with the line. officers OF both grades
should exchange duties and all should be
equal to serving either on the bridge or
in the machinery room. The purpose OF
the law was to create a higher proficiency
among officers in both lines of duty and
TO render them interchangeable. 1t
worked well for few months and then
it was discovered that for every line Off
Ger serving in the machinery department
there were ten engineers on deck.
The result was to place the manage
ment of machinery in S. .ooo. 900 battle
ships under the charge of warrant ma
chinists. while Naval Academy graduates
in engineering were ordered to take
watches on the bridge. Serious injury
has probably been done many vessels
through want of proper supervision, and
it was becoming apparent that unless the
engineer corps was revived the navy
might find itself in hopelessly disor-
ganized state and the fine machinery of
many vessels seriously impaired through
want of expert attention. The new order
from the Navigation Bureau will require
that two line officers shall be detailed on
board each ship as assistants TO the chief
engineer, where there had been one pre-
viously. Officers so serving will have
their detachments occur alternately
once in six months.
The order is 20 become effective Janu-
airy Ist next, after which, for instance,
one officer will serve one year from that
time and the other will serve year from
July Ist. II has also been determined
that line officers shall be detailed to duty
with chief engineers. especially during
the overhauling and repairing OF war
ships, and il is probable that there will
be detail OF officers in the Bureau of
Steam Engineering, where the intorma-
ton and experience gained will be of in
calculable advantage TO the line officers
assigned to engine-room duty. This iea-
ture OF the new order is sure to be most
Objectionable to line officers. as will, in
fact. ali OF that part requiring so much
duty in the machinery department of war
| vessels. The order has been forced on
the department as the result of reports
from fleets showing the serious deteriora-
ton of the machinery, which is far greater
than the authorities realized.
Expenses for repairing machinery have
been greatly increasing, while the dam
| age wrought by neg lect and carelessness
on board ship. especially on the smaller
craft and torpedo boats, is giving great
| deal OF concern. 1t has come to be real
lied that. the Naval Personnel bill con-
| templated the employment of line officers
| in the engine room OF warships and not
merely the employment of engineers on
| the bridge. Their absence from this duty
has been marked and the failure to carry
| out the intention of the Personnel law in
this respect will undoubtedly prove a
costly thing for the navy. This trouble
was predicted by Admiral Melville two
years ago. but his remonstrances were
unheeded. Numbers OF instances have
occurred in the past year to demonstrate
that the failure to provide vessels OF war
| with naval engineers has been a great
mistake, and il the situation continues
without relief there is every chance 1t
would not be long before Congress would
be compelled to resort to legislation re-
establishing the engineer corps. Admiral
Crowninshield has been in consultation
with Admiral Melville and other officers
of the old corps and in few days the
department will issue an order to the
service, the provisions of which will fur
nish line officers Tor engineer duty on
shore and aioat.