The daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1902-19??, 1902-10-25
RECENT NAVAL
CHANGES FAILURE
Engineer Melville Says They
Are Revolution, Not
Progression.
THOROUGH EXPERIMENTS.
Show Necessity of Using Oil
For Fuel on Certain
Vessels of the
Navy.


al report to the secretary OF the navy
Of Engineer in Chief George Melville
is Of unusual interest this year. Mr.
Melville says with the greatest frank
ness that the personnel act has proved
to be a failure as it is administered.
and he declares that one-half of the
officers Of the navy are yet to be con-
WINGED Of the benefits of analgama-
ton. To use his own words in referring
to the personnel act, ut was rather a
revolution than progression in naval
development when congress enacted a
law whereby every naval officer of the
line had in the future to become a
fighting engineer"
European experts declared that Ell
Their their own navies were not prop
erly organized or that the United States
had made mistake from which it
would not recover for at least twenty
years. STILL Admiral Melville thinks
that if the law were administered with
desire to make it success it would
give the most efficient navy in the
world. To that end he wants an engi-
neering laboratory at Annapolis like
that at Charlottenberg Germany, for
experimentation and the education in
engineering of young line officers. He
also asks the establishment of post
graduate course in engineering at the
academy, tie detail Of Junior line
officer as undorstudy to engineer Off
GERS on shore duty, such Junior officers
to be placed in charge Of the machin-
cry Of torpedo boats and auxiliary
craft; that promotion be denied line Of
ticerS who do not take their turn at en-
sinee ring work, that graduates of tech
meal colleges be permitted chance to
compete for naval commissions, that
hundred additional warrant officers
be appointed, that naval training be
had at every naval station, that the
pay of the boilnrmen be increased and,
finally, that the name Of the bureau Of
steam engineering be changed TO that
OF engineering and that it be given
charge Of all machinery on shipDoard
except that pertaining to the guns.
The proposed use of petroleum as a
Substitute for coal on shipboard is
treated at Il length and in such detail
as thoroughly to meet The inuumerablc
demands that have come t. the navy
department for the special information
collected by the engineering board COM
posed of Lieutenant Commanders Ed
wards Parks and Bailey. For months
this board has been working with Il
big 1000 horsepower boiler on the wa
ter front in this city testing a multi
tudc of oil burning devices, and the
great manufacturing concerns in the
United States and even abroad have
been seeking TO learn the results Of the
boards work.
The details of the report on this sub
ject will be Of great interest to special
classes For the public perhaps they
are summed up, MS far as the navy is
concerned, in the following extract
from the report:
"Ihe more this question is inyeSti-
gated the more intricate seems the
oil fuel appliance on board battle
ship. II ought to be successfully used
on the torpedo boats as well as upon
auxiliary naval vessels that steam be-
tween regular ports For the army
transport service it might prove very
desirable, since Il supply of oil could be
maintained at the several calling ports.
In regard to The installation Oh the
large powered bHttlCshipS and urnOreu
cruisers there are three distinct fea.
lures which must be considered viz,
the mechHniCAl commercial and the
structth,i Regarded from two of
these vic ,.points, it sCcln. as if it would
be Sunlc time before 'cOaling ship
ceases to be an evolution upon the war
vessel. While beth the NAVAL and mer-
cHntilc vessels traverse the ocean, there
IS Il wide difference in their cOnstruc-
tion as we'll as in the nature of the
duty performed, and this must be taken |
into account in designing the motive ,
plant"
The bureau has no hesitation, how
ever in declaring that in view of the
results already secured by the liquid
fuel board an installation should be
effected without delay on at least
third Of the torpedo boats and destroy
prs,'