The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1902-10-22
GROWING NAVY IN NEED
OF MORE STORAGE ROOM
Paymaster General Kenny
Sounds Warning Note.
FEARS DESTRUCTION BY FIRE
Building in Use of an Obsolete Type
and Entirely Inadequate for
Needs of the Service.
FEARS DESTRUCTION BY FIRE

The annual report of tie Paymaster
General of the Navy was made public
at the Navy Department yesterday af-
ternoon, and shows some interesting
facts in connection with the expenditures
of the last fiscal year. According to
the report, SGT. S9s, $685. S was drawn from
the Treasury to support the fleets and
men. Construction of new ships re-
Qsired $14. 1885,, 921.77, and repairs to YES
sells, $685., 1o1.6e; to maintenance is
charged s14.ss5.s7o.62.
Admiral Kenny, Paymaster General,
makes a strong plea for the enlarge
ment of the facilities of his department.
He says:
1.-THE increased demand on the re-
sources of this bureau renSers an en-
largement of the storage l6ants at the
navy yards. Boston. Washington, Nor
folk, Mare Island, and Puget Sound, i'm
quate for the needs of the service, and
unless relief in this respect is afforded
at an early date, the efficiency of the
navy as a whole must suffer.
Danger From Fire.
"At Norfolk. Washington, and Boston
the buildings are OF an obsolete type
in which modern storehouse appliances
cannot be placed to advantage, and,
because of the inflammable nature of the
material used in their construction, are
extremely liable to destruction by fire.
At Puget Sound the storehouse is
small two-story non-freproof building
with capacity much below present re-
quirements and with the rapid develop
ment of this yard it is already made
quate as a general stor 1louse. AS there
is no other building that can be util-
lied for the housing of supplies, the
situation is a cause for anxiety
Like the other chiefs of Navy Depart
ment bureaus, Admiral Kenny is also in
need Of additional officers for his corps.
In this connection be says in part:
e Badly IN Need OF OfhcerS.
Through the constantly growing de-
mands Of the service. there is an in
creasing strain upon the number al
lowed to the corps by law. Serious EN-,
barrassment is felt in finding pay Of
fcers for ships in commission and for
duty at the various naval stations. At
this time of writing, of the 137 allowed
by law 70 are on sea duty, 56 are on
ing stations, are unavailable for duty
through sickness or other cogent rea-
sons, and there are four vacancies. Much
difhculty is felt in making the neces-
sary reliefs of officers whose terms of
duty at sea have expired. and it is i'm
grant the leave of absence that is Gus
tomary upon an officers return from a
cruise. At this time there is not an
ofhcer of duty and available for a SUD
den call, such as may happen at any
time through an unexpected casualty.
1T will be seen from the data given
above that the corps is without elastic
ity. there being no officers in excess OF
the several posts of duty that may be
enumerated. Service on the Asiatic
station is particularly trying to the
health, and the department therefore
regards two years as cruise. Con-
formations by medical survey are fire.
quent, involving immediate measures
for the relief of rhe officer condemned
This it is scarcely possible to accom-
plish in less than two months owing to
the distance. Meantime the best shift
possible has to be made; sometimes
duties are doubled, thus imposing ad-
ditional strain and responsibility upon
officers already sufficiently burdened;
or sometimes on board the ship duties
have to be taken up by another officer,
not of the pay corps, until a relief can
be duly provided.
when it is remembered that besides
the unexpected casualties as above sug.
gested all officers on duty in the Philip
pines have under the departments prac-
tice to be ordered home at the end OF
two years service; that all pay officers
are entitled by law to at least twent,
days for the settlement of accounts, and
that much time is required to effect a
change of officers on distant stations;
with these conditions in mind, it is ap-
parent that for efficient administration
there must be certain percentage OF
officers allowed in addition to the num-
Der OF assignments THAT may be actually
foreseen or counted as requiring each
IN officer"