The Savannah morning news., 1902-11-29

pleted Bids for their construction
will be opened on Jan. 16. 1908. The
plans and specifications of the 1000
ton gunboats, the Dubuque and the Pa
ducah, VIII soon be ready.
Officers.
With reference to officers the Secre-
tary says: The most imperative need
of the navy day is of additional Of
ficers. can not oyerstate this need 1t
invites the instant attention of Con-
gress. The administration of the de-
partment is embarrassed almost daily
by the lack of officers below command
rank. The present deficiency in officers
| is 5l7. There will be needed for the new
ships 623s and ITO FIJI vacancies $50 are
f-needed.7 The total deficiency therefore
| is 1, 1860. fo1' - Nss9Ts ssl1 ,..
q In this connection the Secretary rec
fommends' that there be promotion
from the ranks to the number OF
twelve year He also recommends
| that, without a years delay the mum
Der Of midshipmen at The Naval Acad-
envy be Increased sufficiently to meet
present and prospective needs of the
Service.
Speaking of enlisted men the secre-
tary says: The number of enlisted men
in the naval service on. June 30. 1902
was p, 4SS. OF these SO32 were lands
men for training and apprentices.
Many of these came from the middle
, Western States, and at the time of their
enlistment were unacquainted with the
new life upon which they had entered.
Their progress has been eminently sat
isfactory.
All men now enlisted are required to
be either citizens or to have declared
their intention to become such. Eighty
! nine per cent of the enlisted force
are now citizens and rs per cent. are
native born. Ninety-three and three
| tenths per cent. of the landsmen for
| training and "a per cent of the appfeH.
/. ttces are. native born.
H. The present number of enlisted men
| authorized by laws is S,000 BY en-
| listment since the close of the fiscal
year, the number of men in the service
has been brought up to 25,25S on Nov
| ember Is, current, and it is believed
| that by February next the full number
authorized will be enlisted. The same
| reasons which. demonstrate the neces-
sity for an increase of. officers call for
| the increase of men. The increase can
| be made gradually, and 1 recommend
that an addition of 5000 be authorized
during the next fiscal year. tof
|, With reference to. liquid-fuel the
Secretary says: AS the result of the
| Investigations thus far conducted the
| Chief of the Bureau of Steam Engineer
| dng. recommends the installation. of
liquid-fuel appliances without delay in
at least a third of the torpedo boats
and destroyers. With respect to the
larger war vessels, and particularly
the battle ships, the installation of
liquid-fuel presents serious difficulties,
entirely apart from. the question of the
satisfactory use of oil under boilers.
The safe. and convenient storage of 8,
SUFFICIENT supply of liquid-fuel beneath
the protective decks of large ships of
war. and the question of replenishins
exhausted fuel supply, whether in time
of war or peace, in case of vessels
liable to be sent without warning to
unfrequented harbors, are grave mat
tiers. Inasmuch as such obstacles are
more easily dealt with in the case
of. commercial steamers, the problem
of installing iquidfuel upon fighting
vessels differs in important features
from the same problem as applied to
transports or to the mercantile marine.