Waterbury Democrat., 1902-10-25
PERSONNEL ACT BAD
Recent Naval Changes a Fail
ure, Says Engineer Melville.
A REVOLUTION, NOT PROGRESSION.
As Result of Exhaustive Ezperi-
ments the Report Recommends
Use of Oil For Fuel ON Cere
tain Vessels of the Navy.


WASHINGTON, Oct. 25.-The annu-
al report to the secretary of the navy
of Engineer III 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 amalgama-
ton. To use his o. II words in referring
to the personnel ct, 1T was rather a
revolution than repression in naval
development whe- congress enacted
law whereby ever. naval officer of the
line had in the future to become a
fighting engineer"
European experts declared that eli
Their their own navies were not prop
erly organized or that the United States
had made a 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 a 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 Char1ottenberg, Germany, for
experimentation and the education in
engineering of young line officers. He
also asks the establishment of a post
graduate course in engineering at the
academy.
The proposed use of petroleum as
substitute for coal ON shipboard is
treated at q length and in such detail
as thoroughly to meet the innumerable
demands that have come to 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 a
big 1000 horsepower boiler on the wa
tersfront in this city tes.lng a multi
tude 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 viii be of great interest to special
classes. For the public perhaps they
are summed up, as far as the navy is
concerned, in the following extract
from the report:
1.-The more this question is inyesti-
gated the more intricate seems the
problem of successfully installing an
oil fuel appliance on board a battle
ship. 1t 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 supply of oil could be
maintained at the several calling ports.
In regard to the installation on the
large powered. battleships and armored
cruisers there are three distinct fea-
lures which must be considered-viz,
the mechanical, commercial and the
structural Regarded from two of
these viewpoints, it seems as if it would
be some time before scoaling ship
ceases to be an evolution upon the war
vessel While both the naval and mer-
camille vessels traverse the ocean, there
is a wide difference in their construc-
ton as well 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 a
third of the torpedo boats and destroy
e.