Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-07
BIG BATTLESH|P URGED
Secretary Bonaparte Fav0rs
16,000-Ton Vessels.
PLAN OF REORGANIZATION
Would Have Department Work In
Four Groups.
THE ARMOR PLATE CONTRACTS
Favors Government Manufacture or
Authority to Purchase
Abroad.
PLAN OF REORGANIZATION
He ARMOR PLATE CONTRACTS

and a recommendation that another mon
| ster battleship be built in addition to the
one already authorized by Congress are
| presented by Secretary Bonaparte in his
annual report which the President has sub
| mitted to Congress. When the Secretary
urges an increase Of the navy as patriotic
| foresight" he reverses the position taken in
| his last report.
Armor Plate Contracts.
Secretary Bonaparte refers to the discus
sion raised by the Department. action in
! giving one-half of the contract for armor
plates to the Midvale Company and one
| fourth each to the Carnegie and the Bethle-
| hem Steel companies this year. He rec
| ommends that either the government be
| authorized to manufacture its own armor
plate or be permitted to buy 1t abroad
| There are many objections, he says. to the
first proposal.
| IF. however" says the report, "the Sec
rotary of the Navy were authorized to buy
| armor plate abroad whenever In the tudg-
| ment Of the President the price at which he
| could obtain such armor plate in the United
| States was exorbitant or unreasonable,
| there is good reason to believe that man
ufacturers would either not form combi-
| nation at all or agree upon reasonable
and moderate price. I would extend the
| like authority to the purchase of torpedoes,
| ammunition, projectiles, and, In fact all
| articles necessary to the national defense
Congress should authorize the construc-
| ton of a sister ship to the one already
| authorized and of which plans have been
| submitted, says Mr.. Bonaparte. He would
| have this also a 16,00O-ton battleship of
| the South Carolina and Michigan type.
| Navy Department Reorganization.
| Secretary Bonaparte's report contains q
| recommendation that the Navy Department
| be reorganized that the work could be
| grouped under four sections, one under the
| immediate direction OF the Secretary, an
| other under the assistant secretary, and the
| remaining two under officers of flag rank.
| The Secretary should supervise the civil
establishment, the office of naval fntelli
gence and the office of the judge advocate
general and also the affairs of localities.
| such as Tutuila and Guam. The assistant
| secretary might be required to supervise the
work of certain agencies of the department,
| such as the photographic office and the
naval observatory. OF the two remaining
| sections. should be intrusted with the
duties now imposed upon the bureaus of
| yards and docks, equipment construction
| and repair, steam engineering and ordnance.
and the other with the direction of the navy
| as an organized and fighting force.
Mr.. Bonaparte recommends that COM
mission consisting of three or more ex-
| Secretaries of the Navy and two or more
members of the committee on naval affairs
] of each Of the two houses of Congress,
under the presidency Of the Secretary of
| the Navy for the time being, be appointed
| to consider this suggestion and to report
| to the first session of the Sixtieth Congress.
Preservation of the Constitution.
The Secretary recommends that the frig-
ate Constitution, whose suggested destruc-
ton raised storm Of protest last year,
be made seaworthy so that 1t may be used
in patriotic celebrations at seaport towns.
1.-The department is frequently requested
to send ships of war to take part, and es-
pecially to fire salutes, in patriotic cele-
brations at seaport towns" says the re-
port. eff the Constitution were in condi-
ton to be towed from port to port she
would be very serviceable for this purpose
and would certainly serve much better to
awaken interest in the navy and remind
the public of it's honorable traditions than
If kept mere object of curiosity at
single naval station
Because of the unreasonable" clamor
raised by the suggestions in his last re-
port that either so much of the materi-
ais of the present ship as can be shown
to have belonged to the original Constitu-
ton be transferred to a vessel to be
named the Constitution, and that the re-
mainder of the ship be broken up" or,
If for purely sentimental reasons 1t be
thought that this supposed veteran of
our old wars is entitled to a warriors
some Of the ships of our north Atlantic
fleet and sunk by fire., explains that
the first recommendation expressed the
view 1 then entertained and still enter
tain
But I thought it possible" continues
the report, that the idea of selling as
junk for a few dollars the relics of this
old ship might arouse in some persons lie
repugnance expressed In the well-known
poem of DR.. Holmes, when the author
exclaimed. The harpies of the shore
shall pluck the eagle of the sea, and In
Difference to this sentiment 1 added the
second recommendation.
ITO DR.. Holmes proposal that she be
given to the god Of storms the lightning
and the gale there was the rather serious
her into a derelict and source of danger
on the high seas"
Other Topics Discussed.
In other parts of his report Secretary
Bonaparte commends Commander Hosley
for having taken the drydock Dewey safe
ly to the Philippines. and suggests the
Dewey, SO as to readily serve the pur-
poses of vessels of 10000 tons; says that
"hazing'' has almost disappeared from An
napolis and hopes that Congress will au-
thorize the improvement Of the chapel at
the Naval Academy so as to fit 1t to re-
ceive the body of Paul Jones; suggests that
every able-bodied man of good moral char
acter within certain limits Of age, who has
served at least four years in the navy and
has been discharged with credit, be en-
rolled on q reserve list. in return for which
he should receive from SIS to $25 a month,
according to his rating at the time Of leav-
ing the service, and says that a law should
be enacted constituting IAN insulting dis
elimination against the uniform sailors
wear a crime when committed by public
manager or employee Of any place of public
resort or amusement.
NOT NATT0NAT.