New-York tribune., 1906-07-02
ARMY AND NAVY NEWS
ryrom The Tribune Bursau-l

st4TPRTTTTDTNCs AT NAVY YARDS.-It IS pos
sible that the ferrybOat which is neeoeo az
the naval torpedo station at Newport VIII De Ou4lI
at the navy yard at Brooklyn, from which estaO-
usbn,ent the naval constructor has sent In a bid
Cor doing the work. It Is desired by the authorl-
ties at the yard that the contract be awarded 70
that plant, inasmuch as it is found lmposslole 20
obtain a suitable boat anywhere IN the Market
Other navy yards submitted bids, but 1t does
not follow that the department viii send the order
to the yard from which comes the lowest bid It
must be admitted that the officials in washington
do not place much dependence such bids. which
necessarily are only rough calculations. The IA
cilities New York for the construction OF ships
are better than anywhere else, and this must De
taken into consideration. II also makes ridiculous
from the Mare Island Navy Yard. 1.0O0000 less
than the bid from New YORK Tor the I
Of the 16OCo-ton battleship: There are pracSl@cay @
means at Mare Island for the building OF such
overlooked theft that there would have to be
special arrangements made for the vessel II was
porting material would ordinarily have put up the
cost much IN excess OF any 9d dTo reraf S @
worthless such a bid that which came froT
the navy yard estimates appear OF doubtful value
The bids from New York h3weveT are an a. eTP s.rp
Rs be %h PeP Paeaarg %hSa or maTi ii 0s'
SOLDIERS INDEBTEDNESS War De-
partment is not able to make any special arrange
ment with creditors and their lawyers who wish to
debt contracted before his enlistment may be made
the subject of the process of law, but beyond
this the military authorities undertake to do
s1SnE s@a Bay and ts Sct ought to be fairly well
known 70 people with whom soldiers are likely to
do business, and that transactions with sOlOlerS
should be governed accordingly. No SPecial sIepss
enlisted men, and business people who have felt
that they have some assurance OF setting thelT
money because a soldier in their debt, VIII
probably profit by this latest decision Of the War
Department
DOCKS FOR BIG BATTLEsHIPs.-The sugges-
tion of 2OOOO-ton battleshp again brings up the
question Of taking OF such vessel when 1t IS
necessary to remove il from the water. With every
increase of displacement Of naval vessels the fear
is expressed that there will be dock sufficiently
large TO accommodate the larger ships. Naturally.
there is heard reference to this subject in connec
tion with the proposition that the next battleship
to be built by this government shall be 1000 tons
larger than anything hitherto laid down. There
viii be difficulty about docking such ship
1t is believed by the experts that the largest dock
at the navy yard in Brooklyn would be able 70
take in the 2OOOO-ton battleship without the
slty of dredging the approach or making any
special provision in the dock itself; then the docks
League Island are sufficiently large TO accommOdate
present Congress-. that to be built at Puget Sound
Naval Station viii be of sufficient dimensions to
sound dock will be the largest masonry dock ever
vantages on the Site Selected for such structure
as the depth Of water in the approach Is the
Pacific coast.
MARK TIME AT GUANTANAMO-No more
work viii be done at the naval station at Guam
tanamo. Cuba. after the present fund OF $4,000 is
exhausted. Congress failed to make any provision
for continuing the project which was prepared by
the naval general board and urged grave
necessity Not much attention was paid to the
to Guantanamo OlOngapo. The funds for the
latter station are tied up also by virtue Of an
specified certain materials at stipulated cost to
had not been specified and the prices given, IL
would be possible to get the work OOne but con
the appropriation. which is found to be
available in the form authorized by Congress.
NIAGARA A BRIGADE POsT-The army quar-
termasters will shortly prepare specifications for
additional buildings at Fort Niagara. New York, so
as to make post suitable the garrison OF two
battalions of troops. This is the end OF long
fight for and against the post At one time the
War Department had in contemplation the pur-
chase of land for regtmenta post. the PROPOSE
ton being that the Fort NiaGara reservation should
he increased IhlS ied 70 al SortS OF eCrS % OlNeFJ
the funds to another locality and establish a new
take kindly To the idea, and after much correspond
ence and no end Of investigation and recommended
conclusion that IL would he we'll TO the avail
able funds S150C00 in amount in the construction OF
IS Contained in the deficiency appropriation act
and steps will shortly be taken by QuaTtermaSter
General Humphrey to do the work necessary
VACANCIES AT observation-disclosures
are in progress the Naval Academy to MI the re-
manning vacancies in the newest class of midship.
men. The first examinations for this purpose were
the second examinations. for which most Of tho
candidates waited. have been In progress for the
Annapolis for this purpose were 245 in number. and
It is hoped as result OF TINS examination 10
bring the class up to its aggregate strength
s--