New-York tribune., 1907-12-31
LLLLEY HITS THE NAVY.
Every Ship Obsolete Because of MIS-
management, He Says.

Hartford Dec 50 (SpeciaD.-ConEressnan Liey.
| who is a member OF the Committee on Naval AZ
! fails OF the House OF Representatives, is at home
for the holidays. He is inclined 20 jest about the
| controversy arising from the difference between
Admiral Brownson and Surgeon General Rixey-
Or Rixey says doctor ought 10 command q
ship. and Admiral Brownson says sailor ought
TO; 1t doesn't need much consideration to see which
is right" ne said to-day 1T ought to be simple
matter TO place a sailor In command Of the vessel
and a doctor in command OF all of her hospta
i functions Each ought to be able TO take charge
Of his end of the matter without interfering with
the other
Our navy isn't businesske that's the trouble"
he went on. "Once in q while you find in naval
officer man with business ideas and ability which
would put him the front in commercial life, but
they're few. They aren't trained to carry on a
business and yet the navy of this country is big
business propostion-or ought TO be. An admiral
Of some prominence-he commands navy yard
said 10 me last summer: It's part OF the duties
Of naval officer to economize We're not here
for that. We're here to spend money And they
do spend it, too. I had said something about the
nations getting small return 1or lls ooiiaf IN the
naval expenditures"
Referring TO a recent magazine story showing
that Admiral Evans's fine fleet carries its armor
under water, Mr.. Lilley said;
..yVhat that writer says is true. beyond doubt.
Whx, we haven't a ship in our navy that isn't
obsolete Even the Vermont is an obsolete ship
The writer of that article is right: the only thing
is that he didn't go far enough. The trouble with
our Navy Department is that it has too many gen
eral managers. There seven bureaus. and the
man at the head Of each corresponds to the gem
eraI manager of a manufacturing plant It's like
shifting I'D some big concerns plant into seven
and running each separately How long would the
concern stay In business these days? How can
there help being absolute waste of money clashes
between bureaus and extravaganza everywhere?
Two or three different bureaus have foundres Two
or three have machine shops. Often they duplicate
each others work and always anything that Is to
he done REQUIRES to be handled by three or 1our
bureaus anyway, before it can be finished
That's why the Connecticut cost the government
IN brild so much money than the Louisiana
and isn't as good a ship. That's why all OF these
naval matters that should not be they
ara mr. it's the main reason OF course, politics
and personality play their parts in the results
.'Take our naval station at Charleston for an ex-
annie of the way things go. We've just built a fine
dry dock there at a cost of about sl.2ZoV It's an
eighth OF a mile from the river and there's ten
mis- court between ii and the water
For another example. we've let contracts for
two nev, hattleshps of the Delaware type-20,ooO
tons 5oo tons over the Dreadnought They got
into the hill a clause providing that botn Should
not be built in the yard and the result is tnt
the second one is going to a cost SloVooVo more
than the first for the thing exactly The
newt hid IN that of the Newport News yard, which
sot the first one was s500000 higher. and the man
ager OF the yard is authority for the statement
that he could and would have bid soooooo lower
than he did if he could have had both ships to
build
.,xyhat ahoY. suhr,arines?" Mr. Lilley was asked.
olovv - he replied you're in deep water. know
a lot about the submarine business, out oont
think I'll tell it-yet."