The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-04-11
Secretary Meyer to Con
 slider Question.
PENSACOLA AND NEW ORLEANS
Settlement of Issue is of lm-
 portance.
M win Probably be Known Within . Few Days wAether These Yards wm Be Continued or
 Closed.

1Washington, D. C., April 10.--Within few days Secretary of the Navy Mey- CT is expected to take up for active consideration the question of the con- tinuation in operation of the navy yards at Pensacola. Fla. and New Or leans. La.. which Mir. Newberry just before he retired from ofnce gave or ders should be closed.
 A settlement of the issue Is of im- portance to the cities in which these yards are located for more than one reason v Before Mir. Newberry's order had been officially served on the com mandants of those yards the congress sional delegations from the respective States in which they are situated took up the matter with Secretary Meyer end presented arguments to show why they should be continued in operation
 MT. Meyer felt that their protests against closing should receive thor ough consideration and concluded to call for data from the commanding of- ficers showing the amount of work that was being done and reasons. If any, for or against. the closing of the yards. The character of the data which he asked for was so elaborate and com prised so much detail that the com mandants have not yet been able to furnish 1t.
 The Secretary is determined to be fully advised of every feature of the ease before reaching any decision. The fact that appropriations have been made for a continuation of work dur Ing the next fiscal year. Is the least arr gument advanced why the stations should be maintained in all their cffi- riency. But this Is not the only prop osition put forward along this line It is admitted that the work done at these places is not very material at this time but the contention is made that ,<the future should be taken into consideration.
 For tactical and for strategic purpos- es, if for no other. 1t is declared these yards should be maintained at a high state of efficiency in order that the government may be prepared for re- pairing and equipping war vessels for any services which might be required of them in that section of the world The point is made that-the amount of money actually required for this pur- pose is not very great by comparison and that the yards ready for business in case of emergency are Q valuable asset for the navy to always have at hand. a.1 :
 The plant at both these stations is said to be in good shape.
 Both are equipped with floating dry docks, that at Pensacola having
 
 Orleans a capacity of 15,000S tons. MT. Meyers decision is awaited with a great deal of interest and the hope Is expressed that he will revoke MT. New berry's order Afor 1t is generally felt that the relatively small amount of money required to keep the yards in operation is insignificant in compari- son with the value they may be to the navy. in the event of the development of any war-like operations. It is the best kind of economy, say the advo- cates of the yards to keep them in state where they may render effective service to the government should the necessity therefor arise.-
 Vast sums were carried by the na- val appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1910. While considerable of the various amounts appropriated for spe- cifc purposes were for the pay of of- fcers and men, for maintenance pur- poses of all sorts. and for repairs to battieships, both building and complet- ed. yet the measure also contemplates great actiSity in public works. under the various bureaus.
 A study Sof the itemized features of the bill shows specific appropriations for work in the South at the various wards and stations as follows:s
 Yards and docks: Navy yard. Norfolk. railroad tracks. extensions $f0,o00; electric plant, extensions $20.0o0.
 Navy yard. Charleston: Paving and grading, $2ooo0; underground conduit system, extension. s5.0o0; intercepting drain, $S0.500: pneumatic system, ex- tension, $5,0oo; dredging, s2s,000; in- creasing and improving torpedo boat slips, &5o,0oo.
 Navy yard, Pensacola: Remodeling. building No. 2s. $15.O00s to repair rifle range and wharf. s5.ooo.
 Naval station, Key West: Latrines, sS,000: concrete cistern $25.000; to com- plete marine railway, sf5,000.
 : Naval station, New Orleans: Leyee improvements and grading. $45,o00. < Under the head of public works there is an appropriation of $6.500 for the purchase of land adjoining the Charleston Navy Yard to be used as reservation for the marine corps
 Under the head of bureau of con struction and repair these appropria- al Charleston, $20,000; at Pensacola. SsI2.O to be expended for repairs to. and improvements of the plants at those yards.
 finder the Bureau of Steam EnRi- neering an appropriation of S25, ,00O Is made to obtain additional machine tools to equip the machine, boiler, and copper smith shops at Norfolk. r
 Appropriations aggregating S100.000 for repairs of barracks occupied by the marine corps, among the places mem tioned in the bin being Norfolk, Va, Port Royal and Charleston. g. C.; Pen. sacoIa and Dry Tortugas, Fla. and New Orleans. La.
 
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