The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-02-08
SANS | IN '|
FLEET i: TOI.B|||||E|E::. ! 4:
HOME SOON
Last Lap Of Tour
Will be Begun
THIS " eek

-. III tunl0n AfSOclHlcu fTcsS.J 4-tH..Ia
WASHINGTON, Feb. S.-Thls week
the mammoth fle:t Of ocean bulldogs
that have gathered at Gibraltar will
begin the final lap Of the world-tour,
which will end With the triumphal en-.
try Of the fleet into Hampton Roads
fourteen days hence. The trip across
the Atlantic will be marked by races
and nianeuvers on a scale seldom be.
fore attempted by the ships OF the
navy. and which arc expected to dem.
onstrate that the fleet Of Uncle Sam Is
still in as good condition for "a fight
or a frolIc" as when 1t sailed out Of
Hampton Roads with Fighting Bob"
Evans in commando 3
The return Of the vessels to Amer.
lean waters, after their record.smash-
'ng cruise. will be a momentolls cpl
sode and will add q final sunburst Of
glory 10 the administration OF presi.
dent Roosevelt. whose active brain
devised the details OF the grand ad-
venture.
Meanwhile, some carplng persons
have begun to count the cost Of the
cruise, and the figures they present
are staggering III their immensely.
It is deelared-.,nd these are appa.
rently among the figures that do not
belong to the Ananias Clpb-that the
world.c:uise, at Its completion on
February 22, will have cost no less
than sa7,500,000. When the shops en-.
ter Hampton Roads they will have
burned up that amounts fortune
vanished In the air with the smoke
from the tunnels Of Admiral Sperry's
sixteen bulldogs and the auxil!arles
accompanying them. Careful esti.
mates show that It costs about ST.
10000 to maintain the battleshlps Of
that fleet, and thut ,he. maintenance
charge on account Of the auxIliaries OF
not less than s5.Ooo,ooO. The ships
will be gone for substantially one and
a fourth years. In round numbers
therefore. the cost will be substan-
TALLY s27.5oo,oOo.
The estimate as to the cost OF the
cruise does not include charges that
could reasonably be put to the MAIN
tenance account. To make the cost
appear Jus. as It should would neees-
sitate an estimate 10 be made Of the
proportlonate share each ship should
bear Of the whole expense Of having
and maintaining navy. Under such
a system Of accounting the cost would
probably run well on to s60.O00,000.
because the fleet constitutes nearly
two-thirds of the entire navy. 1t EN-
braces more than two-thlrds OF the
real fighting strengE, OF the navy. but
there is good deal OF ineffective ma
terlal in the establishment to which n
careful accounting officer would as
sign considerable OF the cost.
The cost OF maintenance according
10 the classes Of ships that comprise
the armada Is as follows:
Larger battlcshlps( s3,767.1o5; the
medium sized hattleshlps. $S.945.135;
larger sized armored cruisers, $685.
,3G; larger sized protected cruisers,
s.. $4,000; medium sized cruisers.
s?o5.o00; and gunboats. sl75,0OO.
These figures make the total OF s17,-
102.C7C. s.a
TIC estimate Of sl.15,50O for re-
pairs to n number of ships Is called a
routine thing by the officers on duty
at the Bureau Of Construction and Re-
Nair.t They made 1t, not because the
yhis are In need OF extraordinary re.
pairs. but simply because nearly all
lf them need new boilers.
No ship can nave a new set Of boil.
crs withou. congress first making pro-
vision for 1t. Boilers for battleshlp
cost considerably more than 100000,
ships needing them. It cost fully
laid down on the dock alongside the
100000 more to put them in. The
law s1ys not moro than 100000 shall
be spent on ship without a specific
appropriation. 1t also says that no
expenditure shall be made amounting
TO more than 90 per cent. OF what It
would cost to build a new ship Of a
similar des!gn.
That 20 per cent. restriction makes
It necessary for the department to tell
Congress every time It finds It neces.
sary to put new boilers In a tug. be-
csnsc they nre the most expensive
oart NJ n tur. a.- sst II