Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1909-03-12

aHN'NN NNWN "s NNN rf'AI'A JUS ll-
formation from the inside.
Tho navy department spends sl37-
5000 annually What becomes Of
this vast sum?
Only about twelve millions go 20
building new ships Only about four
millions, according % Senator Hale. go
% enlarging the dry docks and equip
ping the yards where ship repairs are
made. II does not require 12l mill.
ions for coal and ammunition for the
ships, nor even for the salaries and
food OF the men and officers.
Pay Inspector Mudd has Just made
a report 20 the Secretary OF the Navy
which shows where the money goes.
A large sum goes TO yards that are al
most ueless. With the exception Of
New York. Newport News and one or
two others. the yards have not enough
water in the harbors which approach
them TO admit Of the entry Of the big
ships now making up the fighting
strength Of the navy; and II ships
could get up to the yards. the docks
they would find there are too small
to take them.
What do these yards do then? Pay
Inspector Mudd found at least part Of
the answer. They are all busily en-
gagged In distributing money to the
constituents OF certain Senators in
whose home States they are maintain
ed. The chief beneficiaries OF these
yards are not the navy nor the Ameri-
can public. but the friends OF Senators
Hale, Galliger, Perkins, McEnery and
Smith of Maryland.
All kinds Of ship stores are manu-
featured at the yards. But the answer
to where the money goes is found in
the cost OF this manufacture. Il Oc-
CURED 10 Pay Inspector Mudd to make
some comparisons between the cost Of
articles manufactured at the different
yards. The following extracts from
the Mudd report tell their own story:
"A l6-fOot dingey cost $1O4.17 at one
yard and $196-34 at autobiography
close to twice as much. ii will be OBJ
served. A 2O-fOOt dingey cost S217.s9
at one yard. and S362.A4 at another.
A SO-fOOt gig whale boat cost S5O9.3S
at on yard, and the same kind Of boat
for the same kind Of service was turn
ed out at another yard for the euphon-
iOus sum of SSSS.sO. A 3O-fOot whale |
boat cost S559.79 at one yard and
$40 at another A 14-fOOt punt cost |
$63.73 at one yard and $95.12 at
another.
Awning stanchiOns were $3.50 at |
one yard and $3.50 at another. Rud. |
ders were Sc az one yard and $40 at |
another. A tiller was 81 at one yard |
and SO at another. Oh. We sailors,
think Of an ordinary boat tiller costing
So. Why, a landlubber could buy a
lawn mower for that money: and the
gears. knives. rollers. and other things
in the mower, Only the other day :
the writer bought over the retail coun-
ter. for his own use. a pick handle. II /
is a handsome piece OF finished work |
Of It's kind. made of hickory; IL cost
20 cents. Cut II in half, and with a
little whiting IL would make two fine
tillers.
Turning TO furniture: A mahogany
desk for a cabin cost S136.76 at one
yard. while at another, one made for a
sister ship. cost $3.50 An oak desk
cost $112O7 at one yard and S163.3O
at another Toilet racks for Officers
rooms, OF which there are more than
400 made for each battleshlp. cost
s14.6O at one yard. while at another
exactly the same article was turned
out for the neat round sum OF 500.
"A chopping block, a simple and
prosaic article OF ships equipage, cost
So at one yard and $25 at another. A
meat block cost 81 az one yard and
$40 al another. An alcohol chest. 10 q,
hold IS gallons. cost S7l23 at one
yard and S13l.6l at another while the
same kind OF chest. but 10 contain
only so gallons, cost az one yard
1922 and az another 1920. And