Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1910-11-20
NAVY YARD REFORM.


New York Post: A little item in
the Washington dispatches informs
the public that Secretary Meyer has
managed to make his recent trip OF
inspection of the eastern and south.
ern navy yards highly profitable, in
that he has found ways of saving
fully 100000. But even more impor-
/ tant is the secretary'S determination
to recommend to congress the discOn-
tinuance of certain navy yards and
the making of others really efficient
manufacturing plants. That this is a
bold undertaking is plain to every
one who has followed the history of
the various navy yards. Most of them
have been of purely political variety,
depending upon congressional log
rolling for continuance, as they HAD
ben a frequent source Of corruption
direct and indirect. and sectional feel
ing has been invoked and war-scares
created. if necessary. to ward off in
quiry or to further large appropria-
tions. SO far no secretary of the
navy nor president has been able to
make Roadway against this abuse.
Hence it is refreshing. indeed. to
have Mr.. Meyer declare publicly that
he will take the bull by the horns
and call for the abolition of all the
navy yards below Norfolk. save one
% be supplementary to the Guantana-
no naval station, about which he is
most usiastic-apparenty for
1arpn1ly forgetting that nobody votes
or American congressman in that
juban port.
Perhaps Mr.. Meyer is encouraged
0 attempt his crusade against navy
ard waste by the approaching re
irement from the senate of Senator
1ale of Maine. Valuable service as
1r. Hale has performed by his re-
S1sa0 10 be stampeded by the big
+avy mania. he has none the less laid
almself open to criticism by the skill
Frth which he has nursed his pet
5avy yard at Portsmouth. New Hamp.
alre- In this place. in one year,
'g9O,oOO was expended for laborerS-
18th votes-who produced work val &,
I'd at only S4lSSO4. At New Or
ps worth $l,O4G at a cost of $7S,- !
"a; it's floating drydock takes care
4 about one ship year; yet the
Mex alone cost million. AT the
NJ West yard in 1901 an expenditure
s94.31S resulted in product val
Nd at $7,l26. Senator Hale's navy
Mrd has cost more than $lo.ono.ooO
drydOck meant an investment of
@10O.000 Yet the waterway to the /
Ord is so bad that no battleshp is
.cked there. and even a gunboat ap-
:3aches it with great caution. At
st four other yards are defective
cause of insufficient channels-key
est, Mare Island. Port Royal and
arleston. S. C.
At the latter yard which has cost
pr $4,000,O00, the river is too mar
for any large ship to manoeuvre.
nee, of late years it has been used
station for torpedo-boats and de-
oyers. But the Port Royal yard
mains the classic example of waste
to political influence AS far
* as 1876 a naval board could see
reason whatever for recommend
q naval yard there, but from 1898
1908 $1,O84,346.26 was expended
re, and a costly drydock built
ich has never been used because
only battleship ever locked there
1t aground in trying to get out,
re being but 1917 feet of water in
channel Yet Port Royal is now
ndoned save for a marine bar
is, although it would have made
ideal naval training station, where
rentices and recruits could drill
year round. But instead OF u.s.
it for this purpose, few years
congress voted the establishment
q training station on the Great