Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1911-09-15
A NAVY YARD "sHAKE-UP. >

As Il result Of his inspection of some of the
British navy yards and Of the detention camp at
AldershOt our American secretary of the navy,
the Honorable George Won L. Meyer, is more than
convinced that the United States is far from
economical in the matter Of nay yards and dry
dock facilities and that of our equipment in
this particular must go" "The United States
he said In an interview on his return to London.
has twice the number of dock yards that there
are in this country, yet the navy of the United
Kingdom is twice large as that of the United
States. There must be sweeping reductions at our
navy yards the Atlantic coast
The United States, says the New York Com
mercial, has only eight establishments that are
classed navy yards" Those at Kittery in
Maine commonly called the Portsmouth navy
Yard; the Charlestown (Boston) Massachusetts,
Brooklyn, New York Portsmouth, near Norfolk
Virginia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Washington
City, District of Columba Mare Island, near San
Francisco, CALIFORNIA; and the Puget Sound navy
yard at Bremerton, Washington. In addition
there are seven naval stations-often enormously
called navy yards" At Charleston and Port
Royal, South Carolina; Key West and Pensacola
Florlda Algers and New Orleans louisiana and
at Great Lakes, North Chicago Illinois. New
port in Rhode Island has naval war college and
torpedo and training station; and at Yerba
Buena island, off the California coast there is
also naval training station. Seven naval sta
tons are also maintained at points in in
suar dependencies and in Cuba.
1t Will thus be seen that SIX OF our eight navy
yards are the Atlantic coast and that of the
ten naval and training stations only is on
the Pacific coast. Whatever else may be said of
it. this naval equipment is at most unbalanced
geographically -but that consideration is not an
important one; the yards and stations have been
established where they were most needed or
served the best purpose at the time. The navy
yards were all constructed during the period
when it the settled policy of the United
States government to construct all its war
craft or to contract for only as much OF
tonnage necessity might demand That day
has passed Private contractors build war
craft better quicker and cheaper than the govern
ment can, general propositions and in only
one or two instances are the navy yards equipped
with up-todate machinery for battleship and other
warcraft construction. They can do repairing
certain extent-but for the most part they are
used berths for old vessels of the department
or those unservcabe for war purposes, as head
quarters for naval tugs and for receiving ships
1t is high time to abandon about half of them.
In all probability of the six Atlantic coast
navy yards those at Brooklyn and at Portsmouth
Virginia generally referred to the Norfolk
navy yard-would be retained in commission But
would all the other four 'go?" If that is the
tentative department program, mighty protest
may be expected to go up from the press OF
Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts Pcnnsy
vania and the city of Washington. And some
of the naval stations also appear to be past THEN
usefulness. A navy yard shake-up is coming be
yond all question of doubt And congress is
going to have tussle the problem. Local
sentiment and pride and tradition are going to
have much to do with the settlement-but in the
! end the utilities must prevail