Evening star., 1914-01-30
SPENDING UNCLE SANS
MONEY.
VIII.-Buying Big Things.
w.t..
BY Frederic ]. Haskin.

The government is more gwen to ouild-
ing big things than to buying them. tor
TIL. acquisition of battleships is not pos
sible through single contract, nor can
great building necessary for the hous-
ing of an important branch of the pubic
business be obtained by simple purchase.
The greatest government work yet un-
dertaken. the Panama canal. is under
the charge of the Engineer Corps OF the
Army, and the largest Individual pur-
chases made in connection Herewith
have been steamships costing In the
neighborhood of million dollars,
When Uncle sam wants battlesh'p
he buys it from many different persons.
First Of ALL the general board OF the
navy. which is charged with outlInlnS
pIa,is for the national def"use. drlihc' at'S
upon til. necessities for increase of the
fleet With the marvellous advances III
ordnance armor and propulsive ma
chinery battleships quickly become OBJ
solete or obsolescent Certain vessels
therefore are theoretically struck from
the list of efficient fighting craft. even
though they may be still retained In
commission. The general board DECIDES
what new construction is necessary to
take up the waste and maintain the
navys strength unimpaired. Then IL
surveys the foreign field. to discover what
increases of naval armor other nations
have made or are contemplating.
Admiral Dewey who presides over
these meetings of the board, keeps one
eye on the
Needs of the Future iplo matic
Considered by Board. the boards
recommendation is based upon con-
densation of all visible military and diplo-
matte considerations. For several years
the board has held the opinion that the
adequate defense of the coast and COM
merce of the United States required by
1870 the establishment of an efficient
feet not less than forty-eight battle
ships. with cruisers, torpedo destroyers.
lesser fighting craft and auxilaries in due
proportion. To attain this strength, the
board usually recommends the authorize
ton of four battleships a year. but Con-
gress has been unwilling to go SO fast,
and for the last two years only one has
been annually authorized.
After the necessary legislation for the
construction of a new battleship has been
enacted. the bureau of construction and
repair prepares designs for the hull. after
consultation among the officers of the
bureau of construction and repair. steam
engineering and ordnance. as we'll as
members of the general board. and the
Secretary's aids for material personnel,
operations and inspections.
The chief characteristics of the ship are
finally determined upon, and specifications
prepared for the
Plans Completed, contract. To the
ct,f -ht,i16
Contract Follows. ing comnanies
bids upon the construction of the hull
and machinery. Three steel companies
which maintain armor plants are asked
to submit bids for the armor. and the
building of most of the guns is left to the
government naval gun factory at the
Washington navy yard. the gun forgings
being obtained by contract with the great
steel companies. 4 time limit is set in
all these contracts. and payment made
periodically as certain stages of the work
are completed under the supervision of
naval officers. For several years the bids
on arnor have been identical. which
caused the present Secretary of the Navy,
Mr.. Josephus Daniels, to propose the
establishment of a government armor
plant.
Sometimes the government decides to
build battleship itself. The old Texas
was constructed at the Norfolk navy
yard: the Connecticut, flagship of the
battleship fleet in its cruise around the
world, was built at the Brooklyn navy
yard. as was also the new battleship New
York. When this system is resorted to,
the government makes separate con-
tracts for the structural material for the
hull. for machinery, and equipment, as
we'll as for armor and, of course, the
guns come from the government gun fac
tory. unless it is SO crowded that the
smaller calibers must necessarily be pur-
chased from private arms factories
The item of pay for the navy Is one OF
the largest expenditures in the govern
m e n t, for the
Pay of the Navy American fighting
Is Heavy Draft. ma, haan an,9 anoa. LIS, Is the ne
the world. The personnel, active and re-
tired, draws about $40OCO,OOO a year for