Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1915-10-12
SECRET NAVY
LABORATORY
$5,OOO,OOO WOrkshiD in Walled
City Urged to Make Fleet
Best in World.
UNDER CLOSE GUARD.
Consulting Board Works Out the
Plans.

Plans.
On motion of Thomas a. Edison the
Naval Consulting Beard unanimously
PASSED a resolution Thursday recon-
nending the establishment of an i'm
nense laboratory so equipped as to
permit members of the hoard and naval
officers TO work out plans and prob
lens with a view to making the Amer
lean fleet one of the most powerful
organizations of the kind in the world.
has heretofore been known as the Ma
val Advisory Biard, fixed upon S15.-
100000 as the sum that should be
made available by the government 10
establish the laboratory, and il is es-
timated that an annual allowance of
from $2,500.0 900 to s3,000,000 should be
appropriated for maintenance.
1t is the purpose of Secretary Dan
iels to ask Congress to make an appro-
priation for the proposed laboratory
along lines indicated in the resolution
offered by Mr.. Edison. If Congress
adopts the recommendation made by
the Consulting Board, the navy will
soon have at its disposal the best
equipped laboratory for war purposes
in the world, combining every facil-
ity of further scientific investigation,
With equipment to manufacture on a
large scale.
1t was suggested by Mr.. Edison that.
IN the management of the laboratory
secrecy should be the governing fac
tor" Mr.. Edison would have the ex-
perts worked in walled city, the insti-
tuition TO be inhabited only by those en-
gagged in the service of the government
He would place this reservation in COM
nand of naval officer of high rank.
He would locate the laboratory on
tide water of sufficient depth to permit
a dreadnaught to come to the dock
His resolution suggested that the i'm
stitution should be located near, but
not in. large city, and that it should
be of complete equipment to enable
working models to be made and tested
to destruction. The plan, as outlined
in the resolution, provides that there
shall be:
A pattern shop, brass foundry,
east iron and cast steel factory, ma
chineshops for large and small work
sheet metal shop, forge shop for large
and small work, machinery large
enough to build submarines of 1,500
tons, wood working shop, chemical lab
oratory, physical laboratory, motion
picture developing and printing depart
ment, complete draughting rooms
electrical laboratory and wireless lab
oratory and testing machines, mechan-
ical laboratory and testing machines,
explosive laboratory. separate from the
main laboratory
The resolution further provides that
buildings shall be Of modern concrete
construction with metal sills and doors,
wire glass windows and ample fire
protection; the resolution continues:
"a naval officer of rank should be in
charge. He should be especially fitted
Under him should be naval heads of
broad experience in laboratory meth
DDS and sciences in general practical
as. well as theoretical men They
should not go to sea- Under them
should be staffs of civilian experiment
ers, chemists, physicists, etc.
Each sub-head should have its corps
of assistants, and with shop facilities,
without too much red tape There
should be at least two and possibly
three shifts of men. Time should be
the essence of the place. Secrecy
should be the governing factor. The
place should be surrounded by a high
fence and guard maintained at all
hours. No visitors allowed.
Facilities should exist for enabling
the inventor assist in the development
of the ideas he has presented, provided
he is a practical man. The investment
for grounds. buildings and equipment
should total approximately $5,000,000.
The annual operating expenses to be
between $2.5OO,00 and $3,O00,000."
The passage of the Edison resolution
was the first business of the day after
organization had been completed and
a motion adopted that the board should
Je known officially as the Naval Con-
sulting Board"