Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-29

program, though also it is to advise
those authorities in the making of a
program. Thus the general board of
the navy, of which Admiral Dewey is
the head, takes stock of the situation,
having full knowledge OF just what
not only this but all other nations have
in the way of navies, and decides that
IN the particular year the necessities
of the national defense require that
so many ships of this type and so many
ships of that type should be authorized.
In determining it has the advantage of
the information gathered and studies
made by the construction corps, by the
bureau of ordnance, which has to do
with arms and armament and protect
i've armor. and by the bureau of steam
engineering, which has to do with all
motive power. This building program
is then submitted to the Secretary of
the Navy, who acting for the President,
may approve or modify-or even re-
ject-it and make his recommendation
to Congress. Whereupon Congress,
through its committees. hales the naval
authorities before it and makes them
present arguments to support the pro-
gram. After which Congress does as it
pleases.
But prior to this. when the Score
tary of the Navy has determined on
what his recommendations are to be,
the bureau of construction and repair,
which contains the construction corps,
makes tentative plans for all the craft
proposed. When Congress has author
lied the construction of such vessels
as it sees fit these plans are worked
out in detail.
Then bSis are called and contracts
are awarded to private yards. or work
assigned to government navy yards
the authorities may determine. But,
whether the work be done in private
or public yards, a force of naval con-
structors is put on each job to see that
every item of the work is properly
done and that every ounce of material
is UP to standard, just in the con-
struction of a building the architect is
in charge over the actual builder.
That, briefly. is an outline of how
Uncle Sam goes about getting his
fighting ships
AS indicated in the foregoing, the
bureau of construction and repair at
every stage must work in conjunction
with the two other bureaus involved.
For example. 1t is determined to build
a battleship. The bureau of ordnance
has definite ideas as to how many and
what size guns should be placed on
board this craft and what amount of
armor the hull should carry. The bu-
reau of steam engineering knows what
space 1t will require for the machinery
IT has planned to propel the vessel
through the water at the speed desired.
But the bureau of construction and re-
pair has to plan hull which will
carry all of this ordnance and all of
this machinery and provide room for
the crew, and still make the speed de-
sired.
1t requires no chart to show the in
terdependence of these three bureaus
in making a definite plan. The bureau
of steam engineering has nothing in
common with the bureau of ordnance,
but the bureau of construction and re-
pair has everything in common with
both.
To get real and unbiased appreci-
alton of the excellence of this corps of
naval architects of ours one would best
go abroad Grand Admiral Won Tir-
pitt, for one. holds the American con-
struction corps in high regard. He
has not hesitated to borrow literally
from its ideas, and he has observed
them develop. And the British admi-
rally well. 1t knows all about the
American construction corps, and it
has an eye on the personnel OF that
corps. For example, it wouldn't mimi