The Washington herald., 1916-12-13
Army and Navy News
Best service Column On city.

Up TO year ago the West and Mid
ole West had been supplying the ma
1ority Of recruits for the navy. but the
south and East have forged to the front
recently. It is from these portions Of
the country that the Navy Department
looks for the greatest number of re-
cruits to fill vacancies and build the navy
up to its authorized strength.
Lieut.. John Grady. U. s. N. detailed
Tor special duty in connection with re-
cruiting for the navy. has been securing
the towns and cities Of North Carolina
ana other Southern States for young men
VINO want to cast their lot on the fight
ing ships Of the. United States.
he says Norfolk has been doing fairly
weh In supplying recruits for the last
several weeks. The station at Norfolk
mas been adding from twenty to twenty
nve men to the naval roster each week.
II other cities its size would do as well,
the 5000 men needed to make the navy
"nat II should be probably would be Sc
cured In a reasonable length of time.
Lieut. Grady is going to New York to
BOOST naval recruiting at that place. Con-
sidering its size. the Metropolis Is not
DONG SO well as II should in supplying
Recruiting stations are being opened in
all the Coast States and in the inland
towns of the South, Raleigh has been
made headquarters for the recruiting
work in North Carolina. while small Of
noes nave been opened in a number of
towns throughout the State.
The annual report of Rear Admiral ID.
w. Taylor, chief constructor, sounds a
note OF warning against undertaking too
great building program in government
navy yards In the next eighteen months.
There Is available" he says. "only a
limited number of skilled men in the
shipoulidlng trades. and, as these were
IN great demand in the various private es-
adjustments, where an unprecedented
volume OF merchant tonnage is under con-
struction, 1t proved impracticable to OBJ
tam the men to increase the navy yard
FORCES TO the point warranted by the
amount OF work on hand. In fact, diff
Guilty has been experienced in avoiding
serious depletion Of the force already en-
pioyed. as the opportunities existing in
private plants for increased earnings
through overtime work form an induce
ment. The bureau does not anticipate
material Improvement in this condition
during the next eighteen months"
Rear Admiral Leigh C. Palmer, chief
OF navigation, in his annual report, just
made public, recommends the increa asing
of the number of appointments TO the
naval Academy allowed each member of
Congress. the shortening Of the course
at the Naval Academy to three years un-
I'll the present shortage of officers Is
made up, and the graduating of the pres
ent first class on February /. 1917
A moderate increase in salaries for ci-
villain employees of the bureau Is urged,
and an increase in the force of clerks is
advocated
Aeronautical experts Of the army are
Interested in reports from Dayton, Ohio,
to the effect that Orville Wright has in
vented stabilizer which will make the
alrplane as safe as the automobile 1t
Is said that patent will be applied for
within few weeks.
His new stabilizer substantially re-
jects the gyroscope. heretofore always
deemed necessary as a fundamental.
Instead 1t enters the domain of cleo
tricity. By unique arrangement OF
batteries, augmented by a pendulum
swinging in a liquid bath and a minor
propeller placed almost directly over
the pilots head, absolute. answering,
automatic stability is said to be main
tained.
For the first time in more than three
years Mr.. Wright made an aerial flight
early in November. Almost daily for
period of two weeks he made flights
and continued tests.
1t was following the end of one of
these flights that he exclaimed: I'm
more than satisfied with its work now.
All 1 had to do was to steer the ma
chine. The stabilizer gave me a per-
feet balance during the entire flight
1t did all the banking on the turns
and righted the machine on every dip"
When asked If the new stabilizer
was in any way similar to the one
patented some time ago, he replied
that the first device was not to be
compared to the new one.
TT leaves absolutely nothing for the
aviator to do but steer the machine"
he declared.