Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-01-14
Navy Bureau
Praised BY Committee
Continued from Page One

Continued from Page One
officers of the naval milfsia. oincers Oh
the coast guard service. FORMER srau
yates from Annapolis and aole men iro''i
civilian life as needed.
Despite the pressure placed upon the
bureau uy the demands for more ord
nance material Of standard types, 1t has
been able to develop much new ma
terial, including iarge-depth charges
new subm irine bombs, nonricochet
shells, bomb-dropping sights. howitzers,
guns for throwing deptn-charges. smoke
screen apparatus, heavier ordnance on
q rcraft and many other important de-
signs, which we feel II unwise to dis
close, and made much progress on es-
sential articles of lesser Importance
Where there were shortages in the
market of various materials the bureau
took steps Immediately to develop new
sources of supply. 1t placed contracts
rapidly, and the committee Is confident
that the navy's needs for ordnance
during this war are fully covered by
existing contracts and with the capacity
now under its control
More than 100 vessels have been
furnished and equipped with guns. am
iliaries since the fitting out of the Cam
pana, the first ship to be SO fitted out. on
MAJ ch ID, 1917.
WARTIME CONTRACTS FILLED
Reserves of ammunition and shell
have been acquired and money placed at
the disposal Of the Bureau Of Ordnance.
which has been spent. wisely and has
been obligated virtually as soon as
it became available. The testimony con-
vnced the committee that the prevalent
belief and opinion as to the navy's readi-
ness are well founded. The Bureau of
Ilrl, nttRA haI fNs n n,e han Inn
for war. Guns. mounts, shells, powder
and ordnance equipment in large quanti-
Il, $ had been manufactured and held
In readiness for eventual use. With the
declaration of armed neutrality guns
and ammunition were promptly placed
Oh the merchant ships of the United
States. Upon the declaration of war,
kilograms long held IN readiness were
motion-without a jar. the machinery
took up the load placed upon II. There
has been no breakdown no let up. on
the contrary there hae bocn increasing
speed and greater momentum
Congress has provided the bureau
promptly with the funds requested. and
early in 1917 advantageous contracts
were promptly placed and moneys obli-
gated Today virtually every dollar
appropriated has been obligated, and,
under authority Of Congress-. contracts
have been entered into entailing future
obligations and appropriations.
Deliveries under wartime contracts
of guns. mounts and accessories are now
being received, little or nc delays have
been experienced and the industrial ca
pacity of the country has 'ponded
u most satisfactory manner. New ca
pacities have been developed for the
production of gun foreinL and the
larger types of broadside gun mounts:
firms that prior to the declaration Of
war had been engaged solely in COM
mercial work have been induced to spe-
cialize in ordnance production, with most
gratifying results. Virtually al the con-
tracts made by the Bureau of Ordnance
have been on a fixed-price basis as the
result of competitive bidding, less than
10 per cent being on a cost-Dlus-aftixed.
profit basis. cost being as defined by the
Internal revenue act and e profit being
per pound of gun forgi' gs or per gun
or per mount.
at may be pertinent to here state
that the bureau has furnished. in appre-
ciable quantities, the Governments Of
England. France and Italy with guns
from the largest to the smallest caliber.
together with proper supplies Of ammu
milton therefor, and is continuing the
supply of such munitions to our allies.
1t has armed a considerable number Of
their merchantmen.
anticipating the needs of the naval
anu corps LOT
machine guns. the bureau wisely con-
Quoted a test Of the Lewis machine gun
early in April, 1917. with view to defi-
nitely determining its serviceability
when using the United States small
arms ammunition, and as a result Of
this test placed an order for the manu-
facture of several thousand of these
guns. Each company of marines leaving
for European service has been provided
with its proper quota of machine guns.
the second detachment being entirely
QUILTED with the Lewis infantry ma
chine gun. and recent reports from the
war zone indicate that this gun is giving
entire satisfaction.
depth charges. which the committee
thinks may, be properly termed the
produced In quantity and are in use
by our destroyers and submarine chas-
ers. An adequate reserve Of ammunl-
ton for all classes of guns has been
accumulated and is held In storage
ready for the use Of the fleet.
INVENTIONS DEVELOPED
at was specially gratifying to note
resources of the bureau have been pro-
ductive of new designs demanded by
the present methods of modern warfare.
"The committee was gratified at the
executive ability shown by naval officers
placed in charge of industrial work. As
an illustration. the bureau found It nec-
essary to commander a plant producing
binoculars and other optical Instruments
for the navy. Under the former man.
agement this plant produced only 1888
standard binoculars in two months,
whereas during the first two weeks of
operation under navay management IL
has produced 900 satisfactory binoculars
for the use of lookouts and for spotters
THE committee found that, despite
the necessity Of placing large emergency
orders for material. every effort has
been made to insure reasonable prices
THE committee was supplied with full
information of how many attacks of sub
marines upon armed mercha ntment ha a