Evening star., 1920-02-01
MR.. bR|TTEN RAPS
WORK AT NORFOLK
Representative Says Army
and Navy Squandered
Money on Projects.

Contendng that much of the s24O.-
100000 expended on War and Navy
Department activities in the vicinity
OF Norfolk. Va, was "ruthlessly
squandered." and especially pointing
TO the s18,0O0.000 naval supply station
at Hampton roads, which has practi-
caily been abandoned because an ade-
quate water supply could not be OBJ
tanned. Representative Fred y. Brit
Ten. republican. of Illinois. issued a
statement explaining the proposed
TRIP OF the naval affairs committee &c
Norfolk.
Text of Statement.
| Representative Britten made his
statement following the testimony
! before the naval committee of Real
Admiral y. +. Fechteler and havin g
in mind the appropriation of $3.50. .OOC
asked for the purchase of land on
which the training station was built
iHe said:
The United States government has
expended some $240.00O,0O0 in the
vicinity of Norfolk, Va on various
war activities for the Army and Navy,
and 1t now develops that q very large
portion of this money was ruthleSSly
squandered with very little attention
/ being paid to the national Treasury
I or the sources from which this tre-
mendous expenditure must eventually
| come
1T was developed that great Army
| camps and naval training stations and
| naval operating bases were estab-
| llshed. where it was conclusively evil
| denced that no sufficient water sup
| ply existed to care for troops, govern
! ment employees or the production of
| power and light.
| The committee was told that the
big Army base directly north of Nor
| folk was obtaining it's fresh water
\ II Il
which are towed by tugs and lighters
! across Hampton roads, some fifteen
miles.
! I'VE also were informed that the
Naval Training Station, Naval Hos
pital. Submarine Base, Aviation Base
and a tremendous supply station con-
tanning no less than s1S,009.00O worth
of all kinds of naval material for
| ships stores, all established at Hamp-
ton roads. have been practically de-
| pleted of Army, naval and civilian
personnel because of the inability of
the government to obtain a sufficient
water supply to accommodate even
/ the Scanty needs of an abnormally
low personnel, barely sufficient to
! care for the maintenance of the tre-
mendous contemplated operations.
"Rights Were Unobserved."
| THE Navy Department has. since
| the armiStice. in a most childish man. =
/ leT, SQudnuereu more than S6,UUO,0UU
on an additional, useless, undeSira BILE
unnecessary training station. which
will, according to expert military be-
| lief, never be used until we have an
other war, and we are now asked to
appropriate S450.00O for the purchase
| of land upon which this training sta
| ton was built since the armistice, in
order to satisfy a great many innocent
property holders whose property
rights were not only unobserved but
deliberately ignored by the Navy De-
partment in the establishment of this
| scandalous postwar project.
! The committee will visit Norfolk
with view to determining whether
the major portion of this $240, 900, ,00O
expenditure should be scrapped at
once or allowed to remain in silent
existence under continued appropria-
| tions for maintenance"