Evening star., 1923-11-11
ARMY AND NAVY NEWS
BY M. H. MCINTYRE


ongton by rail, Gen. Hoibrook will
make number Of inspections of
cavalry posts and stations. This will
In all probability be the generals
iareWeli inspection trip. as his COM
pire July 23, 1924.
Final agreement has been reached
between the budget and the Navy
department on the appropriations to
pc De submitted to Congress. While off,
elai ngures are withheld, it is un-
derstood that the total figures for the
operation of the naval establishment
Tor next year are several million dol
lars below the amount available this
year.
While this necessarily means the
abandonment of the Navy's fight for
5000 additional men and drastic cur
taiiment along nearly every line of
naval nay, activities. departmental heads
on" even though no progress can
economy.
The real fight is still to come, as
the largest amounts in dispute were
Tor new construction, base projects,
approximation Of the battleships and
other items thrown out by the budget
because there has been no congress
sionai authorization for them
All or these and possibly a request
Tor more funds for naval aviataion
and Tor the reserves will be taken
up directly with Congress. The build
ing program contemplates construc-
Doats. and a determined effort will
be made to get Congress to provide
for these auxiliaries needed to round
out the Navy to treaty strength.
VI equal Importance, in the opin-
ion of responsible heads of the Navy,
Is the request to be submitted for
funds to start the work of modern
izing the battleships. 1t is proposed
to start with the New York and
pedo protection and additional armor
on decks to meet the new menace of
aerial attack. This work is in addi-
ton to the proposed gun elevation,
but is specifically provided for in the
naval treaty. making it impossible to
raise any question as to our right to
do it under the treaty limitations
Commander p. l.. Reed, Civil Engi-
neer Corps. has completed his duties
as a member of the compensation
board, Navy Department. and has
left to assume his new duties as pub
lie works officer of the Hampton
Roads base. relieving Capt H. r.
Stanford.
The department has received a re-
earthquake, following a heavy rain,
caused the collapse of a 16,000-gallon
saltwater tank on Hospital Cay. To
meet the needs for fire protection
small capacity tank has been erected
until the permanent storage is re-
placed.
Appointment of the wage board to
the calendar year of 1924 was made
this week by Assistant Secretary
Roosevelt. The board probably will
meet tomorrow and begin its work Of
reviewing the reports of the local
wage board. with a hearing on No
come effective on January l. when
the scale.fixed last July for period
of six months expires.
The personnel of the board is the
same as the last. Headed by Rear
Admiral J. X. Robson. it consists of
+. S. Curtis. chief clerk of the Navy,
and A. l. Berries, secretary of the
metal workers union. Last July an
increase approXimating 10 per cent
on the average. was granted the navy
yard men and an effort will be made
to secure an additional increase for
the coming year The local boards
have been engaged for some time
in securing data on wages paid in
commercial lines for work similar TO
that done in the yards and II is eX
tndt the wage VIII De
able to expedite it's findings without
the confusion experienced last July
due to the lack of a uniform method of
procedure for the different local boards
10 follow, a fault that was finally
rectified
A flight of $500 miles. the fourth
longest flight in the history of avia-
tion, without forced landing and
using the same engines throughout
is the record just completed by two
Marine pilots in DH-iB land planes.
The finish of the aerial jaunt was at
Anacostia. the itinerary being from
Haiti to Washington. to San Fran
sisco and back to the Capital. In
the service this flight is looked upon
as clear demonstration of the ex-
treme mobility of naval and Marine
Corps aviation units and the high
efficiency of the personnel.
Future officers of the United States
Navy will have a more complete first
hand knowledge of how boilers
should be cleaned and in fact every
detail of work aboard a battleship if
a recommendation just submitted to
the department by Rear Admiral n.
McCully, cmmanding scouting feet. is
approved.
He proposes that in the future the
midshipmen on their annual practice
cruises do practically all the work
aboard ship, taking the place of most
of the regular crew. and thus learn
more thoroughly the business from
the ground up. He believes that by
placing on them the responsibility
for operating the ships the value of
the cruises will be greatly enhanced.
To meet the objections of COM
manding officers of the ships to be
used that 1t will disrupt their organi-
cations to take most of their crew off
the ships for so long a time. the ad-
miral proposes that the men spend
that period taking the trade courses
at the Hampton Roads schools. Spon-
,ors of this plan in the department
argue that the practical training the
midshipman would get this way
would be of great value to them
when they come into the service and
take over the supervision of the work
and control and training of the en-
listed men who have 1t to do.
A small plant for helium extrac-
ton, employing a new principle, has
been started near Fort Worth. Tex,
under the direction of the bureau of
mines, the output of which will be
controlled by the helium board. Pre-
liminary reports indicate that 1T will
great boon to the development of
commercial and military lighter than
air aviation. One engineer reports
that the plant will pay for itself with
one years operation.
For the first time In nearly year
the Navy enlisted personnel Is up to
its authorized strength of $4,000 men.
This has been accomplished by the
enlistment of 1900 men since last
July without any special recruiting
drive and without lowering the strict
standards of eligibility that for
months past have been in effect.
Among the suggestions received by
the bureau of navigation in its drive
to improve the personnel situation
was one this week from the COM
handing officer of the Newport Train
ing Station that is being given serious