Evening star., 1935-10-20
w YITH the hope Of getting their
M 100-year-old armory re-
Wv placed with more modern
building. members of the


M 100-year -old armory re-
" " placed with more modern
building, members of the
1st Battalion, United States Naval Re-
serves in the District of Columbia,
plan to start personal campaign to
interest people of the city in the pro-
vision of building suitable for the
young citizen sailors to get In their
weekly drills. In addition, new
building would make it possible for
the hundreds Of ReserviSts in the city
not affiliated with the Fleet Reserve
to receive weekly instruction.
The armory project was started
some months ago by the officers Of
the battalion, under the direction OF
Lieut.. James E. Sullivan, battalion
commander, who has worked vigorous
ly and zealously to get it over all the
hurdles necessary before reaching the
point Of final decision. The project
hasreceived the approval Of the COM
mandant of the Washington Navy
Yard, Rear Admiral ]. r. Defrees; the
Reserve Bureau at the Navy Depart
ment, Secretary Claude A. Swanson
of the Navy Department and the Ma
tional Emergency Council. 1t is now
before President Roosevelt and the
local Reservists are hopeful that upon
his return from the West Coast he
will go into the matter and give it his
approval, which, of course, would
mean authorization for the money
necessary to build the structure.
The proposed new building would be
used also for housing the local United
States Marine Corps Reserve regi-
ment, which also is laboring under
difficulties in the matter of proper
housing for the storage of equipment
and for drills.
In view of the fact that Assistant
Secretary of the Navy, Henry Latrobe
Roosevelt, has been of material as
sistance in getting the project to its
present status, the local Reservists
have decided to name the proposed
structure the Henry Latrobe Roose-
welt Armory.
Letters were sent out last week to
certain citizens active in the civic af
fairs of the city. calling attention to
the poor facilities provided for the
training of the citizen sailors. 1t was
pointed out to them in the letters that
the present building is more than 100
years old, and originally consisted of
two stores, which were taken into the
navy yard reservation when additional
property was purchased during the
World War. Subsequently a large
lean-to of wood was added to the old
brick structure and this now serves
as drill hall, but it is so small that
it will only accommodate one division
at a time. As a result of this, it is
necessary to divide the drill nights
into three, as it is impossible to have
the entire battalion assembled at one
time for drill purposes. Whenever. it
is necessary for inspections and the
like to have the entire organization on
one night, the hall is so crowded that
the outfit cannot maneuver as a unit.
According to the letter the building
has been condemned by the safety en-
gineers of the Navy Department as
both fire and security hazard, yet
nearly 800 individuals are required to
drill in it each week Practically the
same conditions are faced by the Ma
rine Corps Reserve.
The design for the proposed build
ing was prepared by private architects
in conference with Lieut.. Sullivan and
his officers. The fund which is asked
for the structure would be spent ems
tirely for construction, as the pro-
posed site is owned by the Govern
ment- IT is within the Navy Yard
reservation. just south of the present
receiving station and west of the
Eleventh Street Bridge over the Ana
costa River. The plans call for the
construction of facilities for docking
training ship and for hoisting and
lowering small boats. At the present
time the armory building is located so
far from the water front that when
training vessel is temporarily as
signed here for drill purposes a con-
siderable portion of the time each
drill evening is wasted in going to
and from the quay where the ship is
tied up. However, it is hoped that
in the near future the Navy Depart
ment will find it possible to assign
training ship here permanently, so
that the officers and men may use it
each drill night for training pur-
poses. instead of confining their train
ing only to work that can be per-
formed in the building
1t was pointed out by the Reserve
officers that the presence of a ship
here keeps the men right up to the
minute on their ship work, so that
when they go on the annual cruises
they do not have to lose any time
in shaking down in their positions
aboard the new vessel. From a period
subsequent to the World War, when
the Reserves were organized into di-
visions and battalions for training
purposes. up until the pressure for
governmental economy, the local or
ganization always had a ship. 1t
was said that the assignment of
vessel here would in a small way
relieve unemployment, as a number of
the men in the Reserve are unem-
ployed and they could be assigned
to the vessel as ship keepers, reliev-
ing the Regulars, who would be sent
to the active feet, where personnel
is needed. The Reservists would be
placed on the active list for an in
definite period and would receive the
pay of their rates, the same as those
in the Regular establishment. As
tn! men get jobs in private employ
ment, their positions as ship keepers
could be taken by others who also are
out of employment.