Evening star., 1935-11-03
.RESIDENT ROOSEVELT now
has before him the question of
an ALLEGATION of funds for an

L armory to house the training
activities Of the 1st Battalion, United
States Naval Reserves in the District
of Columbia, and the United States
Marine Reserve Regiment. 1t is pro-
posed to perpetuate the name Of
Roosevelt in Naval Reserve affairs here
by naming the structure, when and if
1t is built, the Henry Latrobe Roosevelt
Armory, in honor of the Assistant
of the Navy Department.
The President, when he was here as
Assistant Secretary Of the Navy, did
much, prior to the World War, for the
old naval militia here. officers of that
which was then part
of the local National Guard. recall. He
was a frequent visitor to their armory
and participated in their social func-
tions, designed for the purpose of in
creasing the popularity of the. organ
ization. He also was instrumental in
getting them a training ship when
other efforts had failed, and he kept
it here until the organization was
called into the service during the
World War.
At that time the militiamen had
fairly satisfactory armory. 1t still
stands on the Washington Channel
water front. but it is now occupied
by one of the land units, the 260th
Coast Artillery. 1t is the property of
the District of Columbia Militia, and
as the Reserves are a United States
the Federal Government
must provide them with atmory train
ing space. This the Government has
done. 1t has placed the local Re-
servists in a commercial store build
ing. built many years ago, and which
became a part of the Washington
Navy Yard reservation when this area
was expanded during the World War.
1t is with a great deal of difficulty
that the local Reservists obtain their
training in this structure. AS a matter
of fact, it is not possible to have any
battalion movements, as the drill hall,
a temporary lean-to built along two
sides Of the building. is only large
enough for one division. Even then
only very limited movements may be
executed.
This condition also seriously af-
fects the training. as the ideal sys-
tenn would be to have the entire bat
talon functioning at one time on each
drill night.
The proposed building project has
been approved by the Navy Yard Off
cials. including the commandant, Rear
Admiral j. R. Defrees, and the Navy
officials, including the
Secretary of the Navy As set up, it
is believed to come within the pro-
visions of the work-relief regulations,
and the officers of the local battalion
hope that the President will make a
decision in the very near future. They
say that the Presidents secretary has
informed them that he will take the
matter up promptly with the Chief
Executive.
The plans were prepared under the
direction of the Naval Reserve officers.
who had the help of private archi-
tects, ard the work can proceed
if the President gives his
approval to the project.
The site on which it is proposed to
erect the structure is also on the
Navy Yard reservation. just east of
Eleventh street at the bridge over the
River and south of the Re-
ceiving Station Building. 1t would be
close enough to the river 50 that the
Reservists would not lose any of their
drill time in getting to training ship
which might be assigned here or for
small boat drills, which are an i'm
portant part of the training of
citizen sailor.
With the prospect of an increase in
the size of the divisions, the problem
of armory drill space will be most i'm
portant. The Fleet divisions now are
limited to 56 enlisted men each, and
it is the plan to increase them to
IS men. To this end a drive is to
be made in the coming Congress by
the United States Naval Reserve OFF,
GERS Association.
However. it was indicated that it is
possible that the divisions will be
increased to 60 men within the near
future. 1t was said that the depart
ment probably would find funds avail
able from the current appropriation
to allow a small increase. The size of
the divisions is limited by the amount
Of money Congress appropriates for
drill pay, as each man receives days
pay for each drill which he attends.
With 20 more men in each division
to train. the problem of armory space
will become serious one here. and it
is the hope that provision for the
of the new armory will
be made before it becomes necessary
to make provision for these men.
OF course. the dispatch Of train
ing vessel here would help materially
in solving the present armory situa-
tion-that is, as far as drilling is con-
cerned. While it would be necessary
to have the building for the storage
of large amount of training equip
ment, nevertheless the ship could be
used for drilling, except for landing
force work.
1t was pointed out that the Navy
has numerous destroyers idle in the
basin at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard. and the expense Of put
ting one of them in commission and
it here for the local Re-
servists would be comparatively small.
Funds are constantly being expended
on maintenance of them there and it
was said that the expense of main
one of them here would be
but little more. although there would
be an increased expense in operating
cost. This would come from the fact
that the .Reservists would use it the
year round In cruising on the Potomac
River on week ends.
Owing to the fact that they now
have only q small launch, which is
limited to the number Of men that
can be taken out each week, the train
Ing has to be much spread out. Fur