The Nome nugget., 1940-12-30
Navy Program Brings Boom To BremertOn

the qualities of a liveWire, thriv- ing western boom town
 The city fathers insist it's no mecca for the unemployed with jobs available for only a skilled few in particular trades. But with 10000 men at work at the Navy Yard lots of money is being spsnt, the Navy's discipline, hom es and hotels so crowded that my homes where l hang my hat" describes the housing sit uation = the city is busy and booming.
 Uncle Sam is doing something, too about the housing situation.
 Unlike the short-liVed bloom towns of the west and Alaska of early days thers's a perman- ence in the city's expansion caus ed by the nations building a 'tWo-ocean navy" Bremerton is one of the major west coast bas- eS and that navy should be in the Pacific a long time to come.
 In one step which means more homes here bids were called re- gently on a 600-acre unit low rent housing project on an 80- acre tract near Oyster Bay south east of the Navy Yard. A Seattle firm was low on a bid of $1,812,- 300.
 Meantime day and night the machine-like chatter of riveting guns and the noisy bedlam of con struction rings through the yard. The harbor, the waters across to Port Orchard and the passage ac ross-sound to Seattle are busy with navy ships.
 Aside from the major job talk ing care of the nations fighting ships with routine overhauls and repairs after weeks or months at sea is a major task and at one time recently g vessels were here for such work.
 Despite the cloak of navy sec recy the announcements of con- tracts awarded and other sources over past months discloSes the building program to be of two kinds:
 Ships - Two destroyers and four seaplane tenders under con struct;on (the destrOyers were launched May 16). Also on order a submarine tender to cost ap- proximately $16,000,000 Gone of three such to be built on the west coasD and six more destroyers, at a cost of $42,000,O00 Ths de- stroyers will be of the new 2,100 ton type.
 Yard enlargement - One new graving dock, largest in the na- ton, just completed at cost of $4,30O,OO0, second one-third fin ished and a contract just award ed for a S2,3O0,000 concrete pier to extend 400 feet out into the stream. big enough to dock the naVy's largest ships. ApproXimat ely $l,5O0,000 allocated for fuel oil storage depots. A shipfitters' assembly building and four build ings at the Newport torpsd do sta tion in the initial construction stages.
 Envisioned too and possibly not far distant are two other big projects - development of the Fort Ward naval radio station into a high powered station a radio school" is already being operated there for navy m-n) and enlargement of the present county airport into major-size port for the navy's use.
 Meantime with the number of civilian workers at or over the 10000 mark including WPA work rs pay increases which wi l mean about $70O,000 more year were approved by Secre- tary Knox the first of November. Despite that the higher wages of private industry in Seattle are an induesment to workers there to remain at home rather than make the daily ferry boat trip here.
 A year ago the Yard employed only $500 and the 10-year aver age to 1889 was 2,500,
 As a proof of the need for