UNITED STATES. 



761 



with the assignees, the contracts were declared 

 to be forfeited, a Board of Examiners was ap- 

 pointed, and an inventory and appraisal were 

 made. The appraisers were instructed to as- 

 certain the value of the uncompleted vessels 

 by taking the contract price as their value 

 when completed, and deducting therefrom the 

 cost of finishing them in accordance with the 

 terms and requirements of the con- 

 tracts. The report of the Board of 

 Appraisers was that the contract 

 price of the " Chicago " was $933,- 

 692, and that it would require $208,- 

 045 to complete it, leaving $725,647 

 as the amount equitably due to the 

 contractor ; the contract price of the 

 "Atlanta" was $661,978 amount 

 necessary to finish it, $41,591; con- 

 tract price of the "Boston," $660,- 

 218 necessary for its completion, 

 $50,195. On this basis, the Gov- 

 ernment proceeded with the work 

 of finishing the vessels, using the 

 works and working force of the con- 

 tractor in the hands of his assignees. 

 In regard to the "Dolphin," the 

 Secretary of the Navy proposed 

 that the Government should take 

 the vessel and pay the contract price 

 for her " when made equal in all 

 respects to the contract require- 

 ments." If the contractor could 

 show that this had been done, he 

 should recover the balance due ; if 

 not, there should be reserved a suf- 

 ficient sum to make the vessel equal 

 to the requirements. There had 

 been no settlement of the matter at 

 the end of the year. 



A special board was appointed in 

 July to examine and report upon 

 plans and specifications for four 

 new cruisers authorized by acts of 

 Congress of 1882 and 1883 ; but the 

 work of deciding upon these had not 

 been finished at the end of the year. 



In his annual report, the Secretary of the 

 Navy urged the importance of a reorganiza- 

 tion of the department, which he considered 

 very faulty in its methods and in the practical 

 results. He favored a distinct division of the 

 naval administration into three branches one 

 having to do with the personnel of the navy 

 and the fleet, one dealing with everything per- 

 taining to construction and materials, and one 

 having charge of the finance and accounts of 

 the department and attending to contracts and 

 purchases. 



The expenditures of the Navy Department for 

 the year ending June 30 were $13,337,867.72 ; 

 the appropriations for the year ending June 30, 

 1886, were $13,950,704.95. The estimates made 

 by the Secretary for the year 1886-'87 were 

 $35,104,695.15, of which $16,069,950.24 was 

 for new purposes. He included $10,503,770 

 for increase of the navy, $4,202,656 for com- 



pletion and armament of the double-turreted 

 monitors, and $4,268,337.41 for public works 

 and improvements at navy-yards and stations. 

 The question of building up the navy was one 

 of the most important urged upon the atten- 

 tion of Congress at the session beginning in 

 December. 



Military Operations. The Army of the United 



AUGUSTUS H. GARLAND, 

 Attorney-General. 



States consists of 2,154 officers and 24,705 en- 

 listed men. The expenses of the War Depart- 

 ment for the last fiscal year were $45,850,- 

 999.54, including $13,164,394.60 for public 

 works and river and harbor improvements. 

 During the year ending June 30 there were 

 2,927 desertions from the army, 2,328 trials 

 by general courts-martial, and 11,851 trials be- 

 fore garrison and regimental courts-martial. 

 The Signal- Service Bureau, devoted mainly to 

 meteorological observations and reports, em- 

 ploys 21 officers, 3 professors, 3 junior pro- 

 fessors, 500 enlisted men, and 14 civilian clerks. 

 The number of stations in operation is 489, 

 from 160 of which telegraphic reports are re- 

 ceived daily. The aggregate length of military 

 telegraph lines in use is 2,779 miles. The ex- 

 pense of the Signal Service for the fiscal year 

 was $792,592.57. 

 The active operations of the army were due 



