84 GENERAL CONSIDERATION OF NAVY YARD DESIGN. 



sentatives would make to keep the Navy Yard in Brooklyn, I think such a move would be a 

 hard proposition. Such things, however, should not enter into propositions for the Navy, 

 whether it is a question of the location of a yard, or the building of the ships, or anything 

 else. They should be carried out to the best interests of the country and not for the benefit 

 of any particular locality. 



Provided that this location can be dredged, there is absolutely no doubt that it is a much 

 more attractive position than the present Brooklyn Navy Yard. The approach is very much 

 easier and, as Captain Van Duzer says in the paper, it is further from attack at sea; not 

 only that, but it is nearer to Sandy Hook — I have not measured the distance, but I should say 

 it was at least two miles nearer. When it comes to a question of time, there would be a great 

 saving on account of the slow speed with which the battleships are required to navigate in 

 the East River. The layout Captain Van Duzer has put before us evidently shows a good 

 deal of thought and seems to be excellently worked out. The location is infinitely better for the 

 transportation of materials, as at very small expense tracks could be laid connecting the yard 

 with two of the main railroad lines which run to Pittsburgh and other locations where the 

 steel industries are situated. Everything which is destined for the Brooklyn Navy Yard has 

 to be taken out of the cars, put on lighters, and transported over there. This difference in 

 time required to get the material and make repairs on ships would be of great importance in 

 time of war. 



The Chairman : — There are a number of industrial managers present, men whose opin- 

 ions on this thing are worth having. I do not want them to give opinions of great value to 

 the government for nothing, but at the same time, for the sake of the Proceedings of the 

 Society, I would like them to say a word or two. 



Mr. Francis T. Bowles, Past President: — It has always seemed to me, with regard to 

 the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and all navy yards, that naval officers, as a rule, confuse the func- 

 tions of a navy yard, and attempt to combine what I call a naval rendezvous with an industrial 

 plant. There is a continual conflict between the interests of a naval rendezvous where men 

 are assembled for distribution, recruited and trained to some extent in the performance of 

 their duties, and where stores are kept for renewing supplies on vessels, and a place where 

 industrial work is performed. If there were no other handicap in the way of the Navy pro- 

 ducing battleships and other vessels at a cost equivalent to what can be obtained under con- 

 tract, the cause that I have mentioned would alone prevent it. 



The Navy has a very large investment in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, in the way of dry- 

 docks and costly buildings, some of which are very well adapted for the manufacturing pur- 

 poses for which they are occupied. I venture to say that if all the features of the naval ren- 

 dezvous were removed the efficiency of the yard for repairs, construction and industrial 

 purposes would be greatly increased. 



The Chairman: — ^Has any one else any comments to make on this paper? If not, 

 we shall pass to the next paper, No. 14, entitled, "Notes on the Performance of the S. S. 

 Tyler," by Mr. E. H. Rigg. 



Mr. Rigg presented the paper, and at its conclusion said : 



"I should like to add a word as to the backing and maneuvering of the Tyler ; these were 



