The CHAIRMAN. The next is, "Improvements to building forty-one, twenty thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as second in importance.
The CHAIRMAN. What building is that?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. That is the gun factory. The assembling of large guns at the Naval Gun Factory has always been greatly handicapped by insufficient room over the shrinking pit. It is not practicable to deepen the pit, as tide-water seepage would be encountered. It will soon be necessary to undertake the relining of the long 12-inch guns, and it is further desired to improve the design by assembling guns over the muzzle end of the tube. Neither of these operations can be accomplished with the present arrangement of the roof structure. It is therefore proposed to raise that portion of the roof of building No. 41 over the shrinking pit a distance of 25 feet, which will afford ample room for assembling the large guns and erecting supports for an 80-ton traveling crane over the pit.

Mr. HOBSON. You have a crane there to lift the guns?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. Yes, sir; and that will be carried up higher, also. The crane will be carried up higher to take care of that.

The CHAIRMAN, "Fireproof storehouse for fuses, acids, and oils, fifteen thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. The object of that is to take material of that sort, that is liable to spontaneous combustion, outside of the storehouse and put it in a building off to one side by itself.

The CHAIRMAN. How do you regard that?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as sixth in importance.

The CHAIRMAN. "Fire-protection system, ten thousand dollars." Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as eighth. This is for additional new hose and extinguishers, and for the extension of the system where necessary. A tower should be erected for hanging the hose to dry. New hose reels are required, also a standpipe of suitable capacity, with foundations and necessary piping, etc.

The CHAIRMAN. "Purchase of land and change in railroad system, one hundred and eighty thousand dollars."

Mr. PADGETT. This change in railroad system you put as first?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. Yes; something must be done there. I think I said in my hearing last year if they would leave it as it was the department was perfectly satisfied; we did not want anything. We are forced into this thing.

Mr. PADGETT. You are sure that the legislation left it for two years?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. Yes; two years.

The CHAIRMAN. "Navy-yard, Norfolk, Virginia: Railroad tracks, extensions, ten thousand dollars." Last year you had $15,000. Do you need $10.000 this year?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. Yes. We have opened a new dry dock there. This goes to a new part of the yard, and the yard is gradually being brought up to a better state of efficiency. They bought a new tract of land there a few years ago, and I regard that as third in importance on the list.

The CHAIRMAN. "Electric plant, extensions, twenty thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as fourth in importance. That is to extend the electric facilities around this new section where the

docks are opened, and in the past three years we have remodeled some of the steam engineering buildings which require new facilities.

The CHAIRMAN. "Repairs, buildings, Saint Helena, twenty-five thousand dollars."

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Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as eighteenth in importance. It really is not in the navy-yard. This item is submitted for the pose of providing a continuing fund for the repair and care of buildings at the St. Helena Reservation. A similar amount was appropriated for the current year and for the last fiscal year. This establishment is considered, in a sense, distinct from the navy-yard organization, which is on the opposite side of the river, and hence a special fund has been provided for the purposes stated.

The CHAIRMAN. It relates to that training station?
Admiral HOLLYDAY. Yes.

Mr. HOBSON. Does that include the proposed building that the chief of the Bureau of Navigation has?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. No, sir. Those are twenty-first to twentyfourth in importance.

The CHAIRMAN. "Dredging, to continue, one hundred thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as fifth in importance. There is quite a lot of dredging to be done down there. The stream has got to be widened, and down in the neighborhood of the dry dock there has got to be a lot of dredging done and at the entrance to the yard there is dredging to be done. I think it will amount to $250,000 altogether. The channel in front of the navy-yard is now only 600 feet wide in front of the working part of the yard, too narrow for turning the modern ships of the navy. As a portion of the yard lies on the opposite side of the channel from the working part of the yard, and is cut up by creeks and inlets, the dredged material can be deposited on this low-lying ground, thus reclaiming much valuable land. The new dry dock is to the south of the older improvements and just at the limit of the improved channel. For the full use and convenience of this dock the dredged channel should be carried considerably beyond it. The bureau considers an appropriation for this very necessary. The Norfolk Navy-Yard is one of the most useful in the naval establishUnless appropriations are to be made to improve the water front it seems to the bureau worse than useless to continue the other improvements of the yard.

The CHAIRMAN. "Compressed-air system, extensions, ten thousand dollars."

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Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as seventh in importance. is along the lines of that electric extension. That is, to extend this compressed-air system down in the new part of the yard that is being developed. It is expected that the compressed-air output of the yard will have to be trebled within the next year. In order to make available this important and convenient class of power for all purposes, the lines should be extended to all desirable parts of the yard, and especially to the new dry dock. The operation of forge hammers by compressed air instead of by steam will make important extensions necessary, and a sufficient sum should be available for the purpose. The CHAIRMAN. "Naval supply storehouse (to cost four hundred and fifty thousand dollars), one hundred thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. That I regard as sixteenth in importance, for the reason that they have not yet been able to find a satisfactory location for that building. The commandant has had a board at work there five or six months, and he thinks it will be five or six months more before he gets the plans for the development of the yard, and he does not want the building started; and of course we can not start before it is located. He does not want the location determined until we get this comprehensive plan that he is at work on.

The CHAIRMAN. All right; let it go out. The next is "Improvements to water front, one hundred and fifty thousand dollars." Improvements where?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as sixth in importance. Judging by the amount of work performed, this navy-yard is second in importance on the Atlantic coast. Its water front is in very bad condition and requires a large amount of work to put it into suitable condition. An appropriation was made at the last session of Congress to begin this improvement, and it should be regarded as an object for continuous appropriations until the work is complete. The sea walls at the yard constructed for vessels of shallow draft have begun to fail. They must be renewed in the near future, and the renewal should provide for deep-draft vessels. The extent of sea wall available for mooring purposes is insufficient.

The CHAIRMAN. "Locomotive crane, fifty thousand dollars.'

Admiral HOLLYDAY. That crane is for the new dry dock. We have one crane there now. We have three dry docks, and to get the use of that dry dock, the proper use of it, there should be another crane provided to operate around it. I regard that as eighth in importance.

The CHAIRMAN. "Crane track, twenty thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as number one in importance. That is, to complete the crane track around this dock. Until that is done we can not use the crane, and we can not get the full use of the dock unless we have the track.

The CHAIRMAN. "Water-closets at dry dock numbered three, five thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as ninth in importance. The docking of ships in the new dry dock, No. 3, necessitates the providing of accommodations for the crews while the vessels are in the dock. The CHAIRMAN. "Improvement of building forty-two, seven thousand five hundred dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as tenth in importance.
The CHAIRMAN. What building is that?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. They have one foundry. They had some two or three foundries operating there, but they are only operating the one foundry in the steam engineering building. This rearrangement of the abandoned construction and repair foundry, building No. 42, is necessary to provide for the plumbers forced to vacate building No. 9, now used as a consolidated smithery. The building will require a new floor, a tool room, and pipe racks, and the renewal of sand bins, core oven, crucible furnaces, and other foundry appurtenances.

The CHAIRMAN. What about this next, "Improvement of building nine, eight thousand five hundred dollars?"

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as eleventh in importance. To provide for a consolidated smithery, all the space in building No. 9.

present construction and repair smithery, will be needed. This will necessitate the rearrangement of the quadrangular building, involving the removal of the inside supporting walls and substitution of columns, together with the removal of division wall.

The CHAIRMAN. "Second story to building seventy-two, thirty-five thousand dollars.

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as twelfth in importance. The consolidation of foundries under the department of steam engineering makes it desirable that all pattern making be consolidated and the storage arranged in the same department. The present steam engineering pattern shop is a one-story building, and it is a matter of economy both in space and funds to add another story to this building to provide additional and necessary space.

The CHAIRMAN. Suppose we cut it out?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I would recommend going very slow in cutting out anything at Norfolk. That is one of our important yards, and it is a yard that has had very little done to it. It has a lot of old buildings. It should practically be rebuilt, like Boston was. would look into it very carefully before I made any cuts at Norfolk. It is a very important yard.

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The CHAIRMAN. I know; but we have got to cut somewhere. We will make our memorandums. You call that twelfth in importance? Admiral HOLLYDAY. I call that twelfth.

The CHAIRMAN. "Smithery building (to cost one hundred and fifty thousand dollars), seventy-five thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. In regard to the smithery building, $75,000, and the next item "bending shed and scrive board (to cost one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars), seventy-five thousand dollars," I regard those as fourteenth and fifteenth, respectively. After this estimate was made up and it left the bureau, it developed after this consolidated work had been put in force there that the foundry, the steam-engineering foundry, is not large enough to do the work at the yard. These papers came to the bureau from the department, and later the commandant of the Norfolk Navy-Yard was in my office and he told me that he regarded a foundry which is not in here at all as of the utmost importance. It developed that a foundry was possibly more needed than any other of the new improvements. I talked later with the Secretary about it, and I think he is of the same opinion, and the question is whether it would be advisable to put in a foundry which is not in this estimate in addition to those buildings already in here. I think from the talk I have had with the commandant that that would be the thing to do, to put it in either in addition to these two buildings or

Mr. HOBSON. What is your estimate of the cost of the foundry? Admiral HOLLYDAY. A hundred and fifty thousand dollars they thought would build them a sufficient foundry down there.

The CHAIRMAN. How many foundries have you there now? Admiral HOLLYDAY. We did have three. They closed up all, except the steam engineering foundry, which it has developed can not do all the work at the yard. They have not been able to get all the work done, even at a time when the fleet is not here; at a comparatively dull time.. They can not do all the work as rapidly as it should be done.

Mr. PADGETT. Why can you not start up the other two foundries again?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I do not know but what if it was necessary they might have to do it; but in the meantime they may have changed over their apparatus and so on. I do not know how far that has gone.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you not some buildings that are not in use, down there?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. No, sir; when we get these new buildings up we will have some buildings that are not in use, which if they are not worth keeping we will tear down, or if they are worth keeping we will remodel and use as storehouses, or something of the sort.

Mr. PADGETT. What are you using those two foundry buildings for that are closed up?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. One is for the construction and repair plumbers, in the building that was formerly used by the construction and repair department as a foundry. All of the plumbing work and work of that character has been turned over to the construction and repair department, and that in turn made it necessary for them to have large facilities. They have taken the part that was used as a foundry, as far as they can, and have asked for more money to fix up the building properly. This consolidation scheme is working out quite well, but you can naturally see that in changing and shifting arrangements, it will require the remodeling and changing of buildings, and in this case the steam engineering foundry, it has developed, is not large enough to take care of the business.

Mr. PADGETT. Those two buildings which were used for foundries formerly are now being used usefully and to advantage?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. Yes, sir; and we are asking for money to bring them up to a state so that they will be in better shape to take care of the work which they ought to take care of.

Mr. PADGETT. You stated what one of them was used for. Can you tell what the other is being used for?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. Building 42, construction and repair foundry, and building No. 9, consolidated smithery.

The CHAIRMAN. You have not got a plan of a yard laid out down in Norfolk?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. The commandant is getting up a plan, and he tells me it will probably be six months before he gets the plan developed, and then it would have to come to the department to be approved. Mr. PADGETT. That relates to 14 and 15. They are a part of that plan which it will take six months to get up?

Admiral HOLLYDAY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. We will pass on to "Fire-protection system, extensions, ten thousand dollars."

Admiral HOLLYDAY. I regard that as seventeenth in importance. The system of salt-water fire-protection mains and pumps in the central station at this yard is of the most approved type. The completion of the new dry dock and the occupying of the new marine barracks on the Schmoele tract make the extension of the fire-protection system to these points very desirable. Funds should be provided therefor.

The CHAIRMAN. "Water system, extensions. ten thousand dollars."