Admiral STANFORD. It will; I will say that now. The CHAIRMAN. The next item is, "Building for torpedoes and mines, $50,000." This item is a part of the original estimate? Admiral TWINING. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. The next item is, "Two filling houses, $16,000." That item is also a part of the original estimate? Admiral TWINING. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. The next item is, "One segregation house, $10,000." That item is also a part of the original estimate? Admiral TwINING. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. The next item is, "One bombproof, $1,500." What is a bombproof? Admiral TWINING. It is a structure in which we can unfuse a shellremove the fuse from the shell, when necessary-on account of the fuse becoming obsolete, or if we have to remove the charge of powder for any reason, and that is something which can only be done with protection, in case a shell should be exploded, to confine the fragments and prevent the injury of the man, by using armor plate backed with concrete, with the shell in one compartment and the man doing the work in another, working with the machinery through the wall. Those two items go together-the bombproof and the unfusing roof. The CHAIRMAN. The next item is, "Building for marine guard, $2,500." That is a part of the original scheme? Admiral TWINING. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. The next item, "Compressed-air locomotive plant, $18,000." That is also a part of the original scheme? Admiral TWINING. Yes, sir. Mr. ROBERTS. Are these locomotives for the magazines operated by compressed air? Admiral TWINING. Yes, sir. Wherever we have any power at all on the magazine reservation, it is compressed air. It is very safe and seems to be economical. Mr. ROBERTS. Have you ever considered electricity? Admiral TWINING. That has been proposed to me, but I am not quite ready to do that yet. It has been proposed at Pearl Harbor, but I do not like to have introduced an element of danger which can be avoided. Mr. ROBERTS. How much of a load can an air locomotive draw? Admiral TWINING. I do not know just what their power is. I know that they handle anything we have. The one at Hingham is the largest one we have in this country. It Mr. ROBERTS. Is it designed like the ordinary locomotive? Admiral TWINING. Yes, sir; and looks very much like one. has not any smokestack. The compressed air is carried in a tank that corresponds to the boiler. I think they are very efficient and rather economical. MONDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1912. STATEMENTS OF REAR ADMIRAL H. R. STANFORD, CHIEF BUREAU OF YARDS AND DOCKS, AND LIEUT. COL. CHARLES L. M'CAWLEY, ASSISTANT QUARTERMASTER, MARINE CORPS, IN CHARGE OF QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT. The CHAIRMAN. The first item in which you are interested, Colonel, is on page 72 of the bill: "Marine barracks, Boston, Mass.: Barracks, $100,000." Please explain that item, Colonel. Col. MCCAWLEY. In the estimates submitted for the fiscal year 1913 the following recommendation was made for one fireproof barracks, $175,000, and officers' quarters, $84,000, but was not allowed by Congress, being stricken out in conference. The present barracks is very old, having been erected in 1823. It has been added to from time to time, but the building is so old as to be very expensive to maintain. Recently it was examined by naval surgeons, and pronounced not only inadequate in size, unsuitable generally, but insanitary and objectionable on many serious grounds as a habitation for enlisted men. The last report on this subject was from Surg. E. P. Stone to the Surgeon General of the Navy. Surg. Stone found the barracks building to be in such bad condition as to lead him to recommend that it be demolished and replaced by a modern structure at the earliest practicable date. Subsequent to the receipt of Surg. Stone's report, Rear Admiral Aaron Ward, aid for inspection, visited the Boston yard and made a thorough inspection of the barracks. In a report made to the Secretary of the Navy, under date of March 14, 1910, he found that the marine barracks was totally unfit for the purpose required, that it had outlived its usefulness, and was no longer adapted to sanitary conditions. He reported that the men were seriously crowded into small and unhealthy quarters, and recommended that a new fireproof building should replace the present one without delay, as important to the health and comfort of the command. The officers' quarters are now located in the two wings of the barracks. When the latter is demolished, the officers' quarters will necessarily have to be torn down at the same time and new quarters constructed. The estimates above mentioned were again submitted this year, but reduced by the department to $100,000 for barracks and $48,000 for quarters. It is not believed that suitable officers' quarters can be erected for the amount specified by the department, and it is suggested that the sum of $60,000 for officers' quarters be considered for the purpose named. Mr. BROWNING. In what year did you say the barracks were erected? Col. MCCAWLEY. In 1823. They are very old and in a most wretched state of repair. The CHAIRMAN. Are they wooden? Col. MCCAWLEY. No, sir; brick. I have inspected them very frequently, and I know the dreadful condition they are in. The CHAIRMAN. "Dreadful condition" is just a general synopsis. Can you relate the particulars wherein they are insanitary? There are buildings in the old country that are several hundred years old 85873-13-17 that are being used, and the question of age does not make them insanitary. Col. MCCAWLEY. No, sir; that is quite true. The buildings, however, were very poorly built in the first place, and they were not probably as well taken care of in the old days as they would have been under the modern conditions of keeping barracks in order, and they have deteriorated very rapidly. The CHAIRMAN. We would like to have you specify the details that constitute the deterioration. Col. MCCAWLEY. I will take the reports submitted at different times, and add my answer to the question in the hearings, Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. And also please give the dimensions of the present barracks, the rooms, accommodations, etc., and also what is proposed in the new barracks? Col. MCCAWLEY. Yes, sir. I append copies of reports dated December 26, 1912, from the commanding officer of the post, the post quartermaster, and the civil engineer of the navy yard, which in detail describe the conditions referred to, and request that they be printed with this hearing. I also append a rough plan of the barracks showing arrangement of rooms in both the enlisted men's and officers' portions. This building is of brick with brick and stud partitions, plastered walls, and wooden floors and staircases. If it ever caught on fire it would burn like tinder. The proposed building will be fireproof and it is intended to make the arrangement accord with the latest ideas of barrack construction for the number of men to be accommodated. MARINE BARRACKS, NAVY YARD, From: Commanding officer. To: Officer in charge, Quartermaster's Department, Washington, D. C. Subject: Re request for information regarding marine barracks at navy yard, Boston. 1. In reference to your letter, No. 25300, dated the 20th instant, there are inclosed herewith reports of the civil engineer of this yard, of the post quartermaster, and also plans. I request these plans be returned for the files of this office. 2. The barracks are very old and have been added to from time to time by building additional stories, as there is not space on the grounds to extend the barracks in any given direction. 3. These reports cover the details in regard to the living space, storerooms, etc. 4. The barracks are insanitary and unsafe. In fact, the condition of the floor beams, etc., location of the furnaces and bake ovens, together with the poor electric wiring, make the barracks unsafe for habitation, and I doubt whether an insurance company would take the risk. 5. The general plan of the barracks is very bad, both as regards sanitation and the means of entrance and exit. The location of the water-closet and bathrooms, situated in the main court, make it necessary for the men to go outside in order to reach these places. 6. In my opinion the barracks could only be remodeled at great expense and then not satisfactory. From: Post quartermaster. THEO. P. KANE. MARINE BARRACKS, NAVY YARD, To: Commanding officer, marine barracks, navy yard, Boston, Mass. Subject: Request of officer in charge, Quartermaster's Department, December 20, 1912, for information re marine barracks, navy yard, Boston, Mass. Referring to letter of officer in charge, Quartermaster's Department, headquarters United States Marine Corps, dated December 20, 1912, relative to condition of marine barracks, navy yard, Boston, Mass., I have to report the following: 2. The walls of the barracks, although old, are still in very fair shape as regards structural strength. 3. The floor beams are in bad shape; in many places they are dangerous, the beams being canted and badly checked. The kitchen and mess hall must be refloored and the floor beams renewed. The entire barracks needs reflooring, and judging from the condition of the floor beams in view a great number of them must be renewed. 4. New window sashes and frames are needed throughout the barracks, and new blinds also. 5. The roof of the barracks needs repairing; it is beginning to develop leaks. 6. The plan of the barracks is everything that a barracks should not be. By utilizing the ground that the barracks now cover, modern barracks could be built to house an increase in strength of 30 per cent of the strength sheltered in the present building. 7. The messing facilities are entirely inadequate, the mess hall seating 90 men at a time. With the normal strength of the garrison, 208 men, it takes three sittings to serve one meal. 8. The ventilation is such that it is a menace to health and would not be tolerated in any dormitory that was subjected to an inspection by the board of health. One squad room is situated directly over the kitchen and is ventilated by windows opening over same. All odors of cooking food pass directly into it, and on one occasion it was necessary to rouse the men in it during the night, owing to the coal gas from the kitchen range. This danger of gas has been obviated by the installation of a gas range, but the odors from the cooking food is still a most disagreeable condition. 9. All squad rooms are ventilated by windows only. In some of the rooms these windows open directly on the outside of the barracks, and the heads of the bunks are directly under them. In stormy weather they must be closed, and then there is no ventilation whatever. In other rooms some of the windows open on the courtyard, abutting on which are the head, butcher shop, kitchen, and washroom. The air from all these enters the sleeping rooms. 10. From all the squad rooms access to the toilet is had by passing downstairs, in some cases three flights, and through the lower squad rooms, along the arcade, and through the courtyard. 11. The toilet is unheated, is sunk below the level of the street, poorly lighted and ventilated, and the flushing system is old and wasteful. The latter must be entirely rebuilt; at the present date of writing one-half of the system is out of order and being repaired. Its condition is such that frequent repairs will be necessary to keep it running. 12. There is a small room used as a combination library, barber shop, and public telephone station. It is a library in so far as the bookcases are kept in it. As it is the only place that the men have to lounge in, no reading can be done there. There is not a room in the barracks in which men can have writing desks. Fifteen men would crowd the library to its limit. 13. There is an amusement room, which contains two pool tables and one billiard table; but, as before stated, there is no place where a man can read or write in quiet. 14. The bakeshop is situated in the basement, and when the oven is in operation the coal gas makes it extremely unhealthy for the bakers. The kitchen is small and poorly situated; all adjuncts of labor, such as bakeshop, butcher shop, and storerooms, are at a distance. By a combination of the above an increase in efficiency would result. From: Public works officer. EDWARD B. COLE. UNITED STATES NAVY YARD, To: Commanding officer, marine barracks, navy yard, Boston. 1. An inspection by the Public Works Department of the marine barracks at this navy yard shows the following: The foundations and walls of the buildings are in good condition and structurally safe. The only place the floor beams could he seen was in the basement, where firstfloor beams are exposed. At least one-half of them are in a bad condition. They have been cut away to allow the passage of pipes in a great many cases, and about one-third of the beams are split in half. Some of them are shimmed up from foundation wall by means of a single brick, while others rest properly on the wall. The condition of these beams indicates that all of the floor beams throughout the building are in poor shape. The only part of the roof where proper examination could be made is that over the courtyard in the main barracks. This roof is in a precarious condition. Light wooden trusses hold it up, and these trusses have buckled down as much as 6 inches in the middle. As all of the roofs are extremely old, there is probably no doubt that all are in about the same condition. The roof over walk along the east side of the barracks is used as a promenade. This roof probably was not constructed with such a use in view. It should not be overcrowded, to avoid collapse. The concrete floors in the basement are in bad condition and should all be renewed. The wooden floors throughout the building are in fair shape. At present there is a wooden floor in the kitchen, which, for sanitary reasons, should be replaced. The windows throughout the building are bad. They do not operate properly, and the frames are racked out of place; many of the sashes are loose. The blinds are either missing altogether or are badly broken. Arrangements for sanitation throughout the building are inadequate and far below modern safe standards. The head and wash room adjoin the kitchen, and all open off the closed courtyard. A large part of the sleeping quarters open into the same courtyard. Thus any undesirable odors from the head permeate kitchen and sleeping quarters. Sleeping quarters are at times saturated with smells from the kitchen. There are absolutely no arrangements for ventilation except through windows. On account of the narrowness of the rooms and the number of men in the barracks it is necessary to put sleeping cots against the windows. During inclement weather windows on the outside of the building have to be kept closed, and all ventilation is through the courtyard. Air in courtyard is contaminated by head and kitchen. The arrangement of rooms in the barracks could hardly be worse. In order to go from the sleeping quarters to the head, it is necessary to pass out of the building along a covered walk, then into the building again, and through the courtyard. The basement is badly cut up into a series of dungeons in which the bakeshop, butcher shop, carpenter shop, etc., are located. On the first, second, and third floors the rooms are arranged so as to allow the minimum efficiency in carrying on the necessary work. The electric wiring is in an unsatisfactory condition, bordering on the dangerous. The results of the inspection, while showing that the barracks are well kept, show that they are not in accordance with modern standards and are unfit for the housing of men. The cubic contents per occupant in the sleeping quarters is below a safe hygienic standard, being but 300 cubic feet air space per man in one of the large rooms. The building not being laid out or designed to conform to proper hygienic and sanitary standards, no remodelling of the present building to bring it up to the standard is feasible within reasonable limits. R. E. BAKENHUS. Mr. ROBERTS. The proposal is to separate the barracks from the quarters ? Col. MCCAWLEY. Yes, sir. The new proposition would be to build the officers' quarters on separate ground. Mr. ROBERTS. Where would you locate them? Col. MCCAWLEY. That, of course, would have to be decided by some action of the department or the commandant of the navy yard. My idea would be to put them on ground between the present barracks and the commandant's house, on the ground facing the parade ground. We have suggested plans for quarters in that location. That is the only ground the Marine Corps has allotted to it. If our quarters are to be built in some other location, we would have to have a new allotment of ground. The CHAIRMAN. How many marines are stationed there at present? Col. MCCAWLEY. At the present time 212. It is proposed to keep about that number at that station as a permanent detachment. That is, the barracks proper. Then we have a prison guard there, which is another proposition, and they are not provided for in the barracks at all. There are 102 attached to the prison detachment. The CHAIRMAN. Prisoners? Col. MCCAWLEY. No, sir; as a guard for the prisoners. The CHAIRMAN. How many prisoners have you there? Col. MCCAWLEY. I do not know. The CHAIRMAN. Can you insert that in the record? |