sanitary, burial expenses and headstones, general care and improvement of grounds, buildings, walls, and fences." Now, with us up here in the old language the water rent and lighting is $2,000; sanitary, burial expenses and headstones, $1,000; improvement of grounds, $1,000; repair to and purchase of boilers, furniture, and repair of buildings, $6,748. The various subdivisions are specified and limited. Admiral ANDREWS. I can not give an explanation of that at this time. I shall have to put it in later.

Mr. ROBERTS. Would it not be desirable, Mr. Chairman, to have that new language specified in amounts, so in case that came up we would have an intelligent proposition to submit?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. I see the point of that.

The CHAIRMAN. And in your hearings just specify the amounts for those various separate items.

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes; just as it is in the old ones.
The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Admiral ANDREWS. The governor of the Naval Home gave the following reasons for making this change:

In the appropriation for the fiscal year 1912 provision was made that furniture be purchased out of the subhead "Repairs to buildings, etc." For several years past furniture had been purchased from the subhead “ Support of beneficiaries." Owing to the fact that considerable money has been spent this year in an effort to bring the plumbing up to a sanitary standard and performing other necessary repair work about the home, this subhead has been so depleted as to render it impracticable to purchase additional necessary furniture or to replace or repair that which has become old and worn. The consolidation of the subheads, except that of " Pay of employees," into one general head is desirable for many reasons, among which the following may be mentioned:

First. It will materially lessen and facilitate the clerical work of preparing requisitions and public bills and keeping the accounts of the Naval Home. Under the present method of submitting requisitions and public bills under seven subheads great care must be exercised in placing items of supplies and services under the proper subhead, and doubt often exists as to what subhead an item is properly chargeable. This is particularly so with the subheads Support of beneficiaries" and Repairs to buildings."

46

Second. While the total amount appropriated for the home is sufficient for ordinary needs, the subheads are not proportioned to meet the varying needs each year. For the fiscal year 1911 there was a balance of more than $4,000 under the subheads "Support of beneficiaries" and 'Repairs to buildings"; during the fiscal year 1912 the balance remaining under "Repairs to buildings is very small, while more than $5,000 remains unexpended under "Support of beneficiaries," some of which could be used advantageously in much-needed repairs to buildings and other work. The main building was erected 75 years ago, and while it has been kept in good condition by continual repairing by the force at hand, there is still considerable work to be done, and the earlier this work is undertaken the less will be the cost thereof.

The consolidation of the last two subheads alone would be of great advantage to the home; in case of a serious accident in the power plant-from which both the Naval Home and Naval Hospital are supplied with steam for heat and power-necessitating an expenditure for repairs beyond the balance remaining under the subhead "Repairs to buildings," the money now restricted to other subheads could be drawn upon. Likewise, should a fire occur and the amount required to repair the damage be large enough to exhaust the subhead "Repairs to buildings" money now restricted to " Support of beneficiaries" could be used for the work.

Third. Prior to July 1, 1910, the power plant supplied steam for the home only, but since that date steam has been supplied for both the home and hospital from the one plant. Under the former conditions, in case of accident, repairs might be delayed, in view of the fact that only the home was involved. Immediate repairs are now necessary on account of the many patients under treatment at the hospital.

Fourth. If this consolidation scheme of appropriations is adopted it will be practicable to purchase another boiler for the power plant from the regular appropriation; otherwise it is probable that special appropriation will be necessary for this purpose in the near future. Likewise, a coal-storage house might be provided. When the home and hospital power plants were consolidated no provision was made for additional bunker capacity.

Fifth. The only subhead to which could be legally charged, in my opinion, the rebuilding of the river bulkhead, for which a special appropriation of $5,500 is asked, is "Improvement of grounds," for which $1,000 is allowed. This subhead was practically exhausted during the fiscal year 1912, an unlooked-for drain being made upon it early in the year, when $108 was expended in replacing the topmast of the flagpole, which had been demolished by lightning. During the present year I shall be compelled to expend about $450 from this subhead for repointing and refacing the north wall, which is of brick and 1,350 feet long. To do this necessary work it will be necessary to curtail expenses on other items pertaining to the grounds.

If the various subheads are limited in amount, the same as they have been in the past, instead of appropriating a lump sum, as requested, the amounts under the various subheads should be the same as for last year.

The CHAIRMAN. This next language, I believe, is eliminated because it is law. Is there anything further?

Admiral ANDREWS. Nothing except toward the end.

The CHAIRMAN. You have certain things under the "Bureau of Equipment." What have you under the "Bureau of Equipment"? Mr. BROWNING. May I ask the admiral, before we leave this and go on, as to this bulkhead, $5,500? What kind of a bulkhead is that supposed to be, another wooden bulkhead?

Admiral ANDREWS. It is a wooden one; yes, sir.

Mr. BROWNING. Would it not be a great deal better for the department to put in a cement bulkhead there than that, which would last for years?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir; it would.

Mr. BROWNING. A small difference in expense.

Admiral ANDREWS. It would be better; but all the other bulkheads along there are wooden. I went down and looked at them.

Mr. BROWNING. That might be, but that need not make any difference.

Admiral ANDREWS. We do not actually use that ground; as a matter of fact it is rented.

Mr. BROWNING. How long would a wooden bulkhead there last? Admiral ANDREWS. I should say 14 years.

Mr. BROWNING. How long would a cement bulkhead last?

Admiral ANDREWS. Forever, practically.

Mr. BROWNING. How much difference would the cost be?

Admiral ANDREWS. I suppose probably a good deal of a difference; probably four or five times as much.

Mr. ROBERTS. How many feet long is that bulkhead?

Admiral ANDREWS. About 300 feet.

Mr. ROBERTS. Suppose you get an estimate of the cost of a cement bulkhead there.

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes; I will do so.

." That

The CHAIRMAN. In the distribution of the appropriation "Contingent, Bureau of Equipment, books and models, stationery.' has been assigned to the Bureau of Navigation, has it not? Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. The appropriation heretofore has been $3,200, the amount allotted to you for that, has it not?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir; $3,200 is that portion of the appropriation allotted to the Bureau of Navigation and would be in addition to our $15,000 under the Bureau of Navigation.

The CHAIRMAN. Did you spend all of that $3,200 for this purpose? Admiral ANDREWS. We had something left of that, I know. We had a balance of $1,245; in other words, we spent about $2,000 of that. The CHAIRMAN. Do you need an appropriation of $3,200?

Admiral ANDREWS. I think it would be unwise to cut that any, because the very wording of the appropriation, which is contingent, shows that we can not always tell what will be required. It seems to me it is better to turn in a small balance, or even a large proportion of it, rather than not to be able to handle emergency situations which

arise.

The CHAIRMAN. This was not appropriated under "Contingent," it was appropriated under " Maintenance "?

Admiral ANDREWS. Contingent equipment, navigation, is that not

the one?

The CHAIRMAN. No; it is appropriated under " Equipment of vessels," page 41, under the Bureau of Equipment.

Admiral ANDREWS. It is referred to under Bureau of Equipment, page 48, but is also shown on page 22 under contingent navigation. The CHAIRMAN. And it is assigned to you under-for instance, under the Bureau of Equipment we appropriated for various things, last year, $3,843,300.

Admiral ANDREWS. The total you give is under Equipment of Vessels, and not contingent equipment regarding which we were talking. The CHAIRMAN. Beginning on page 41, "Equipment of vessels for various things," which includes and runs on down and was a lump sum of $3,843,300. Out of that was assigned to you, in the distribution of the duties of the Bureau of Equipment, $3,200 for books, was there not?

Admiral ANDREWS. That amount is allotted to Bureau of Navigation from the appropriation "Contingent equipment," the total of which is $10,000. Of that we spent only about $2,000, but out of that sum, for instance, what I wish to do this year, what I have already started to do, is to establish the loose-leaf log books. That will come out of that, and that, I think, is going to be a great improvement. Instead of having a heavy, bound volume, we want to have looseleaf log books, which will reduce the clerical work very much and make it possible to write the log on a typewriter, two copies at a time, keep one copy aboard ship and mail the sheets to Washington, and that will come out of that amount. Then we have loose-leaf binders, too, for the regulations which we are issuing, so that officers will not have any reason for losing the copies. You have a loose-leaf binder and as fast as they get these things they put them right in the book and each one will have a complete copy.

The CHAIRMAN. On page 24 there is a note under "Instruments and supplies," taken out of the Bureau of Equipment, that same fund; there seems to have been assigned to you $350,000, under "Instruments and supplies."

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. How much of that did you spend?

Admiral ANDREWS. "Equipment of vessels," that is the one, is it not?

The CHAIRMAN. No; "Instruments and supplies."

Admiral ANDREWS. It comes under that appropriation, does it not? We had in 1912, $292,950, and we had a balance of $20,000 under that.

The CHAIRMAN. They gave you $350,000, did they not?

Admiral ANDREWS. The title of this appropriation "Instruments and supplies" is that portion of the Bureau of Navigation allotment from the appropriation "Equipment of vessels." Should the bureau's equipment be abolished, and this appropriation split up, the bureau is resolved to have the title of this portion read "Instruments and supplies," which more nearly expresses the object for which made. For the current fiscal year, the department has allotted the Bureau of Navigation $310,000 from the appropriation "Equipment of vessels." This allotment covers printing presses used on board ships, libraries of vessels of war, and navigating instruments of every description. The total of the appropriation "Equipment of vessels" from which practically all of the equipage of vessels in commission is supplied, has not been increased for four years, during which time the size of the Navy has considerably increased. The Navy Department has been seriously handicapped by the small amount of money carried under this appropriation. As an example, during the last year it was impossible to put certain vessels in commission in reserve on account of the lack of funds. The following-named vessels finished repairs, and it was desired to place them in first reserve, but this could not be done on accoun of the lack of funds under this appropriation: Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Denver, Cleveland, Kearsarge, Chattanooga, Galveston.

During the last year this bureau was also handicapped in furnishing navigating instruments to the vessels in full commission, and toward the end of the year it was necessary to disallow every item possible in order to not create a deficiency in its allotment. For these reasons the department allowed the bureau to increase its estimate under this appropriation $40,000 over its allotment, which makes the total of $350,000. During June, the bureau received a report from the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts of the balances under this appropriation, and it immediately took steps to place equipage necessary on board certain vessels of the full amount of this balance. Returns from the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, dated October 31, 1912, states that the balance of this appropriation was about $20,000. The bureau can not account for the difference in these statements. Had it known this $20,000 was available at the end of June, it would have been expended during the last year for articles which had been disallowed.

The CHAIRMAN. Also "Ocean and lake surveys" have been assigned to your office, have they not?

Admiral ANDREWS. Yes, sir; we put that under the Hydrographic Office, and that is a slight increase there. They want $90,000. The CHAIRMAN. What did you have last year?

Admiral ANDREWS. $75,000.

The CHAIRMAN. What were your expenditures? What was your unexpended balance?

Admiral ANDREWS. In 1912, which is the last date I have, there was $668 left.

The CHAIRMAN. And you had an appropriation of how much?

Admiral ANDREWS. We had an appropriation of $75,000, and this coming year we ought to extend our surveying work in the Caribbean Sea, in the coasts leading down to the Panama Canal, because the opening of the canal is coming so close that for the protection of commerce we ought to get those waters better charted. They are surprisingly badly charted. Many of the surveys run back 100

years.

The CHAIRMAN. You will please put in a full statement in reference to that.

Admiral ANDREWS. The Paducah is at work on the south coast of Cuba from Cape Cruz to Casilda and will be occupied in that work at least three or four years.

The Eagle is surveying the ports of Haiti and will be occupied with that two seasons at least.

The Hannibal is surveying the east coast of Central America and will be occupied in that survey 10 years.

If we can obtain an increase of appropriation and the Leonidas as another surveying ship, we shall be able to reduce the time of the completion of the survey of the Central American coast by half. The completion of that survey is urgently needed in view of the opening of the Panama Canal. All the charts of the coast are old; it is known that there have been many changes, and in many cases the data are not sufficient for coast charts on a large scale, which are urgently necessary.

In addition to the survey of the east coast, the west coast should be surveyed at the earliest possible moment. The Hydrographic Office has recently had several requests for the survey of the west coast of Central America in view of the completion of the Panama Canal. The north coast of Cuba should also be surveyed. All of this work is urgent and should be completed as quickly as possible. The CHAIRMAN. "Battle compasses for ships heretofore completed, $120,000."

Admiral ANDREWS (reading):

It was intended to supply the following battleships with gyroscopic compasses, to be purchased from the appropriation, "Battle compasses," authorized by the last naval appropriation act: Louisiana, New Jersey, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and five other battleships already completed, to be selected from those available; that is, having overhaul periods from April 15 to June 30, 1913.

After supplying these battleships with gyroscopic compasses there will remain 4 battleships in commission and 12 in reserve or out of commission and 10 armored cruisers which it is desired to outfit with these compasses; it is also very important that 18 submarine torpedo boats which are in commission should have these compasses.

The CHAIRMAN. What would those compasses cost?

Admiral ANDREWS. $10,000 apiece at the present time for the perfected type of gyro compass. That includes the master compass, and from four to six repeater stations, as they call them, depending on the size of the ship. A big battleship will have a number of repeater stations. The master compass is down below, behind armor, and is thoroughly protected.

The CHAIRMAN. And it costs $10,000 to buy and install them? Admiral ANDREWS. Yes; at this time. I anticipate that within a short time, I think a year or so, the price will come down, after they are able to get the thing on a standard basis. We have required