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WASHINGTON, D. C., August 12, 1910.

SIR: 1. Referring to the department's memorandum of the 11th instant, No. 27438, returning joint estimates of the bureaus of Construction and Repair and Steam Engineering for the fiscal year 1912, under the "Increase of the navy" appropriations for revision in view of the fact that the appropriation for "torpedo-boat destroyers," contained in the naval appropriation act of June 24, 1910, has been digested by the Treasury Department under the head of "Increase of the navy; construction and machinery," and the department, in its letter of August 5, 1910, No. 26466-9 having directed that the estimates for the next session of Congress include a sum sufficient to complete the collier, as stipulated in the above referred to naval act, the bureaus submit herewith revised joint estimates (see estimate sheet "D"-2 and comparative statement herewith "D"-3) under appropriations "Increase of the navy; construction and machinery," "Increase of the navy; torpedo boats" and "Increase of the navy; colliers" for work on new vessels heretofore authorized by Congress:

“INCREASE OF THE NAVY; CONSTRUCTION AND MACHINERY.”

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Estimated balance available to pay on the above July 1, 1910....

Appropriation required for fiscal year 1912....

35, 519, 472.09

29, 487, 686. 30

6, 031, 785. 79

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6, 451, 422. 56 5, 560, 588. 68

Total estimate.....

Estimated balance available to pay on the above July 1, 1910..

Appropriation required for fiscal year 1912..

890, 833. 88

"INCREASE OF THE NAVY; COLLIERS" (FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE CYCLOPS AND

JUPITER).

Amount appropriated, act of May 13, 1908...

Contract price, U. S. S. Cyclops, with authorized changes to date....

Balance....

$1,500, 000. 00

831, 000. 00

669,000.00

Act of June 24, 1910, making appropriation for the fiscal year 1911, reappropriates the above-mentioned balance, and also contains an appropriation of $300,000 under "Increase of the navy; colliers," which makes a total amount available toward the construction of the U. S. S. Jupiter of $969,000.

The total estimate for the construction of the Jupiter, based on esti

mates submitted by the navy-yard, Mare Island, Cal., is.. Deduct the amount available per naval act of June 24, 1910..

Appropriation required for fiscal year 1912...

$1,500,000.00 969,000.00 531,000.00

2. The above does not include any estimates for such new ships as may be recommended by the department for the next year's building programme. Attention is also invited to the fact that the limit of cost for the collier Jupiter imposed by Congress in the act of June 24, 1910, is $1,000,000. The estimate submitted above for the Jupiter is based on estimates submitted by the navy-yard, Mare Island, Cal., in July, 1909, and the bureaus have requested that new estimates be submitted. In case the total of the revised estimates when received from said navy-yard should be an amount other than $1,500,000, the department will be advised accordingly.

3. The original estimates are returned herewith. Very respectfully,

W. L. CAPPS,

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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY,

BUREAU OF STEAM ENGINEERING,

Washington, D. C., September 28, 1910.

SIR: In obedience to your order of July 28, 1910, the following annual report of the operations of this bureau for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1910, is respectfully submitted:

FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Appropriation, steam machinery, 1909–10.

Amount appropriated for fiscal year ending June 30, 1910, act ap

proved March 3, 1909.....

Labor in navy-yards and stations in repair of steam machinery, boilers, etc., of naval vessels fitting for sea service, preservation and repair of tools, handling and preservation of materials, stores, etc.

Purchase of materials, stores, machine tools, and incidental expenses.

Payments for repairs, materials, and incidental expenses for ships on foreign stations..

Less refunds by transfers in adjustment of appropriations and deposits by paymasters to September 1, 1910...

Total expenditure...

Unobligated balance September 1, 1910................

$2,976,856. 41

2,996, 793. 10

789, 143. 57

6, 762, 793. 08

$6,655, 700.00

266, 390. 39

6, 496, 402, 69

159, 297. 31

OPERATIONS OF THE BUREAU.

In addition to the examination and preparation of plans for repairs and alterations to machinery of vessels in commission, and those fitting out at navy-yards, and for the construction of new machinery and boilers building at navy-yards and by contract, the work of the drafting room of the bureau has been principally upon plans, specifications, and estimates for the machinery of battle ships Nos. 32 and 33, the Wyoming and Arkansas, and torpedo-boat destroyers Nos. 32 to 36, inclusive, which have been completed, and the contracts for these vessels awarded. Also plans, specifications, and estimates for machinery of battle ships Nos. 34 and 35 have been well advanced, as are also those for destroyers Nos. 37 to 42, inclusive. Other designs have been prepared for battle ships with water-tube boilers fitted for the use of both oil fuel and coal, the oil fuel to be used in conjunction with coal, or independently, and designs for destroyers for water-tube boilers with oil fuel only.

The methods for inspection of material for naval use have been much improved during the year along the lines of having such material inspected as far as possible at the place of manufacture; the simplification and reduction of the correspondence and routine work of the inspection offices; the thorough overhauling and revision of the specifications for inspection of material, to secure the best commercial material where needed for the service, and eliminating all requirements that were not essential for this purpose, or that necessitated the use of a specially manufactured article; and that the methods of inspection should be made uniform in all districts.

Some vexatious delays in delivery of material have been experienced owing to lack of laboratory facilities for the necessary chemical analyses, but with the increased facilities which are being installed at several of the navy-yards it is believed that shortly the manufacturers will have no cause of complaint from this source.

During the year the inspection force has been graded, and a general plan for the promotion of the classified employees has been submitted to the department.

Inspections have been made at 403 manufacturing establishments in 8 districts in charge of 9 officers with 26 civilian assistants. The total weight of material inspected for the different bureaus is as follows:

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The bureau has submitted in its estimates for an increase of its clerical force, which is now inadequate to consider thoroughly and in a businesslike manner all the valuable reports and returns that are being made. There should be not less than six clerks, one messenger boy, and one laborer additional allowed for this purpose.

The bureau also can not too strongly urge for increased compensation for its clerical and drafting force. Aside from the question of

the greatly enhanced cost of living, so largely reducing the actual compensation below what it was a few years ago, the bureau bases its strongest plea for this increase upon the fact that to a very large extent the work of the bureau is purely technical, requiring a high and peculiar order of ability in its clerks and draftsmen which it is difficult to secure and retain at their present salaries. For this reason it is urged that immediate provision be made for higher pay for these employees.

The work at the navy-yards has principally been as follows:

General overhauling of the machinery of the battle ship Kearsarge, Kentucky, Illinois, and Alabama which is now in progress. Good progress has been made on the general overhaul of the Maine, and her boilers, which are building by contract, are practically ready for installation. It was contemplated that the Wisconsin also would require a general overhaul, but after a thorough inspection by the board of inspection and survey for ships, her machinery was found to be in such good condition as to justify her continuance in service with minor repairs. This work is now proceeding at the navy-yard, Portsmouth, N. H.

Repairs of an extensive nature are also being carried out at the Mare Island Navy-Yard on the armored cruisers Maryland and West Virginia. By keeping them in commission and utilizing the ships' force it will be possible to materially reduce the cost of work, and at the same time have the vessels ready for duty with the fleet in much shorter time than if they had been put out of commission. Similar repairs on the Cincinnati and Raleigh are in progress, but are suspended from time to time in order that work on vessels of the Pacific Fleet may proceed without interruption.

At the Puget Sound Navy-Yard comparatively little progress was made on the Oregon owing to the fact that the work has been carried on only during the absence of cruising vessels from the yard. This has necessarily resulted in greatly increasing the cost of work on this vessel, but the practice of having such a ship under repair, especially in a locality where the labor market is restricted, possesses the great advantage of enabling the department always to command the services of a force of skilled workmen who but for these "stand-by" jobs would have to be discharged, and whose places it would be difficult to fill when mechanics are wanted for work on the fleet.

At the New York Navy-Yard satisfactory progress has been made on the machinery of the Florida, though its completion has been delayed by slow delivery of forgings, and is now somewhat hampered by lack of large tools for machining turbine casings. The successful casting of the large turbine casings for this vessel without the loss of a single casting reflects great credit upon the organization of this yard and upon the skill of the workmen who were employed on the work. Extensive overhauling and repair of machinery with new Babcock & Wilcox boilers were completed to the Baltimore at the New York yard during the fiscal year.

The most important work undertaken at Norfolk was changing the engines of the Louisiana and Virginia from in-turning to out-turning. The work was accomplished in so satisfactory a manner that both vessels were, after very slight "tuning-up," able to join the fleet at Guantanamo and run their full-speed trials in a manner which reflected the highest credit on the engine-room personnel and on the

machinery division of the Norfolk yard. Not the least gratifying feature of this change is the fact that it was made for about 55 per cent of what the contractors wanted for doing it before the machinery was installed.

The bureau recently incorporated in its specifications a requirement that boilers acceptable for installation in battle ships must meet certain definite requirements regarding evaporative efficiency. These requirements were made so high as to insure that the boilers installed would meet every requirement of the service, and it is a pleasure to report that the first boiler tested, a Babcock & Wilcox representing the boiler installation for the Arkansas and Wyoming, more than meets the requirements. The next boiler to be tested will be a Mosher, representing the equipment for the Kearsarge, the Kentucky, and the Illinois.

At some of the navy-yards some increases in the force of classified employees have become a necessity, and a general rerating, with corresponding compensation, permitted, so that employees performing the same kind of duties shall receive the same pay. This can not be done under the present allowance made by Congress for the pay of these employees from appropriation "Steam machinery." For this reason the bureau has requested in its estimates that the limit shall be extended to $400,000. It should be noted that this does not increase the total of the appropriation but only increases the amount that may be used from the current appropriation for pay of the classified force under the bureau at navy-yards, inspection offices, etc.

GENERAL OPERATIONS.

Extensive trials have been carried out to determine the relative. backing powers of turbines and reciprocating engines in the scout cruisers Birmingham with reciprocating engines, Chester with Parsons turbines, and Salem with Curtis turbines.

These trials were conducted with great care and thoroughness under conditions as nearly identical for vessels of each class as possible, and the results, which have been submitted to the department in the form of reports, are an authoritative indication of the relative backing powers of the three types of machinery as now installed.

During the year limited experience has been had with the burning of oil fuel as auxiliary to coal in the battle ships Delaware and North Dakota. In the case of the battle ships the oil is intended to be used only to assist in maintaining power on long full-power runs, after the coal fires become dirty, or when the trimming of coal in the fire-room bunkers becomes difficult. Its use in these vessels is not intended to increase the power developed, and inasmuch as it is sprayed on top of a coal fire with a restricted combustion space, satisfactory burning of the oil in battleships has been difficult of accomplishment.

A high speed marine steam turbine with reduction gear is being installed in the collier Neptune, now building at the works of the Maryland Steel Company, Sparrows Point, Md. She is to be a twinscrew vessel, displacing 19,360 tons, with a speed of 14 knots. Steam at a pressure of 200 pounds will be supplied by three double-ended Scotch boilers to a Westinghouse-Parsons turbine on each shaft, each turbine developing about 4,000 S. H. P. on 1,500 revolutions at full power. Between each turbine and its propeller shaft is to be inter

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