Admiral HARRIS. For the manning of ships. At that time, Mr. Chairman, there was a great deal of complaint in the press that we were taking in these men and that we were not able to take care of them and that sickness was breaking out, and complaints about their being out in the open, so it was a question of doing something immediately, and the Secretary decided that under the language "every purpose connected therewith" was included the caring for the personnel of the ships authorized.

We

The CHAIRMAN. Did the comptroller hold that, too? Admiral HARRIS. It has not gotten to the comptroller yet. hoped before he passed on that we would be able to bring it before you as a deficiency.

The CHAIRMAN. But there is no authority to reimburse from one fund to another. You can not do that without specific authority.

Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir; we can transfer. We just wipe out the allotment and transfer. You see, it has not actually passed through the auditing department yet.

MARINE RAILWAYS, NAVY YARDS AND STATIONS, BOSTON, MASS., AND CHARLESTON, S. C.

The CHAIRMAN. "Marine railways: For marine railways, navy yards and stations, fiscal year 1918, $500,000."

Admiral HARRIS. The Secretary wants me to state that that should be reduced to $375,000 instead of $500,000 for three marine railways at $125,000 each.

The CHAIRMAN. Where?

Admiral HARRIS. Two at Boston and one at Charleston, S. C.
Mr. GILLETT. What is a marine railway?

Admiral HARRIS. A marine railway is an inclined slip. The vessel comes up to it and sits on a cradle and then is hauled up this incline out of the water.

The CHAIRMAN. That is for small vessels?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes; for torpedo-boat destroyers and submarines. The reason for the request is this: We have a certain number of naval dry docks capable of taking larger vessels. They are now all just as busy as they can be. We have not docking capacity for the larger ships, and we are taking into the naval service merchant ships, etc.. and very often we have a large dock capable of taking a large ship tied up with little bit of a destroyer, or a submarine, or a tug, or a small vessel. We have a structure costing one or two or nearly three million dollars tied up for several days with these small vessels while larger vessels are waiting to dock. At Boston we have an old shipbuilding slip which could be very quickly converted into two marine railways for the smaller vessels. At Charleston, S. C., we have one dock. We had a case there not long ago of several large merchant vessels lying outside to be docked that could not be taken into this dock because we had one or two small destroyers in the dock. We think if we can put a marine railway down there, with that single large dock, we can then hold that large dock for the larger vessels solely and keep the small ships out of there.

The CHAIRMAN. How long would it take to build these?

Admiral HARRIS. I think we could finish them in about six months. The fourth one that has been stricken out was at Pearl Harbor. The

Secretary concluded that that was not an emergency condition, and that he did not want to ask for it.

IMPROVEMENTS AT ORDNANCE STATIONS.

The CHAIRMAN. For improvements at stations under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Ordnance, including the purchase of land, fiscal year 1918, $3,950,000.

Admiral HARRIS. The distribution of that is additional magazines and shell houses to take care of reserve ammunition in addition to those that you authorized when we came before you with the last deficiency bill

The CHAIRMAN (interposing). We gave you $3,000,000 then.
Admiral HARRIS. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. How much do you want now?

MAGAZINES AND SHELL HOUSES.

Admiral HARRIS. For magazines and shell houses, $1,440,000 in addition. The ones we have under way now have not sufficient capacity to take care of the munitions that are authorized and planned for. The reason for the increase is largely the manning of merchant vessels, the ammunition for merchant vessels, and also the transports being taken over.

FIRE PROTECTION AND RAILROADS.

Another item is fire protection and railroads at amunition depots. The CHAIRMAN. Is that for sprinkler systems?

Admiral HARRIS. Hydrants and mains extending to the new shell houses and chemical extinguishers.

The CHAIRMAN. How much is estimated for that?

Admiral HARRIS. $120,000.

INDIAN HEAD POWDER FACTORY.

(See p. 292.)

Indian Head powder factory, $880,000.
The CHAIRMAN. What is that for?

Admiral HARRIS. The items are, new dock at north end of the reservation, including railroads, $120,000; new bombproof, $30,000: rearranging quarters at the north end of the reservation and constructing new quarters-that is some rearrangement which is made necessary

REARRANGING QUARTERS.

Mr. SMITH. That is a rearrangement of the quarters, and under this scheme we intend to move the quarters to the north end of the reservation so that they will not be in direct line of the firing. As they are now situated, they fire over the quarters and over the ice buildings, and in several cases large fragments of shells, fragments larger than that [indicating] have fallen near the employees and the families of officers.

The CHAIRMAN. How long has that condition existed?

Mr. SMITH. For quite some time, and under the new firing they are swinging to the left several degrees. They used to fire way out into the river and now they are swinging toward the quarters more. The CHAIRMAN. Why do they swing toward the quarters more? Mr. SMITH. Because they want to get nearer the shore in placing their shells in the river.

The CHAIRMAN. What quarters have you there now?

Mr. SMITH. There are quarters for the inspector, quarters for the three commissioned officers there under the inspector, and there are quarters for the chemist in charge and also for the employees. The CHAIRMAN. Are they all permanent quarters?

Mr. SMITH. Yes, sir.

Admiral HARRIS. They are all timber quarters; no brick or

concrete.

The CHAIRMAN. Are these buildings to be moved or demolished? Admiral HARRIS. Some of them are to be moved.

Mr. SMITH. There are four suitable for moving and the others are not very good quarters.

The CHAIRMAN. Which ones are not to be moved?

Mr. SMITH. The quarters for the chemist are not to be moved and for the two employees in the powder factory. I do not know just their designation.

The CHAIRMAN. How many employees do the quarters house?

Mr. SMITH. I am not prepared to say exactly, but I think there are six.

The CHAIRMAN. How much is to be spent for this purpose?
Admiral HARRIS. $50,000.

The CHAIRMAN. I do not understand exactly why the line of firing is to be changed.

Mr. SMITH. That has been changed in order to bring the shell falling into the river in nearer the shore and away from the channel. The CHAIRMAN. What is the reason for that?

Mr. SMITH. That is a matter in the discretion of the inspector of ordnance and I have not that information.

The CHAIRMAN. We would like to know just why that is done. What other items are there?

NOTE. The reason for the shifting of the line of firing to the left, bringing it in line with the administration building and quarters, is as follows: Originally firing was conducted in the opposite direction than now obtains, shells landing on property owned by the Government. With the larger caliber guns. this range was inadequate, so that firing was then done down the river toward the Virginia shore. As ranges continued to increase, it was necessary to shift the line of firing so as to drop shells in the river instead of on the Virginia side.

ADDITIONAL RAILROAD TRACK.

Admiral HARRIS. Additional railroad track, new office and physical laboratory.

The CHAIRMAN. How much for the track?

Admiral HARRIS. $75,000.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is that to go?

Mr. SMITH. That is to connect up the new land and the new buildings that we are asking for and the general improvement of the railroad track there in order to better serve the manufacturing plant.

The CHAIRMAN. Are you asking authority to purchase land down there?

Mr. SMITH. Yes, sir.

PHYSICAL LABORATORY OFFICE.

Admiral HARRIS. That is included in these items. I am coming to that. Physical laboratory, $50,000.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there not one there now?

Admiral HARRIS. I think they want an addition to it.

Mr. SMITH. The office now is right in range, too, and that will have to be changed and a new office put up. The shells go over this office and several fragments have dropped near the building, and one small fragment actually hit the building. The item of moving is urgent, sir. It is dangerous the way it now exists.

ADDITIONAL GUN PITS-SOLVENT RECOVERY PLANT.

Admiral HARRIS. Two additional gun pits, $20,000.

Extension

to yard service system-I suppose that is the cables and water and light and power line-$12,500. Solvent recovery, $81,000. The CHAIRMAN. What does that mean?

Mr. SMITH. In working guncotton they use a great deal of ether, and after the powder is manufactured they store it in these bins and circle air through the powder, and that air as it comes out is heavily surcharged with ether, and they recover that ether.

The CHAIRMAN. Do they not do that now?

Mr. SMITH. They do that now, yes, sir; but, of course, they are increasing their output and need additional facilities. There is a direct saving to the Government in doing that. The CHAIRMAN. What is the next item?

BLENDING TOWER AND PACKING HOUSE.

Admiral HARRIS. Blending tower and packing house, $44,000. Mr. SMITH. That is a three-story structure. The powder that comes from the different parts of the powder plant is in three or four grades and colors, etc., and they blend it to make the one finished powder.

The CHAIRMAN. What else?

PURCHASE OF LAND-CORNWALLIS NECK-INDIAN HEAD PENINSULA- STUMP NECK.

Admiral HARRIS. The next two items are purchase of land consisting of the following tracts: Cornwallis Neck, Indianhead Peninsula, 1.175 acres. $157,000; land below Stump Neck, 3,157 acres. $240.000. This chart [indicating] shows the land.

The CHAIRMAN. You want to get 4,300 acres of additional land. How much have you now?

Mr. SMITH. I think it is 780 acres, sir.

NOTE. The land at Indianhead was purchased in two parcels, one in 1890. $1 acres, one in 1898, 1,050 acres, making the total land at Indianhead 1,931

acres.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the necessity for any such increase as that?

Mr. SMITH. The armor butts as they are now placed are in the valley and right close to the guns. They want to move the armor pits so as to permit an attack at a distance. They are now within 500 feet, so that they have no facilities for attacking armor at long range, which is essential.

The CHAIRMAN. You never have done that?

Mr. SMITH. No; we have never done that.

The CHAIRMAN. This is not an emergency at this particular time? Mr. SMITH. It is, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Why?

Mr. SMITH. In the information to be gained on the effect of angle fire and the effect of lines of the shells, and it seems to me it is an emergency matter to get that information. They also want to land shells at the maximum range that this land will give them of 21,000 yards, and then recover the shells to see the fuse action and the action of flight, and all that, and that is highly essential.

The CHAIRMAN. It has never been proposed before.

Mr. SMITH. It has been proposed a number of times, but we have never been able to get the funds to do it. It has always been considered essential and very necessary.

Admiral HARRIS. May I read this note in connection with the purchase of this land:

The purchase of this land is recommended to permit the work to be carried on in a safe and proper manner and further to remove the armor butts from directly in front of the firing battery, in order that the time now wasted by men on the butts having to take shelter when guns are fired for ranging or other purposes may be saved to the Government and used to advantage. This is also in line with recommendations of the board. They recommended the purchase of the tract of land below Stump Neck to permit of high-angle fire of all but the largest guns. Furthermore it is believed that proper facilities should be provided for attacking armor erected on Stump Neck, both for fuse work and for shell experimental work which is now out of the question with the materials installed at the rifle range as they are now.

The CHAIRMAN. These two tracts of land are quite close to each other, are they not?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. How do you account for the difference in price? The price of one is about double the price of the other.

Mr. SMITH. That is simply on account of the assessed valuation of the land. We have the figures as to the assessed valuation.

The CHAIRMAN. Is it farm land?

Mr. SMITH. Some of it is farm land and some of it is forest and unimproved land. It is not very good farm land.

The CHAIRMAN. $134 an acre is a pretty good price for unimproved, no account land down at Indianhead.

Mr. SMITH. That is not a high price.

The CHAIRMAN. If it is unimproved and not much good, it is. Mr. SMITH. Some of it is under cultivation, especially the land south of Stump Neck.

INDIAN HEAD, INCREASING OUTPUT AT.

The CHAIRMAN. Before you take that up, are these expenditures at Indianhead for the purpose of increasing the output there? Mr. SMITH. Yes, sir.