Gambar halaman
PDF
ePub

The CHAIRMAN. What I am talking about is this estimate of $2,000,000. We are talking about the thing that we have to act upon and not about a ship in dry dock. We have a proposition here before the committee that we must ultimately decide. We have before us an estimate for reconditioning 20 destroyers, at $100,000 each, $2,000,000, and we must decide whether we will allow this or not. We must have some reason for allowing it before we can decide the question, and we have not been able to get that as yet.

Admiral JACKSON. None of those 21 destroyers has been opened up and examined, and we took the best one. Our belief was that $30,000 would be spent in engineering, on the machinery, and on the boilers and equipment. In addition to that, there was an item of $10,000 or $12,000 to put back upon it the stuff that had been put in the storehouse. When they lifted the turbine, they found that a great deal would be required to put the turbines in condition. The CHAIRMAN. How much would be required?

Admiral JACKSON. They did not furnish us with the job orders. The CHAIRMAN. In the meantime, we must decide this question. Admiral JACKSON. The fact that they had to spend $53,000 to fix the ship so that she could run her trials, shows that they would have all the data.

Commander CHURCH. You have not included the equipment in the $53,000.

Admiral JACKSON. That was $12,000.

The CHAIRMAN. We want to know whether it cost $53,000?

Admiral JACKSON. This boat, when they got it to this point, had cost $65,000.

The CHAIRMAN. Then you still have $37,000 to account for.

Admiral JACKSON. And this was the best boat we had. Now, the practical way, of course, would be to send our inspection board to examine each of those boats in detail, find out their condition, and make an estimate on the boats. Some of them might cost $63,000. one $70,000, and another $125,000, depending upon their condition. They could make an inspection and an estimate.

The CHAIRMAN. Will the boats be of any value after we spend $100,000 on them? That is another question.

Admiral JACKSON. She will run for a while.

The CHAIRMAN. You should make a frank statement to us of the cost, because we are asked to invest a lot of money in these vessels. There is nothing to cover up and we are trying to get the facts. Why should it take a corkscrew to get them?

Admiral JACKSON. You are calling upon me to make a prophecy-

The CHAIRMAN (interposing). I asked you whether they would be worth the money spent on them when we got through, or whether the boats would be of any value or not.

Admiral JACKSON. I think they would run for three or four years, but each year the cost of maintaining them would jump up more and more. They will cost from $25,000 on up to maintain. The CHAIRMAN. You say that it will cost $100,000 to put one of these boats in condition, and you have shown that it did cost $63,000 in the case of one of them. There is a difference between what you say was the cost and the figure we have before us of $37,000. How

much would it cost to fit up a first-line destroyer? Would it cost $50,000?

Admiral JACKSON. The only data that we have is that in the case of the destroyers to be fitted out on the west coast or the seven destroyers.

The CHAIRMAN. Seven destroyers to take the place of those that were destroyed?

Admiral JACKSON. Yes, sir. We have not the data in detail on those boats, and the work is being done by the men on the vessels themselves. The cost of that work in connection with those boats under C. and I. was about $29,000.

The CHAIRMAN. That was to complete them ready for service?
Admiral JACKSON. Yes, sir.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Did that include the labor of the people on the vessels?

Admiral JACKSON. No, sir; it does not include the labor, because that was done by the men.

Mr. BUCHANAN. About what would that amount to?

Commander CHURCH. I should say that would be about $25,000. Mr. BUCHANAN. That would be $54,000.

Admiral JACKSON. Yes, sir.

Mr. BYRNES of South Carolina. Was engineering included in that?

Admiral JACKSON. The engineering on that was small. I have not that data.

Commander CHURCH. It was small for this reason, that they took the ships as they were, turned the steam on, and started them off without further examination. They had only recently been placed out of commission, and they did no examination work to speak of before placing them in commission.

The CHAIRMAN. How much of that total would represent cost that would not be required for Coast Guard purposes?

Commander CHURCH. I should say about $10,000. Generally it would take $10,000 more to place the 750-ton type in commission as compared with the new type as regards repair work on machinery. The equipment on the older type would be less.

The CHAIRMAN. That leaves a difference of $44,000, so far as you have gone. What else is to be added to that?

Commander CHURCH. I think that is all that there would be. There would be a difference of $10,000 between the cost of putting the ships in commission for the two purposes, as far as machinery repairs are concerned.

The CHAIRMAN. Fifty thousand dollars would be saved, then, by putting first-line destroyers into the Coast Guard Service. That is the saving up to date.

Admiral JACKSON. The dismantling part of it has not been touched on yet or taking this stuff out.

The CHAIRMAN. That is included in reconditioning the boats. Admiral JACKSON. Not in what we had out there.

Mr. FRENCH. How much would that be?

Admiral JACKSON. It is a little difficult to make an estimate on that, because that matter did not come up until last night.

Mr. BYRNS of Tennessee. Can you give some idea of it?
Admiral JACKSON. I can not do it.

The CHAIRMAN. The reason I am asking these questions is this: I want to find out, in view of what you have said about the probability of the life of the second-line destroyers and the continuous cost for repairs, whether the operation of the second line destroyer would be sufficient by more economical than that of the first-line destroyer to justify the larger expense to condition it or whether it would be more economical to take a first-line destroyer, pay the cost of reconditioning it, and put it into the service.

Admiral JACKSON. The operating expense on the larger boat, of course, would be considerably more.

The CHAIRMAN. Both in the matter of fuel and men?

Admiral JACKSON. Yes, sir; in both fuel and men. At this point. the cost of operating a first-line destroyer for the Navy is about $160,000, and for operating a second-line destroyer

Mr. BUCHANAN (interposing). For what period of time?

Admiral JACKSON. For a year. For a second-line destroyer the cost is $84,000 a year.

The CHAIRMAN. It is about one-half.

Admiral JACKSON. Yes, sir.

Mr. FRENCH. How much mileage does that mean? For the naval service, of course, they are not necessarily running all the time.

Admiral JACKSON. That is not for fuel only, but it is for the expense of the crew and everything. As to the fuel, the ratio is not quite so great. It is 350 gallons to 425 gallons per hour.

Mr. FRENCH. That is the fuel cost of running the ship at a certain rate of speed?

Admiral JACKSON. Yes, sir; at 15 knots.

We do not think we will get them. In order to keep these, in the first place, they do not want the guns and torpedoes on them; what they want is a small boat with the least care required to maintain it. Mr. BYRNS of Tennessee. You are spending a certain amount for keeping the first-line destroyers in condition?

Admiral JACKSON. Yes, sir.

Mr. BYRNS of Tennessee. How much?

Admiral JACKSON. I do not know that I can give you that figure, but we have our inspectors who go over one or two of them a month. Mr. BYRNS of Tennessee. Can you estimate what it is costing for the total expense of a destroyer? What is the charge against the first-line destroyers in reserve, as they are tied up?

Mr. BYRNES of South Carolina. That is an item to be deducted. Mr. BYRNS of Tennessee. We are not spending any such amount on the first-line destroyers?

Admiral JACKSON. No.

Mr. BYRNS of Tennessee. If 20 of the first-line boats were put into commission for this purpose, that would be an element of expense which could be deducted from the extra cost of running them. Mr. BYRNES of South Carolina. It is an item to be deducted. Admiral JACKSON. Yes.

Commander CHURCH. On these ships out of commission the machinery is turned over and examinations are made on the secondline as well as on the first-line destroyers.

The CHAIRMAN. That is not what the admiral said.

Commander CHURCH. I think what the admiral means is in reference to repairs. They have taken 15, 30, and 45 day boats, and they

are being made ready for quick commissioning. They can not take any more because of the lack of funds. Examinations and turning over of machinery are actually being carried on in second-line boats. Mr. BYRNS of Tennessee. It costs considerably more to keep the first-line boats as you are keeping them than it does to keep the second-line boats.

You are spending a lot more money on the first-line destroyers than on the second-line destroyers, so I think that is an element to be considered.

The CHAIRMAN. Could the Coast Guard operate the first-line destroyers economically enough to justify their being put into the Coast Guard service? How much greater would be the cost on the first-line than on the second-line destroyers?

Admiral JACKSON. I could not tell that accurately.

The CHAIRMAN. Suppose you were charged with the responsibility of deciding this question without having to report to anybody else except to your own conscience, would you decide to adopt the first or the second line boats, having in mind service, efficiency, endurance, and economy as being the factors involved in the long run?

Admiral JACKSON. As far as I can see, and my opinion is rather shared by the Coast Guard themselves, the smaller boat was what they wanted.

The CHAIRMAN. Yes; but I am asking you a totally different question.

Mr. BYRNES of South Carolina. From the standpoint of the Government, what would you do?

Admiral JACKSON. From the standpoint of the Government, I would not give any of them to the Coast Guard, because I do not think these boats are efficient for that work. They are specialized boats.

The CHAIRMAN. We are assuming they have been given to the Coast Guard.

Admiral JACKSON. You asked me my opinion.

The CHAIRMAN. This is the question I asked you: Suppose you were charged with the responsibility of deciding this question, without having to report to anybody except your own conscience, would you decide to adopt the first-line or the second-line boats, having in mind service, efficiency, endurance, and economy as the factors involved in the long run?

Admiral JACKSON. In every respect except endurance I would prefer the smaller boat. That is a difficult thing to foresee, because we can not tell until we run the boats what the repair bill is going to amount to. I do not think anybody can tell that.

The CHAIRMAN. I suppose that is true.

Admiral JACKSON. If they are not run at high speed, as we run them very often, it would seem as though they ought to run efficiently after we spend this amount of money.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Your idea is that you can build a boat which would be better suited for the Coast Guard, and for less money than it would cost to repair these boats and operate them through a series of years-say, five years?

Admiral JACKSON. If I were in the Coast Guard I would get what money I could and build a boat that was suitable for the Coast Guard Service, as these boats are not.

The CHAIRMAN. But they are up against the proposition of immediate necessity. They must have the boats without delay.

Admiral JACKSON. I would rather have half the number of boats designed specifically for coast guard service.

The CHAIRMAN. We are deciding an emergency question, and not what might be the advisable thing to do in the long run. We are not in the position where we can consider what might be a perfect situation, where they had the Treasury open to them, to spend all they needed.

Mr. BUCHANAN. What would be the cost of a boat suitable for the Coast Guard to use in the enforcement of the law?

Admiral JACKSON. I think they could build boats for that purpose for less than the cost of the first-line destroyers. When you ask me a question like that, my answer is bound to be more or less of a guess.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Well, then, suppose you guess what it would be. We do not know anything about it at least, I do not. What would be your guess as to what it would cost to build a boat suitable for the Coast Guard to use in the enforcement of the law?

Admiral JACKSON. I am not justified in making a guess on a thing like that.

Commander Howard thinks that the cost of a first-line destroyer would be about the cost of a boat designed particularly for that service, and which would be useful anywhere for this special line of work, built to stand the weather.

The CHAIRMAN. About $600,000?

Admiral JACKSON. These new ones would cost about $900,000. Commander HOWARD. It is fair to say, Mr. Chairman, when you are speaking about the $600,000, that that was the cost in 1910 and

1912.

The CHAIRMAN. The Navy just got permission to rebuild one at nine hundred thousand and some odd dollars.

Mr. FRENCH. Admiral, suppose at this point you insert in the hearings a table showing these elements with respect to the type of first-class destroyers and second-class destroyers: First, the cost to strip each type of the apparatus or equipment not necessary for the Coast Guard Service; second, the cost to bring one of each type into shape to function for the Coast Guard Service; that is, in relation to engineering, and so on; third, the number of men estimated to be required to run each type; fourth, the number of gallons of fuel oil necessary to run one of each type 15 knots an hour; fifth, the annual upkeep for a 5-year period.

Admiral JACKSON. I will be glad to furnish that information.

1. Cost to strip one destroyer preliminary to turning over to Coast Guard: Destroyer, first line:

Bureau of Construction and Repair

Removal two 4-inch and one 3-inch antiaircraft guns and 4
torpedo tubes___

Bureau of Ordnance

Removal guns and torpedo tubes.

Total.

$350

325

675

« SebelumnyaLanjutkan »