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420 ' TARE MarRINE REVIEW Mir. Newberry and Navy Yard Management By Resr-ADMIRAL CASPAR F. Goopricu, U. S. N. (Reprinted from The Independent.) HE subject of the organization and administration of our naval estab- lishments on shore has received much attention of late through the meas- ures of reform introduced by Sec. New- berry, through the steps taken by Sec. Meyer to give effect to his own views on this inportant topic, and through the investigations by the House Na- val committee, now accessible to the public in a volume entitled "Hearings on the Proposed Reorganization of the Navy Department Before the Com- mittee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives." Much was done by Mr. Newberry, who with one stroke abolished the multiplicity of shops and gathered all operations of like nature under one head and substantially under one roof. For reasons which he has announced in several places and on several occasions, Mr. Meyer has thought best to create two main divi- -sions of navy yard activity, one deal- ing with the "hulls" of vessels, the other with their "machinery." This action on Mr. Meyer's part has served to. make more clear than before the necessity of developing a body of skilled "shop managers." So far as the navy on shore is concerned, this has been and still remains a pressing want. Familiarity with Shop Management. Only those who are familiar with mechanical: processes and the ways of our largest and most prosperous man- ufacturing corporations can that a man whose knowledge, training and personal force enable him to get out of: machinery and employes the maximum of profit is almost beyond price. The writer, on one occasion, when seeking a competent superinten- dent for a great constructional branch of the Government, applied for help to a certain well-known ceptain of in- dustry. This was the answer received: "What pay can you give him? If $25,000 a year, I know your man; if _ $15,000, there are two or three who might serve; if only $5,000, the woods are full of them. I give my superin- tendent $50,000 and make money. It would be poor economy to hire a $10,- 000 man and lose money. If Mr. Blank wanted $100,000 a year he could get it for the asking." realize How can the navy hold its own against such men as Mr. Blank? Let us see how the case stands before giving up all hope. In the first place Congress cannot, if it would, sanction any such compénsation as is required to secure the one man whom the writer's friend had in mind. With difficulty is it induced to grant even so much as $3,000 per annum. Since the skilled talent the navy needs of this nature may not be purchased in the open market, recourse must be had to intelligent officers subject to the department's authority. In them it has, to begin with, loyalty, ambition and marked capacity, a most promis- ing foundation upon which to build its edifice of training. What, speaking generally, does this expression "train- ing imply? Methods of Management. While there are various schools or methods of shop management, all which deserve study or adoption are based upon actual knowledge of what work any machine or any mechanic is capable of turning out in a given time. of the rule of thumb is passed; that of exact scientific direction has dawned. The machine is so geared and driven as to be crowded to the limit of its power under minute specific instruc- tions governing. every step of the operation, These instructions are issued from an office wherein are kept the records of countless observations and computations, which result in a perfect understanding of what any given tool may be made to accomplish. . Nothing is left to the judgment of the employe. However competent, his wisdom cannot rival, much less ex- ceed, the combined wisdom of many investigators acting for long periods of time on a well-defined plan, and measuring, counting and tabulating the phenomena they witness without prej- udice or favor. This instance is but _one of 'many, none of which can be neglected if we seek to secure the best results. The care, speed and ten- sion of belts, the change in methods necessitated by change of the metal to be cut, since wrought iron, cast iron, brass and steel (according to its quality) each demands its own pecu- The day of rough guessing and October,. 1910 liar treatment; the value of the vari- ous kinds of tool steel for each class of work; the way to fashion wood with rapidity and without undue waste; the number of rivets which can be well driven in a stated time; the num- ber of square feet of pigment applied to diverse surfaces; the number of tons of coal or sand a _ well-taught laborer may shovel in a day; the number of cubic yards of soil he can excavate, whether clay, loam or hard pan; the economic handling of weights to avoid retracing their path; the lat- est improvements and devices in ma- chinery, etc, may be mentioned as part of what a manager must learn to reach the high-water mark in his pro- ficiency. Now these things can only be acquired after long experience by a man who, making them his particu- lar aim, devotes to them time, thought and patient industry. Books, pamph- lets and articles in the technical jour- nals must be conned over and their applicability to the work in hand de- termined; other shops must be visited for the lessons they teach or for the warnings they convey; from intelligent and successful superintendents hints must be extracted as to the best ways of laying out and carrying on the dif- ferent classes of undertakings. These things combine to form a school whose sessions never cease and from which the student will gain in proportion to his own mastery of the subjects taught. Above all, he must keep in touch with those who. make shop 'management in its broadest sense their individual specialty. What the expert in this respect can accomplish may be seen in a few only of the many cases that might be cited. In the first place, his methods are grounded on a universal skepticism. He takes nothing for granted; what- ever is, may be-right or it may be wrong; analysis and demonstration alone will show. Every operation, whether manual or mechanical, he holds to be governed by some law which it is his duty to determine. For example, nothing would be simpler than to pick up pigs of iron from a pile alongside a railroad track, carry them up a gangplank and stack them on a platform car; yet this handling is subject to a physical law so mani- fest after explanation that we wonder its importance has not before been generally realized. After carrying a number of pigs, in the manner de- scribed, the laborer feels fatigue and in consequence he slackens his speed. What has happened? The muscles of his arms, back and legs have been de- pleted of their vital tissue in spite of the fact that his blood circulation has been greatly stimulated. The waste,