2d Session. No. 74. LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, TRANSMITTING Letter of the chief of the Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department, and resolutions of the New York Chamber of Commerce, relative to the establishment of compass stations. FEBRUARY 16, 1885.-Letters ordered to be printed, and, with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Appropriations. NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, D. C., February 13, 1885. SIR: I have the honor to transmit here with copies of resolutions adopted January 8, 1885, by the Chamber of Commerce of the State of New York, urging the establishment, in the principal seaports of the United States, of stations for the determination of the errors of compasses in iron and steel ships. The question presented by these resolutions has been carefully considered by this Department, and its opinions are embodied in the accompanying report of Commodore J. G. Walker, chief of the Bureau of Navigation. The revolution which has taken place in ocean navigation, through the advent of iron and steel steamships, which now absorb the larger part of the commerce of the world, requires from every maritime nation a prompt conformity to the new conditions. Accuracy in the preparation of all scientific aids to navigation is of prime importance to secure the greatest safety on the ocean to life and property. The necessity of a special adjustment of the compasses of every iron and steel steamer to the characteristic influences of the vessel, which are never the same in any two ships, is fully recognized. Private enterprise will not, however, furnish the skill and means for such adjustments, and Government should assist reasonably in the work. The officers of the Navy are competent and ready to perform it, and the Navy Department can most appropriately undertake its supervision. The additional expense incurred beyond that required for the regular operations of the Department of the same kind will not be large, and I have no hesitation in recommending adequate appropriations for the purpose. Very respectfully, WM. E. CHANDLER, President of the Senate. Hon. G. F. EDMUNDS, BUREAU OF NAVIGATION, Navy Department, February 10, 1885. SIR: I have the honor to submit the following information in reference to the letter of Mr. George Wilson, secretary of the Chamber of Commerce of New York, of the 10th ultimo, addressed to the Secretary of the Navy and referred to this Bureau, enclosing a copy of a preamble and resolutions of the Chamber of Commerce in relation to establishing a compass station at the port of New York, and at other seaports in the United States. During the past three years especial attention has been paid to the deviation of the compass in iron and steel ships; careful examinations have been made of the magnetic character of all iron cruising vessels of the Navy, and of iron vessels of the merchant marine when they have been placed in the dry-docks at our navy yards. To prepare for the transition from wooden to iron and steel ships, new forms for reports of compass deviations have been substituted for those formerly in use in the Navy, in order to obtain for publication additional information as to the deviation of the compass. For the purpose of provid ing proper places for compensating compasses and swinging ships for tables of deviations and heeling errors, the various localities in the vicinity of our great seaports have been examined with the view of establishing compass stations for the use of the Navy and merchant marine. A very careful examination was made early in 1883 of the surroundings of the lower bay of New York, for the purpose of establishing buoys in connection with radial lines of "true bearing," primarily for the convenience of merchant vessels leaving New York, by means of which their commanding officers could, in a few minutes, determine the deviations on a sufficient number of courses to enable them to clear the land with certainty. During the year 1883 Naval Professional Paper No. 13, entitled "Magnetism; its principles and application to ships and compasses," was prepared and published from the small amount of money appropriated for printing and binding in the Navy Department. Recognizing that a thorough knowledge of the action of the materials of which ships are constructed upon their compasses was necessary to nautical men and to the ship-building interests of the country, and that a special appropriation would be needed, attention was called to the fact in the annual report of the Bureau, November 1, 1883, as follows, viz: I beg leave to urge the necessity for the limited appropriation for which I have asked, in order to publish in convenient form such information obtained from leading professional periodicals and from other sources as will be of value to naval officers, to the merchant marine, and to the ship-building interests of the country. Notwithstanding the request for a limited appropriation received little, if any, consideration, Professional Paper No. 17, "The Magnetism of Iron and Steel Ships," was prepared, and, after much delay, in consequence of inadequate appropriations, is almost ready for issue. Professional Paper No. 18, on "The Deviations of the Compass in Vessels of the Navy," has been prepared, and would have been published but for the fact that there is no now no money available for the purpose. Attention was again called in my annual report for the past year to the im portance of supplying in convenient form such professional matter as is essential to naval officers and of value to the ship-building interests and the merchant marine, and a small appropriation was requested for the publication of this information. The Bureau decided that it would be impossible, for want of sufficient money, to establish more than one compass station, and that there was no locality in New York Bay in which the station would be practicable. A measured mile having been established in Narragansett Bay, a compass station was located in that bay in November last. A testing house will shortly be built in which to examine and test all the compasses of the Navy, and such of those in use in the merchant service as the owners thereof may desire. I have thought it necessary thus to state the steps which the Bureau has taken in order to improve compasses, determine accurately their errors, and supply those interested in nautical matters with the information requisite to insure safe navigation at sea, before taking up the subject matter contained in the resolutions of the Chamber of Commerce. The importance to be attached to these resolutions cannot be overestimated. As every vessel of iron or steel may be stated to be a magnet of irregular shape which causes the deviations in the compass, all iron and steel vessels built for the merchant marine should be examined upon completion, for the purpose of finding their magnetic poles and neutral lines. This examination would be a magnetic survey of the ship, and should be made in a dry dock. The primary object of such examination and survey is to determine the best location for the standard compass, on which depends the safe navigation of the ship. Without this survey the standard compass may often be located in a position which, though convenient and easily ac cessible, is the one most likely to cause shipwreck. After the standard compass has been located the ship should be swung at a compass station for a table of deviations, her heeling error should be found, and her steering compass compensated if required. All of this work should be performed by naval officers, and the only expense to the owners would be that incurred in docking, and that of the time lost at the compass station. These expenses are insignificant when compared with the cost of ship and cargo; and owners should be required by law to take these measures for the protection of the lives of passengers. As a portion of the preamble correctly states, in substance, by means of such examinations and observations the navigation of the vessel would be changed from one of great doubt to one of comparative certainty. The absence of all such observations may readily account for the number of iron vessels of our merchant navy which have been wrecked within the past two years. Compass stations should be established in the vicinity of our large seaports. I have already stated that this Bureau has not sufficient money to carry out a plan of this kind, but the sum of $30,000 would be sufficient for the purpose, and I can recommend no expenditure of money which should produce more substantial benefits than one of this kind, which would save money and lives. With reference to the suggestion that the localities for the compass stations should be established, and the buoys and beacons planted by the Treasury Department, I beg to state that the Navy Department should be charged with the entire subject, for the following reasons, viz: That joint action on the part of officers, a portion of whom are under the control of one executive department and the remainder under another, is not likely to produce the best results; that work of this character is properly under the control of naval officers who now perform the duty for all naval vessels; that as the Navy Department has already the necessary instruments in its possession and officers familiar with the work, it will only be necessary to establish the stations. It will be easy to comply with that portion of the resolution recommending the preparation, for distribution in a popular form to those interested, of existing information of the causes and nature of the deviations of the compass, and specific instructions to ascertain and correct them; for the Bureau possesses this information, and the want of money alone prevents its publication. In addition to publishing this matter, I would suggest that a series of popular lectures could be prepared by officers in this Bureau, for delivery with practical illustra tions at stated intervals, before an audience composed of officers of the merchant service and those connected with commerce. The preparation of such lectures would cost nothing; no doubt a room in a public building could be obtained for the purpose in New York, and the opportunities thus afforded for communication between the two services would be mutually beneficial. The adoption of such resolutions as those herewith referred to by the New York Chamber of Commerce is therefore most opportune, and in conclusion I beg to suggest that the Chamber of Commerce be informed that the Navy Department is prepared to make the necessary magnetic examinations of iron and steel ships, to adjust their compasses, and will be glad to establish compass stations in proper localities provided money can be obtained from Congress for that purpose. The letter, together with the preamble and resolutions, are returned herewith. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, Hon. WILLIAM E. CHANDLER, J. G. WALKER, Secretary of the Navy. |