CHAPTER XXXVII.

SHORE STATIONS.

SECTION 1.-GENERAL ADMINISTRATION.

General duties of commandants

1681. (1) The commandant of a navy yard shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, exercise entire control over every of navy yards. department in the yard, and will be held responsible for the preservation of all buildings and stores contained therein, of all vessels in ordinary, and for the judicious application of all labor.

(2) He shall see that all officers and others under his command, To require and all employees, perform their duty faithfully and efficiently, and duties to be propthat all returns and reports are made in the time and manner pre- erly performed.

scribed.

Not to allow

labor or material.

(3) He shall see that no materials of any kind are diverted from their original use, except for proper purposes, and that no mechanic improper use of or other employee does any work during working hours except for public purposes; and none of the machinery plant or other Government appliances shall be used in doing work for private parties, except in cases of emergency or when authorized by the Department. (4) He shall not make any alterations in the prescribed assign- Not to make ment of buildings of the yard, nor permit the purchase of stores or alterations in the sale of any articles, scraps, or chips, condemned or otherwise, yard, or sell or unless authorized by the Department.

(5) He shall approve all pay rolls and bills for supplies furnished, after satisfying himself of their correctness and of the fairness of prices charged.

(6) He shall keep posted for at least three months in a conspicuous place a copy of every General Order and Circular received. (7) He shall report promptly to the Department by telegraph the departure and arrival of all ships of the Navy.

(8) He shall make to the Secretary of the Navy reports on the fitness of officers as required by articles 254, 255.

buy without authority.

To approve

pay rolls and

bills.

To post Gen

eral Orders.

To report movements of ships.

To report on fitness of officers.

Succession to

1682. (1) In the absence of the commandant the line officer next in rank, not restricted by law to the performance of engineering command. duties, shall become the acting commandant, and shall exercise, for the time being, the authority of the commandant, both ashore and in respect to ships in commission at the yard, as prescribed in article 1689.

(2) The captain and officers of a receiving or station ship at a navy yard or station shall not be considered as on duty in the yard or station, as far as succession to temporary command is concerned; nor shall they exercise authority therein, but be subject in all respects to the orders of the commandant or acting commandant of the yard.

1683. (1) The commandant shall establish regulations to guard Fire regulaagainst accidents from fire in the ships and buildings within the tions.

yard.

Lights and

fires.

Smoking.

Fire department.

Fire alarm.

Fires of yard.

outside

Precautions to

be night.

taken at

The counter

sign and watch

word.

Equipment of

(2) Lights and fires on board ships permanently at the yard shall be extinguished at the same hours as on board ships in commission for sea service.

(3) Smoking shall not be allowed in the yard outside of the officers' quarters except by the commandant's special permission.

(4) He shall cause the fire department to be organized for day and night work, and to be exercised at least once every month, both by day and night. Where the organization is not deemed sufficient to control a fire in the yard, either by day or by night, he shall make such arrangements with the local municipal authorities as will insure a prompt response to any call for aid.

(5) The alarin of fire shall be given by ringing the yard and ships' bells and firing a gun.

(6) He may direct the fire alarm to be sounded for a fire in the immediate vicinity of the yard, and the engines and other apparatus may be sent to such fires, but they shall be kept under command of their own officers.

1684. (1) The gates of the yard shall be closed at sunset, and no strangers shall be admitted after that time unless they come to visit officers in the yard or on board ships lying thereat.

(2) The watchword for the night and the countersign shall be issued only to such persons as the commandant may direct.

1685. When a ship is ordered to be fitted out at a navy yard, ships to be in the fitting out shall be under the direction of the commandant, in conformity with general regulations and established allowances.

charge of commandant.

Accounts to be opened.

Alterations.

Precautions in

1686. When the commandant is directed to build, fit out, or repair any ship, or to construct any building, or to make any improvement at a yard, he shall cause an account to be opened against such ship, building, or improvement, debiting it with the cost of the labor and of the different materials used, detailed reports of. which shall be forwarded to the proper bureau when the objects are completed.

1687. No alterations shall be made in the hull, boilers, machinery, or the dimensions or arrangements of masts, boats, or other equipments of any ship which may be ordered for repairs or equipment, without the previous sanction of the Department; but if, in the commandant's opinion, any change can be made to improve the qualities of a ship, or increase the accommodations of her crew, he shall report the same to the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, giving his reasons for recommending alterations and forwarding estimates of the probable increase of expense.

1688. (1) When ships are being built or refitted for service at a building or re- navy yard, the chips, shavings, filings, and dirt shall be cleaned out pairing ships. frequently, and particular care shall be taken that all foreign matter is removed and the parts thoroughly cleaned before the application of any paint or cement.

Access to bilges.

(2) Proper scuttles and manholes shall be so arranged that easy access may be had to all parts of the double bottom and to the spaces below the fire room, magazine, and other floors; and the commandant shall require these and all compartments and other spaces where dirt, shavings, or filings can accumulate, to be thoroughly examined and carefully cleaned.

Ships to be thor- (3) The provisions of this article shall be carried out whenever a oughly cleaned ship is being prepared for commission; and the commandant shall and inspected before commission, appoint a board, to consist of the captain of the yard, an engineer

officer of the yard, a medical officer, and a naval constructor, who shall, before the ship is turned over to her captain, make a careful personal examination and inspection of every part of her interior and especially of the double bottom, and of every compartment, the spaces below the fire rooms, magazines, chain lockers, holds, and water tanks, and the shaft alleys, and shall see that such spaces are free from all foreign matter and are properly protected with cement or paint; and the board shall report in detail the result of their inspection and that the ship is ready to receive her outfit and stores. (4) When the ship is ready for her officers and crew, and before Captain of ship she is commissioned, the commandant shall furnish the officer to be furnished with copy of reordered to command with a copy of the above report of inspection. port. (5) The captain shall be furnished with all the plans necessary to a complete understanding of all parts of the ship and her more important fittings.

Plans to be furnished captains of ships.

Ships in com

1689. (1) Receiving and other ships permanently attached to a navy yard or station shall be in all respects subject to the control mission at a navy yard. of the commandant.

(2) Cruising ships of the Navy in commission at a navy yard for any purpose shall, from arrival to departure, be under the command of the commandant, who shall limit the exercise of such command to matters pertaining to the service for which the ship is at the yard, and to the enforcement of the police and fire regulations of the station.

(3) When officers attached to cruising ships in commission at a navy yard are required by the commandant for service on courts or boards at the yard or on board of other ships, they shall be detailed by the senior officer or officers present in command of such ships, upon the requisition of the commandant.

(4) Ships in waters adjacent to a navy yard, even if they are within signal distance, are not under the command of the commandant of the yard, unless so placed by a special order of the Navy Department.

(5) A commander in chief shall, when practicable, shift his flag to some other ship of his command before sending a flagship to a navy yard.

(6) A commander in chief may, if necessary for temporary service in other ships of his command, detach officers and men, not exceeding one-half of the complement present, from a ship of his squadron at a navy yard; and such orders for transfer or detachment shall be sent through the commandant of the yard.

1690. (1) No ship in commission shall be repaired at a navy yard Ships in comexcept as provided in articles 1428, 1626, 1627, and 1628.

mission under

(2) When a ship in commission is about to receive extensive repair. repairs, her officers and crew may, if the commandant deems it necessary, be removed to some other ship or quarters until the repairs are completed, and in such cases the ship or quarters, and everything belonging to them, shall be kept in good order by the persons using them.

mission.

1691. (1) When a ship is transferred to the commandant of a Ships about to yard at the expiration of a cruise, he shall have all the supplies and go out of comoutfit in the several departments delivered into the charge of the proper officers and duly surveyed, and he shall require officers in charge of supplies to superintend their removal.

(2) The orders detaching the officers shall not be delivered until the supplies and equipment have all been landed, the crew trans

ferred or paid off, the ship ready to be turned over to the yard, and all regulations fully complied with.

Captains of 1692. The commandant, whenever a ship is placed in his charge ships to point out for repair or equipment, shall require her captain to point out any deficiencies. defects or deficiencies he may discover, and to store, equip, move, utilized in equip and secure such vessel, and prepare her equipment whenever it can be done to advantage.

Crew to be

ping.

Moving and 1693. Ships at a navy yard shall be moved only by the authority mooring ships at of the commandant, and ships in ordinary shall be moved and moored under the supervision of the captain of the yard.

a Davy yard.

Docking and undocking.

1694. (1) When docking a ship in commission, the commanding officer shall have immediate charge until the bow of the ship reaches the dock sill and the vessel is fairly pointed for going into dock. The naval constructor or his assistant shall then take charge and complete the docking of the ship, being assisted, as far as possible, by those on board. In undocking, the naval constructor shall have charge until the bow of the ship clears the dock sill, when he shall turn the ship over to the commanding officer.

(2) The captain of the yard shall furnish tugs and such other assistance as may be needed in handling the ship.

(3) In docking or undocking ships not in commission, the same rules shall be observed, except that the captain of the yard or his assistant shall have immediate charge of the vessel to be docked.

(4) While in dock, the captain of the ship, if she be in commission, shall be responsible for the proper closing over night of all openings in the ship's bottom upon which no work is being done. The naval constructor and senior engineer officer of the yard shall be responsible for the closing, before the end of working hours, of all valves and openings upon which work is being done in their respective departments, when such closing is practicable. In the case of ships in dock not in commission, the naval constructor and senior engineer of the yard shall be responsible for the proper closing of all openings in the bottom of ship within their respective departments. In all cases where practicable such openings shall be closed before the workmen leave the yard for the night.

(5) In all cases the naval constructor shall notify the commanding officer before letting in water preparatory to undocking the ship, and before having the dock valves opened must receive a report from the commanding officer that all sea valves or other openings in the bottom of the ship are properly closed.

(6) In the case of ships not in commission the same precautions shall be observed, except that the senior engineer of the yard shall be notified when a ship is to be undocked and shall report to the naval constructor when all valves or other bottom openings in his department of the ship have been closed, and shall have men stationed at such valves while the ship is going out of dock. The naval constructor shall cause all other sea valves or openings to be carefully closed and men stationed at them until the ship has been floated out of dock.

(7) In docking ships, the naval constructor or his assistant must remain in charge until the ship has been properly landed and bilge blocks hauled.

(8) While in dry dock the commanding officer of the ship shall see that no refuse or garbage from the ship is placed in the dock.

Crew to aid in

1695. In making repairs to, or doing other work on, ships in commission, the services of the crew shall be utilized as far as work when prac practicable.

ticable.

1696. (1) Captains of ships in commission and heads of depart- Passes. ments of navy yards shall be provided with uniform pass books in which each pass shall have a stub. Passes and stubs shall be numbered consecutively, and the book with stub shall be preserved as a part of the official record of the ship or department.

(2) They shall also be provided with seals. A ship's seal shall bear the name of the ship, and navy yard department seals shall be characteristic of the bureaus they represent.

(3) In order that the following system of passes may be rigorously observed, the officer of the guard shall be provided with a stamp, which shall indicate "date and gate;" this stamp on a pass shall constitute his visé. It shall be his duty to acquaint himself thoroughly with the signatures of the heads of departments, officers of the yard, and executive officers of ships.

The

(4) Public property of any character must be accompanied by a public pass, which shall be on blue paper. This pass must bear the signature of the head of the department to which the property belongs, or of one of the commissioned officers attached thereto; also, its official seal. No other person will give a public pass. pass must be presented to the officer of the guard on duty for his visé, before the articles named therein can be passed through any gate of the yard or over its water front. It shall be the duty of the noncommissioned officer, or watchman, at the place of authorized exit, to examine the visé as to the correctness of date; he shall then compare the pass with the load to check the number of packages or articles, and, if correct, he shall indorse the pass accordingly, adding his signature to the indorsement, and the load shall be permitted to go out. The pass shall be turned in to the officer of the guard. (5) The passes deposited in the officer of the guard's office shall be transmitted daily by him to the captain of the yard, at the beginning of office hours on the day following their receipt. It shall be the duty of the captain of the yard to scrutinize the passes as to the observance of the foregoing details, and, if correct, to send them to the offices from which they originated. In these offices they shall be compared with their respective stubs, and filed for future reference. All irregularities shall be reported at once to the commandant. The stub and pass shall bear, for purposes of identification, a reference to the proper inspection report in the case of rejected supplies, or to the bill of lading, or other record of shipment, in the case of shipments.

(6) Private property of officers at the yard, not accompanied by an officer himself or a member of his family, must be exhibited as such on a private pass, which will be signed by the officer. All private passes shall be on uniform blanks, printed on white paper, and when taken up shall be turned in to the officer of the guard.

(7) Private property from ships in commission at navy yards must be accompanied by a pass signed by the executive officer or officer of the deck, and stamped with the seal of the ship. These passes shall be returned to the ship for comparison with the stub, and filed for reference.

(8) Signing passes in blank is positively prohibited. Every pass must state the exact number of packages covered thereby. Every public pass must state also the contents of the packages.