New vessels, stations, and equipment.

The new cutters Ossipee and Tallapoosa, authorized by the act of June 24, 1914, have been completed and will be taken to the service depot at South Baltimore to receive their outfits and equipment. It is expected these vessels will be ready for service by the middle of August, when they will be assigned to duty on the New England and Gulf coasts, respectively, to replace the Woodbury and Winona, which latter cutters, being old and unserviceable, will be withdrawn from active service and sold.

The old radio sets of the Seminole, Onondaga, and Androscoggin have been replaced with modern high-powered installations. The necessary material to similarly equip the Bear has been purchased, but not yet installed.

A contract has been entered into for the construction of the new station at Mackinac Island, authorized by the act of August 24, 1912. The work has begun and is progressing satisfactorily.

It has not been possible to proceed with the construction of the new station authorized by the act of August 24, 1912, to be established at Sea Gate, N. Y., because of difficulties in securing title to the necessary site.

Steps have been taken to obtain suitable sites for the new stations at Duxbury Reef, Cal., and Siuslaw River, Oreg., authorized by the acts of March 3 and March 4, 1915, respectively.

Contracts were executed for the construction of eight 36-foot selfbailing, self-righting motor lifeboats and twenty 26-foot self-bailing surfboats, and of these 4 lifeboats and 11 surfboats have been completed and put in service.

Repairs and improvement to cutters and stations.

In addition to the current repairs necessary for the upkeep of the fleet, extensive repairs have been made to the following vessels:

Seminole. The installation of the new boilers has been completed, and with the renewal of certain portions of the hull this vessel is now in a very efficient condition for a craft of her age.

Windom. In January, 1915, this vessel was sent to the service depot at Baltimore for the first extensive repair since she was built in 1896. Her low freeboard and small coal capacity greatly restricted the field of her activities and made her unavailable for extensive cruising in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, where she was stationed. Her hull has been raised forward by the addition of a forecastle deck, her freeboard increased by fitting solid bulwarks throughout her entire length, and new boilers are being installed. In addition, provision will be made for oil fuel, which will practically double her steaming radius.

The following stations have been rebuilt or extensively repaired: Atlantic and Gulf coast.-At Chatham, Mass., the station has been rebuilt on a new site; masonry sea walls have been constructed at Watch Hill, R. I., and bulkheads and revetments at Corsons Inlet and Hereford Inlet, N. J., to protect the stations at those points from the encroachment of the sea.

Pacific coast.-At Humboldt Bay, Cal., extensive damage to the launchway has been repaired. At Point Adams, Oreg., the boathouse has been moved to a new location and the launchway rebuilt. At Nome, Alaska, a new boathouse and a launchway have been constructed to replace those destroyed by storm.

Great Lakes.-On Lake Huron a new boathouse with extensive breakwater protection has been constructed at Pointe aux Barques, the breakwater rebuilt and boathouse repaired at Harbor Beach, and the boathouse and launchway rebuilt at Lake View Beachall in Michigan. On Lake Erie, at Cleveland, Ohio, extensive repairs have been made to the station foundations and bulkhead, and a rock mound breakwater constructed.

Contracts have been awarded and work begun in connection with the following projects: Rebuilding stations at Point of Woods, L. I.; Cape Fear, N. C.; Coos Bay, Oreg.; Milwaukee, Wis.; and Oswego, N. Y. Moving buildings to new site at Sandy Hook, N. J.; rebuilding of boathouse and crew's quarters at Fort Point, Cal.; and construction of a rock breakwater at Marblehead, Ohio.

At Velasco, Tex., action on changing the location of the buildings has been deferred pending negotiations for a suitable site.

Repair depot at Arundel Cove, Md.-The value of this depot to the Coast Guard is constantly increasing. In addition to manufacturing most of the small boats, awnings, covers, and other items of outfit for the cutters, the extensive repairs to the Seminole and Windom were made at this plant, and the following cutters were overhauled and received minor repairs: Androscoggin, Apache, Guthrie, Itasca, and Onondaga. The new cutters Ossipee and Tallapoosa will be prepared for service at the depot, where the necessary outfits already have been assembled.

The facilities of this depot have been extended to the floating equipment of the Public Health Service when requested.

Recommendations.

New vessels. For four years it has been regularly urged that new vessels be authorized, one for the Pacific coast and one for New York Harbor. The vessel for the Pacific coast is intended to replace the Perry, which was wrecked in the vicinity of the Pribilof Islands in 1910. During the past year the service sustained a further loss

in the Tahoma, which struck an uncharted reef south of the Aleutian Chain in September, 1914, while engaged in patrolling those waters in the enforcement of the international convention for the protection of the seal herds. The loss of these two vessels has seriously curtailed the activities of the Coast Guard on the Pacific coast, and the service is now obliged to undertake the enforcement of the sealing convention with but one cutter. It is therefore imperatively necessary that two new vessels be provided for this very important work, involving as it does the fulfillment of international obligations. Seven hundred thousand dollars should be provided for the construction of these two vessels.

The old cutter Manhattan now limps along with worn-out hull and machinery, performing in a very inefficient manner the important duty of regulating the anchorage of vessels in the greatest American seaport. Since first recommending the replacement of this antiquated craft, now over 42 years old, the cost of ships has so far advanced that it will be necessary to provide an appropriation of $125,000 instead of the original estimate of $110,000. Plans have already been prepared for this much-needed craft and it is hoped that the necessary appropriation will be forthcoming as early as practicable during the approaching session of Congress.

A new harbor cutter to replace the Hartley at San Francisco is urgently needed. That vessel was built in 1875 and has been in service for 40 years. Her wooden hull is rotten, her machinery antiquated and in very bad condition, requiring frequent repairs. The boat is not worth rebuilding. In April, 1914, without any accident of any kind, she began to fill at her dock and was quickly taken into shoal water near by, where she sank. The cutter was raised and repaired as well as the general bad condition of her hull would permit, but had this incident occurred while she was under way the lives of her crew and the customs inspectors who are obliged to use the vessel would have been seriously jeopardized. It is earnestly recommended that an appropriation of $50,000 be provided to build or purchase a suitable cutter to replace the Hartley.

The recommendation for a cruising cutter, to cost $350,000, for duty in the waters adjacent to the Panama Canal is renewed. Such a vessel, as before pointed out, would be of great assistance in aiding vessels which may be in distress, and in boarding them for the purpose of enforcing the navigation laws.

Rebuilding and repair of stations.-There are 279 stations in the Coast Guard, and of these there are 21 which should be rebuilt as soon as possible. The oldest of the 21 stations was built 43 years ago, the newest is 29 years old, and the average age of all is 37 years. These buildings, which are small frame structures, on wooden founda

tions, have passed the stage when they can be satisfactorily repaired, and are in a deplorable condition. They were erected in the early days when the means at the disposal of the service were smaller and the requirements less, and would not, if they could be repaired, afford adequate quarters for the men and apparatus now employed at the stations. Leaks in roofs and settlement due to failing foundations have opened up many of the buildings until they are not watertight, permitting rain, snow, and sand to penetrate the living quarters, rendering them insanitary, unsuitable, and a cause of complaint not only from the men who occupy them but from the neighboring property owners.

At 25 stations the boathouses or launchways are unsafe or in such condition as to seriously interfere with the rescue work required of the crews, and this condition is due to the fact that it has been necessary repeatedly to postpone repairs because of the lack of funds in the appropriation.

To effect the rebuilding and repairs most urgently needed, the sum of $235,000 was requested in the estimates submitted for the fiscal year 1916. Of this amount the last Congress provided but $135,000, and as the greater part of this sum is needed for launching facilities, the rebuilding of dilapidated stations must again be postponed. There can be no hesitancy in choosing between repairs of a general character and maintaining launchway facilities when funds are not available for both, for upon these latter facilities depend the prompt and efficient life-saving activities of the service.

To accomplish the rebuilding of, or extensive repairs to, the several stations which particularly require such attention, there should be provided for the fiscal year 1917 the sum of $300,000, and it may be added that the longer these stations are permitted to continue in a state of nonrepair the greater must be the ultimate expenditure in order to correct that condition.

Extending the active season.-Owing to the frequency of storms on the Atlantic coast during the months of May and August, and responding to the earnest solicitations of the maritime interests and the public press of the country, Congress by the act of August 3, 1894, authorized the extension of the so-called active season (when the stations are open and manned) to include those months. The active season as thus defined began on the 1st day of August and ended on the 31st day of May succeeding. This is the latest act regulating the opening and closing of Coast Guard stations, and is the law at this time. The above extension of the active season was accompanied by very gratifying results, and, for a number of years, generally served the purpose sought to be attained by the legislation. Since the introduction of motor-propelled boats, however, and their extensive use

both for commercial and pleasure purposes, conditions have so materially changed along our eastern seaboard as to suggest the advisability, if not the actual necessity, of a further lengthening of the active season to include the entire year.

The period during which the stations can not, under the law, be manned, namely, the months of June and July, witnesses the greatest activity among such craft, and this activity is attended by numerous accidents resulting in loss of life and property. This has been the subject of thoughtful attention for some years past, but the constantly increasing demands for funds for other necessary purposes · (coincident with the growth of the establishment), such as the replacing of old and inadequate station buildings with modern structures sufficient to accommodate the improved apparatus, and the introduction of motor-propelled life and surfboats, together with other new equipment, have deterred the department from approaching Congress for this much-needed legislation. It is evident that the time is not far distant when decisive action to that end will have to be taken, in order that the Coast Guard may be in position to extend its full protection to this class of maritime traffic, which is so rapidly increasing in volume.

Reference to another important consideration bearing upon this subject should not be omitted. The men at the stations, who are enlisted for a term of one year, are subjected to a compulsory leave of absence without pay during the two months the stations are closed, namely, June and July. They are therefore thrown out of regular employment. Such employment as they are usually able to find in these months, like boating, fishing, etc., is at its very height at the time they are recalled to duty, so that it is not possible for them to engage in any business except of the most temporary and shifting character-odd jobs, which yield them meager returns. They find, as a rule, even among the most frugal, that whatever savings they may have accumulated during 10 months of their enlistment year are used up during this period of enforced absence from duty.

To say the least, it is a matter of grave doubt whether any wellordered business establishment, aside from considerations affecting the personal welfare of its employees, could afford to pursue a like policy.

It is believed that the physical and mental character of the enlisted personnel, as well as the discipline of the service, could be maintained at a higher standard if the men could be assured of unbroken employment throughout the year for which they enlist, and that the efficiency and usefulness of the Coast Guard would be correspondingly promoted thereby.