When the demand for new and larger training stations and other shore establishments, which ran into hundreds of millions of dollars, made it impossible to secure fixed price contracts, the supervision of the work was so efficient in the few cost-plus contracts that the cost was less than if undertaken under contract at a fixed price. This was notably true of the two mammoth office buildings occupied by the Navy Department and certain divisions of the War Department. The story of these two buildings—the largest office structures in the world—is interesting. The need for more space by the two war departments of the Government was recognized, even after temporary modern structures had been completed. Congress was asked for relief, and plans were presented. The Navy urged upon the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee the construction of fire-proof concrete buildings instead of the flimsy wooden fire-traps built in the hurry of the outbreak of the war. The suggestion met with favor, and the Navy was authorized to proceed with the construction of both buildings, the one for the Army as well as the one for the Navy. Under the direction of Captain A. L. Parsons, U. S. N., these structures were completed within five months at a price lower than the sums estimated by most contractors. They stand today as the best arranged office buildings in Washington, a monument to naval business methods and construction efficiency and to the wisdom of Congress.
The vast shore construction program, involving more than $300,000,000, was carried out with the greatest energy and efficiency by the Bureau of Yards and Docks, under the direction, first, of Admiral F. R. Harris and, later, of Admiral Charles W. Parks. The civil engineers, permanent and reserve, who directed shore construction in this country and in Europe, more than measured up to war demands.
The Board of Compensation, of which Admiral Washington Capps was made chairman, rendered service beyond computation in protecting the government in all "Navy order" contracts. Millions of dollars were saved by the thoroughness and efficiency with which this important board performed its manifold and difficult duties.
The only criticism of the Navy voiced during the war was that it was too insistent upon holding on to peace-time competition and economies. One officer complained that I "held up an order for torpedoes." He was correct. It was held up long enough to secure a conference with the makers. By a few days' delay on one order, $5,000,000 was saved, and we always had an abundant supply. In one order for shells $200,000 was saved. Such instances could be multiplied many times. Insistence upon competition, where possible, and strict inspection in other cases, enabled the Navy to close the war with the assurance that naval expenditures were as free from extravagance as they were untainted by graft or favoritism.
CHAPTER XXXV
"SIRS, ALL IS WELL WITH THE FLEET"
TWO THOUSAND VESSELS IN SERVICE—200,000 MEN OVERSEAS OR TRANSPORTING TROOPS AND SUPPLIES ACROSS ATLANTIC—373 SHIPS, 81,000 OFFICERS AND MEN IN EUROPEAN FORCES—VISITS OF ROOSEVELT, BENSON, MAYO AND CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE—PERSHING'S TRIBUTE.
With more than two thousand vessels in service and 533,000 officers and men, the largest personnel ever possessed by any Navy, our naval operations in the World War literally belted the globe. Operating with the Allies from the Arctic to the Adriatic, from Corfu to the Azores, we manned and operated the vast fleet of American transports carrying troops, munitions and supplies across the Atlantic, and furnished man-of-war escort to protect them.
Patrolling our own coasts and the Western Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, our vessels also kept watch in South American waters and guarded the approaches to the Panama Canal. Our ships in South American waters, commanded by Admiral W. B. Caperton, coöperated with the naval forces of our sister republics and gave insurance against possible raiders and submarines. Ships under Caperton, the squadron under Anderson in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico, and Mayo's ships further north maintained the patrol throughout the war on this side of the Atlantic.