Regulations for the government of the United States Navy (1865)
[<< - previous section] | [TOC] | [next section - >>]
Section 3.
Commanding Officer of a Navy Yard.
815 The Commanding Officer shall, under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy and heads of bureaus, exercise entire control over every department in the navy yard, and will be considered responsible for the due preservation of all buildings and stores contained therein, and of all vessels in ordinary or repairing, and for the judicious application of all labor.
816 In the event of his being temporarily away — absent either on leave or duty — or unable to perform his duties by illness or otherwise, the Line Officer belonging to his command, next to him in rank or seniority, is to act in his stead, but he shall not alter any of the regulations established for the yard.
817 He will cause the mechanics and others employed in the yard to be mustered conformably to the instructions which have been or may be given on the subject. He will be particularly careful that none but effective men are employed, and no more than are requisite, and that they are obtained on the most favorable terms to the United States consistent with the instructions he may receive from the Navy Department.
818 The hours of labor and the rate of wages of the employes in the navy yards shall conform, as nearly as is consistent with the public interest, with those of private establishments in the immediate vicinity of the respective yards, to be determined by the commandants of the navy yards, subject to the approval and revision of the Secretary of the Navy.
819 He is to approve all pay-rolls for labor, and bills for supplies furnished, upon being satisfied of their correctness and with the prices charged.
820 He shall see that all officers and other persons employed in the yard perform their duties in a proper manner, and that all reports and returns are made within the time and In the manner which may be directed by the Navy Department, and not allow any materials of any kind to be used except for public purposes, nor any mechanic, laborer, or other person, or horses or cattle, to work for any officer or others, directly or indirectly, during working hours.
821 He will cause all lights and fires on board vessels under his control to be extinguished as early in the evening as is directed to be done on board vessels in commission, and he will establish proper regulations to guard against accident from fire in the vessels under his charge, and in the dwellings and other buildings within the yard.
822 He will see that the fire-engines are at all times in good order, and will organize a fire department in the yard, and appoint proper fire companies, including hook-and-ladder, from the navy officers and the master and other workmen, excepting those who belong to or are members of fire companies without and in the vicinity of the yard ; and once in every month, before the time of breaking off work in the afternoon, the fire companies shall exercise one hour, or until the time to break off work arrives.
823 The refusal of any master or other workman in the yard to perform duty in the fire companies of the yard shall, unless he belongs to a fire company within and in the immediate vicinity of the yard, be considered good cause for his immediate dismissal from the Government employ ; or when, on any alarm of fire in the yard, any such person does not appear at his post, unless he can give satisfactory reason for his absence, he shall be considered equally liable to dismissal. All absentees at the exercise of the fire companies are to be reported to the Commandant.
824 The executive officer will be appointed to direct the fire department, and he will frequently examine the engines and all apparatus for subduing fires, and report at once any deficiencies, and once a month at least, in writing, their actual condition. The chief engineer of the yard, or other proper person, will take charge of and keep in order the engines, hose, and fire-buckets, and will report to the officer in command of the fire department any deficiencies, that they may be immediately remedied.
825 An alarm of fire in the yard will be given by the ringing of the yard and ships' bells, and the firing of a gun if it can be readily done, and the same alarm may be given for fires adjacent to or near the yard which may expose it to danger.
826 When he shall deem it prudent and advisable, he will direct the fire-engines and other apparatus to be seat to extinguish fires near to the yard, but they are to be kept under the control of their own officers, and must return to the yard immediately if so directed by the Commanding Officer.
827 He is not to authorize or allow any alterations in the prescribed arrangements or plans of the yard, nor the purchase of any surplus stores, nor the sale of any articles, unless specially directed or authorized by the Navy Department.
828 All vessels intended for in-shore service during the war must be provided with a substantial wire boarding netting, amply secured against all attempts to cut it away.
829 The password for the night, and the countersign, when he shall deem proper, may be issued by the Commanding Officer of the yard to such persons only as he may direct to be intrusted with them.
830 He shall draw up regulations for the police of the yard and transmit them to the Bureau of Yards and Docks for alteration or approval.
831 A regular journal shall be kept by the line officer second in rank after the executive officer, under the direction of the Commanding Officer, in which shall be entered the time when all officers report for duty at or shall be detached from the yard, when any vessel is received for repairs or put in commission, the number of mechanics and others employed, the arrival and departure of all vessels-of-war and of vessels with stores of any kind for the yard, the time when any vessel is taken into or removed from the dock, the state of the wind and weather, as well as the barometer and thermometer, and the other principal transactions of the yard.
832 He shall exercise no authority over, nor in any manner interfere with, vessels in commission when they are not placed under hi direction, unless in cases of urgent necessity, and should such cases occur, he shall give immediate information to the Secretary of the Navy.
833 When a vessel is directed to he placed in ordinary, or given into his charge for repair, he will cause her to be properly moored or otherwise secured, in which he is to be assisted by the officers and crew of the vessel, unless otherwise directed by the Department or the senior officer in command upon the station.
834 Although the control of the commander of a vessel is to cease when the vessel is placed in charge of the Commanding Officer of a yard for repairs or equipment, it is hereby made the duty of such commander to point out to the Commandant of the yard any defects or deficiencies which he may have discovered.
835 Whenever the Commander or other officers belonging to a vessel fitting out or undergoing repairs at a navy yard shall be directed to report to the Commanding Officer of the yard, such officers and any other persons belonging to the vessel may be employed in stowing or equipping her, or in preparing her equipments, whenever it can be done to advantage.
836 When a vessel in commission shall be placed in a proper situation to receive any repairs that may have been ordered, her officers and crew may, if he deems necessary, be removed to some other vessel or quarters until her repairs shall be completed, and strict care must be taken that such vessel or quarters, and all articles belonging to them, are at all times kept perfectly clean and in good order by the persons using them for the time being.
837 He will not permit any vessel in commission to be repaired at the yard under his command without the sanction of the Bureau of Construction, except in cases of emergency, and in all such urgent cases surveying officers shall be duly appointed, and a copy of their report shall be forwarded to said bureau without delay.
838 He shall report to the Bureau of Construction the time when he receives a vessel for repair, when the repairs are commenced, and the time when she is retained into the charge of the Commander, or when her repairs are completed.
839 When a vessel in ordinary is to be equipped for service the equipments shall be made under the direction of the Commanding Officer of the yard, conformably to general regulations, or to such orders as he may receive from the proper bureau or the Secretary of the Navy. The decks of all vessels below the gun-deck are to be covered with shellac, to avoid holy-stoning.
840 When a vessel shall be stowed and equipped under his direction, he shall take care that the officer who is appointed to take command shall be furnished with the drawings and plans referred to in paragraph 330, and with lists of all the stores and provisions which may have been put on board of her in the respective departments, and their cost, with the draught of water when the vessel is light and at other times.
841 When he shall be directed to build, equip, or repair any vessel, or to construct any building, or to make any improvement in the navy yard, he will direct an account to be opened against such vessel, building or improvement, debiting it with the number of days' work, and the cost of labor performed by each class of mechanics and laborers, and-the quantity and cost of the different material used, detailed reports of which are to be forwarded to the proper bureau when the objects are completed.
842 When requisitions duly approved are made upon the storekeeper for articles which are not in store, he will direct the storekeeper to make requisitions for such as he may deem necessary, upon the purchasing agent, in the case of open purchases, or upon the contractor when the required article is deliverable under contract, and will approve and forward them, that the articles may be promptly furnished.
843 He will keep a bill-book, in which shall be copied all bills for articles which may be delivered for any special object in the yard, and be approved by him, keeping each appropriation and object distinct from every other. He shall keep marginal duplicates of all requisitions upon the storekeeper which he may approve. He shall cause his clerks to examine the entries in the Storekeeper's returns, and compare them with the bill-books and marginal duplicate requisitions, and certify that they are correctly entered, before he approves the storekeeper's returns of receipts and expenditures 844 The officers of the Navy employed in navy yards are to have the charge of masting, rigging, stowing, arming, equipping, dismasting, and mooring all vessels at the yard ; and all persons employed for those purposes are to be under their general superintendence and direction, as may be ordered by the Commandant of the yard.
845 He will direct the constructor to furnish the clerk of the yard daily with lists of the distribution of the workmen employed under his superintendence ; the chief steam and civil Engineers, the same in reference to those employed under their direction ; and the master workmen not under the Constructor, Chief, or Civil Engineer, will report in the same manner as to those employed under them.
843 He will cause prudent scrutiny to be exercised over all articles and packages passing in or out of the y^rd ; and when articles or packages shall be suspected as improper to be passed, they are to be stopped and examined, and if found to be of improper character to be passed in or out of the yard, are to be detained and reported to the Commanding Officer.
847 He will impress upon mechanics and all others that it is one condition of their employment that they conform to the established regulations of the yard.
848 He will not allow smoking in the yard, except in the officers' quarters and their enclosures, and the quarters of the ordinary men.
849 He will cause the entering gates of the yard to be closed at sunset, and no visitors will be allowed after that time, unless to the officers attached to the yard, or persons on board the vessels alongside the yard.
850 No alterations must be made in the arrangements of the hull, the dimensions or arrangements of the masts, spars, boats, or other equipments of any vessel which may be ordered for repair or equipment, without the previous sanction of the Department ; but if, in the opinion of the Commanding Officer of the yard, any changes can be made to improve the qualities of a vessel, or increase the accommodation of her crew, he will make timely reports of the same to the proper bureau, with the reasons for recommending the alterations, and an estimate of the probable increase of expense which such alterations would occasion. The hatches over the engine-room and passages to it are not to be kept bright nor scrubbed, and ash wood must not be used in the coamings, but all such are to be painted.
851 When a vessel is transferred to the Commandant of a yard at the expiration of a cruise, he will take care that all the stores and outfits in the several departments are duly surveyed and delivered into the charge of the proper officers ; he will use every precaution to prevent losses in the transfer from the ship to the storehouses, and will require all officers in charge of stores to superintend the removal.
852 When the Commandant, Executive Officer, and two Lieutenants reside within a navy yard, he will not permit the yard to be left without the presence of two of said officers.
853 If there are fewer than four of said officers, and not less than two of them reside in the yard, he will not permit the yard to be left without the presence of one of them.
[<< - previous section] | [TOC] | [next section - >>]
Tweet