Throughout the entire ordeal--preparation, operation, demobilization--the Navy's business organization functioned in all its various branches with full one hundred per cent effectiveness. So much so, in fact, that an investigating sub-committee from the House Committee on Naval Affairs officially reported to Congress that the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts "has won and well deserves a nation-wide reputation for business efficiency." In appreciation of the service rendered by Admiral McGowan, Congress passed an act authorizing his retirement earlier than the usual time prescribed. This recognition was limited in its terms, applicable only to the Paymaster General, the Surgeon General and the Chief Naval Constructor. And no special distinction was ever more deserved. Sound business principles were adhered to when it became necessary to give navy orders and provide funds for enlargement or construction of plants. Reference has been made to the methods of securing munitions of all characters. When it was necessary to take over an optical plant, for example, expert ordnance officers carried on its operation without injury to the rights of its owners, and expert accountants kept all transactions in accordance with the most approved business practice. Most of the great construction was done under contract, as for example the giant armor plate and projectile plant at Charleston, W. Va., and the big dry-docks at Philadelphia and at Norfolk. [Illustration: A GENERAL VIEW OF BANTRY BAY At Berehaven, in Bantry Bay, the Americans maintained a large submarine base.] [Illustration: A CLOSE-UP VIEW OF AMERICAN "SUBS" AT BEREHAVEN]