Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1885-04-25
THE NAVY AS IT STANDS
HOW OUR MARITIME GROWTH HAS
BEEN HAMPERED AT HOME.
Promotion and . Civil Service Victory.
Cleveland the Guest Of tho Veterans.
Visiting GeorKians -Bayard and
tho Hayden Minister.

WASHINGTON, April 81. The orders issued
by Secretary Whitney for making an inven-
tory OF government property at the Brooklyn
yard indicate purpose to begin the new
naval administration by taking an account
Of stock in order to see what there is to work
with. Meanwhile the new register gives q toll
erably clear idea Of the state to which the
navy has been reduced in number and size OF
vessels
There are Just thirty-1ve serviceable steam
cruising vessels In the United States navy.
The largest of these, the Tennessee, is Of 4, $40
tons' displacement; three others have dis
placement of above 5000 tons; eight others
have upward Of 1900 tons displacement, and
the remaining twenty three run downward
from 300 tons to 400 This showing does
not improve on observing that the vessels are
ali wooden except five Of the smallest, which
average four or five hundred tons each and
are iron.
There are, OF course, many more vessels in
the navy, including dozen wooden sailing
vessels, some of them quite roomy, which
serve very well as training or school ships,
receiving ships, and store ships. There are
fifteen tugs, which do good service at the
yards, and of which two-thirds are iron,
adorned by delicate faminine names like
Nellie and Nina, or botanical ones like
Catalpa and Mayhower. There are fourteen
mail ironclads of the Passaic and Canonicus
classes, relics Of the war, all Of them requir-
ing repairs to make them serviceable. There
ire the five double-turreted monitors, which
congress at its last session refused to COM
plete. There are three wooden first-rates,
he Franklin. Wabash, and Minnesota, the
irst two Of which are only Of use as receiv-
fta
hip Their withdrawal from sea service has
been officially recommended There is the
New York, still ON the stocks, and sound in
iull, but congress last winter refused to
complete her because she would be so slow as
70 be Of little value. Finally, there is the
rhetis, one Of the survivors Of the Greedy re-
ief expedition, and the two torpedo rams of
which one is undergoing alterations and the
,ther is out OF commission.
Thus an aggregate Of floating craft, in
various stages Of construction or dilapida-
lion, could be reckoned up for the navy.
But the only serviceable cruising vessels are
the thirty-fve first mentioned, and to get
that number we must include the flshed-up
Tallapoosa and her sister paddlewheelers
1t will be seen, therefore, how great an adj
iition to the navy is contemplated by the
legislature already provided 1t will COM
prise. to begin with, If the vessels are ac-
,epted, four steel cruisers, OF which two, the
Boston and the Atlanta, win have 5000 tons
displacement each, and the Chicago 800.
In battery power the new vessels are to be
Is far beyond the best existing cruisers in
she navy as they ought to be in other re-
pects. Congress at the last Sc ssion made
further provision for the construction OF
Two cruisers Of not more than 5000 nor less
than 900 tons displacement each, heavily
armed gunboat of about 1000 tons, and
light gunboat Of about 500 tons These yes
sels are all to have s'the highest attainable
peed," and great battery power.
Secretary Manning has promoted 2. NJ
Lawrence, Of the first controllers office, to be
chief of q division Of that Office, vice J. r.
Garrison, promoted to be deputy controller.
This is regarded by many as signal civil
service victory. Mr.. Lawrence has been a
clerk in the treasury department for twenty