The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-22
THE DOLPHIN REPORT.
Merely Dispute Between the Advisory Board
and the New Commission.

Washington Special.
The opinion in naval circles respecting the
Dolphin report, is that the whole matter has SIM
ply resolved itself into a dispute between the
members of the advisory board and the last
commission appointed to supervise the tests of
the new vessel. The members of the advisory
board will not of course, say anything until
they are so requested by the Secretary of the
Navy. Their friends, however, and they have
number, aver that only one side of the story
has been allowed to 90 to the public. There are
two sides to every story and in this instance
only one has been told. 1t is question as to
whether or not board of skilled officers and ex-
perts, devoting much labor and pains in perfect
ing the plans for the vessel, is wholly wrong,
and a board appointed to merely look the
vessel over is correct in every par
ticular. 1t is understood that the
report of the board of revision was inspired by
Mr.. Winters, the civilian member who is noted
for building freight boats. With him speed is
nothing and strength is everything. The Dol
phin's weight is now 10 per cent. of her dis
placement and yet she is far more strongly
built than the new dispatch boat for the British
navy, the Iris, which weighs 3S per cent of her
displacement. To increase the weight of the
Dolphin would be to make necessary additional
power to make her ran AS she is, the advisory
come up to every requirement of the contract.
1t was stipulated that she should yield 2 800
cumulated horse power, with not less than / 500
tons. displacement. Nothing is said in the con-
tract about the rate of speed she was to make,
though members of the advisory board ad
mitted that she would make fifteen knots an
hour. The report of the board of re-
vision is criticised because the members,
not apparently distinguishing between vibration
from weak construction and vibration from
natural causes, take the whole vibration as
evidence of weakness They ignore the fact
that to make her seaworthy it would not do to
have her too stiffiy constructed What the re-
port says about ballast is based entirely upon
false assumptions When the Iris was tested for
the British navy several riyets were stripped and
plates were buckled, but there was not single
instance of this in the Of the Dolphin. What
the advisory board would like to have done
would be to test the Dolphin by a a trip at sea in
weather calculated to fully test her powers.
They feel sure that she would come up to every
requirement She will maintain an average rate
| of fifteen knots an hour for years without re-
sort TO the artificial blower arrangement brought
to so so high state OF perfection in the English
navy for the purpose of increasing a vessels
power Such arrangements are severe strains
upon the vessels boilers, is proven by the case
of the Esmeralda, the famous Chilian war vessel.
which, once so fast because of the application of
| this blower arrangement, cannot compare
with the Dolphin. The friends of the advisory
board are confident that if given opportunity,
they will be able to refu.e the statement OF the
| board of revision. The question is now as TO
whether or not the Secretary of the Navy will
| continue to suppress the report of the advisory
board and allow OILY one side of the story to DO
| given to the world Just to make little political
capital The advisory board would like to let
| the question be considered as to whether or not
the board Of revision has fully organized aud.