, 1889-11-14

whole system of waters from Cape
FIattery to Olympia, having the most
| convenient anchorage, over the largest
area, from ) II IS fathOms good hold.
/ ing ground. This is no idle boast, as
any one can see by examining tho
charts of the L. =. coast survey on
which all the soundin"s are officially
and accurately marked
This is the port of entr; and it is
here that vessels coming from sea in
distress would wish to receive the ben
etits OF Il dry dock. For if the govern
ment constructs.a dry dock it's intended
that it may be used for repairs of mer.
chant vessels when not in Use by the
navy, and the idea of naval vessels 90
! ing to Port Orchard and working
through Agate Pass or past Roint
Glover III a dense fog is assuming that
naval officers will take unnecessary
risks, and should the squadron be
anchored i'll Port Orchard because il
would be 4 safe place for them would
be to bottle them up as Ben Butler
WAS, or shut them up tight like so many
rats iii Il trap. Even the commission
itself reluctantly agrees with us, for on
page Is of their report they say. "a
navy yard may he too far from the
| front as well rs to near to it. In case
of injuries requiring perhaps but Il
| = t1 fhnGa oh oh II
not he compelled to 60 100 miles to a
yard when an equally good situation
| for it can be found mt half the distance" "
| Now if our naval vessels receive injur-
enemies, it is right 10 assume that such
/ injuries will he received either on the
ocean or straits and not in the snug
| harbor of Port Orchard; and as Port
| Townsend is the first harbor inside the
line of proposed fortification 1t is here
where dry dock should be placed To
render succor to disabled vessels.
When the government proposes to
build navy yard with the necessary
plant for constructing war ships, with
foundries and machine shops, we have
no objection to Port Orchard, but we
insist that when naval station only
is to be built, consisting of dry dock
and warehouses for marine stores that
! Port Townsend is the best and most
suitable location, and we do not doubt
for an instant that when congress
meets and the question is fully dis
cussed, that Port Townsend will get
the naval station even if at some future
time Port Orchard gets the navy yard
All that Port Townsend now must dc
is to work with will through its
Chamber of Commerce. Then the sub.
ject properly brought before the naval
committee of congress, and there is nc
doubt of the result.
The reports of the naval commission
and even of the secretary of the navy
are but advisory. 1t is congress who
senators and representatives should bC
intelligently informed of the whole
subject by the Chamber of Commerce
so that they may act in accord with
those committees of the senate who
have been hero and have intimated
their preference for Port Townsend fol
the naval station.
If our people can understand.that the
Hoar Committee on relations with
Canada, the Dawes Committee on In.
dian affairs in Alaska, and the recent
Frye Committee on Railroads, all had
the subject of a naval station under
consideration, and that they did not
confound the two questions of navy
yard and naval station, and that Port
Townsend was favored by all of these
committees, the way seems clear tC
solve the problem to our satisfaction
But to do this we must work to over
come the crude sophistries that have
been advanced about fresh water
cleaning vessel bottoms of marine
growth. Fresh water will kill ma
rine animals and vegetables, but al
vessels, whether wood or iron, must gC
into dry dock to be scraped ant
painted, as it requires force to remove
barnacles The dry dock should III
here whether it be n fioatiug dock or al
eXcavated deck; we simply assert anC
: can prove our assertion that Por
Townsend is the place for the rava
station