New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-09-01
WORK AT THE NAVY YARD.
SECRETARY TRACY MAKES HIS LONG
EXPECTED VISIT.
sEpAIRs TO THE BosToN-THE LANCASTER TO
BE PUT OUT OF coMMIssIoN-THE FITTINGS


BE PUT OUT OF coMMIssIoN-THE FITTINGS
OF THE cHICAGo-oTHER TOPICS.
The longexpected visit of General b. F. Tracy,
the Secretary of the Navy, TO the Navy Yard was
made Yesterday and he at once went TO work to
familiarize himself with all that was being done
He entered the yard about o'clock, and remained
here for several hours In company with Commo-
aore Ramsay. the commandant of the yard, he
went TO the dry-dOck, in which is the cruiser Bos-
ten, which was seriously injured in her recent
trial in Narragansett Gay. Nearly all OF the
broken frames have been removed, ana the work
Of repairing her bottom is well begun Inc
BoSton's injuries are serious than was AT liIst
supposed. 1t will be necessary TO repair fourteen
frames one of which is a longitudinal one. VI
these fourteen frames, eight are broken while the
Others are seriously injured The riveting OF the
frames and plates when thy are in place is the
hardest and most tedious job to be done. as the
worlmen will be obliged to work in con-
tGctcd space, lying fiat upon their backs
and il will be three or four
weeks before the vessel is again ready TO leave
the dock When Secretary Tracy returned from
his visit to the Boston, lie went TO Commodore
Ramsay's Office, where he remained for over an
hour in consultation with the various heads Of
departments
The Lancaster which a few weeks ago returned
from a cruise in European waters, had not been
to this country for over eight years This Is the
fourth wooden vessel which in the course OF
few months has been returned home, dismantlcd
robbed of officers and crew. and put out of CON-
mission. The Essex, the Brooklyn, and the Gum
ncbaug, have in tu.n been put out OF commission
and now the Lancaster is being rapidly made
ready to relnquish, though probably only tenn
porarily the service of Uncle Sam The day
on which il has been decided TO put her out
Of commission is Saturday September 7. one OF
her officers said yesterday that she was III
seaworthy condition, with the exception of her
boilers, and that these were so thin
that on the homcward voyage only
seven pounds of steam could be carried.
When the vessel goes out OF commission the
majority Of The officers VIII probably be put on
waiting orders bat orders have been received Tor
Lieutenant c. j. Bou,h to report for duty IN
he Ordnance Bureau at Washington, and Lieu
tenant C. G. Cornwall is ordered to duty on the
receivmg-ship Wabash, at Boston.
II was expected that the Chicago would leave
the yard Oh Tuesday morning and proceed to New
port but it is probable that she will remain here
for several DAYS longer. The boat davitS, which
have been source of trouble, are not yet III good
working ORDER although this is the fourth or fifth
lime that they have been altered. One OF the
defects of the fittings of the Chicago was the en-
enactment upon the quarters for the junior oili-
GERS, known as The steerage, term that is OBJ
noXiOus 10 the service. and which lmulles ina it
is part of the ship like that on merchant vessel
only good enough for inImig grants. SO serious
was this cncroachment that II required an en-
pendture OF small amount to remedy IT, One
feature Of the designs of the new ships OF the
Navy is the unequal allotment of room, and III
would seem TO merit the attention OF Congress.
The cruiser Atlanta is TO make dock Tlal at
the yard tomorrow. In her recent trial al
Newport a crankpin heated, and il is desired 10
see that the machinery is in perfect working order
before she resume thcs' tactical trials
Some OF the anti Adm nstratlon newspapers have
been liberal in their criticisms Of Secretary Tracy
order TO send the Brooklyn TO Newport for repairs
intimating that il had political bearing The
facts are that the work the new armored cruiser
Maine, on the monitors Miantonomah ana PuIlc'l,
on the Yantic and the Essex. and the unexpected
work on the Boston, has concentrated too much
work in one Navy Yard 70 warrant good results.
1t is probable Also that the Lancaster may he sent
TO some other Navy Yard TO be repaired 50 that
the work may be more cGutably distributed than
was done by Secretary Whitney a year ago. when
he brought the entire North Atlantic Squadron 10
the Ncw-lork Navy Yard TO be repaired
Favorable comment has been made by several
neyyspapers on the photograph on the Hamburg
steamship Columbia. This is ingenious device
constructed on the bridge, by which the pilot or
navigator may at any time observe whether the
engines are in operation and whether they are
going ahead or reversing. II is remarKaole piece
of mechanism, and is acted upon by current
Of air from blower connected with the main
engine Its description closely comedies with the
rheumatic indicator invented by Passed Assistant
Engineer George W. Baird, of the Navy, and
which has been successfully applied TO many OF
the Naval vessels