The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-08-26
THE BIG WHITE SHIP.
Thousands Visit the Cruiser
Charleston.
HER MISSION ON PUGET SOUND
Admiral Brown viii Look Over the Sit
uation for Navy Yard site-Ad-
vantages Possessed Here.

The routine of duties as published in
Yesterdays Posi- ISTELLIGENCER was taken
up in the cruiser Charleston yesterday
morning. The MONDAYS washing could
be seen hanging from lines stretched over
the forward part of the upper deck. After
inspection at $50 o'clock, the time was de-
voted to cleaning the ship of the smoke
that still chung to the paint after the
cruise from Honolulu, touching up the
scars with fresh paint. and-to confess, 1t
Is almost plty-getting rid o. the dirt and
tobacco stains left by SUNDAYS visitors
from Seattle. The various classes and
squads were put through their drills in
making signals, handling the guns, and
performing all other duties incident to
their work on the ahip. A number of OFF,
GERS came ashore and went to the various
points of interest in the city.
At II o'clock the committee of the Cham
Der of commerce. consisting of General j.
B. Metcalfe. Mr.. E. F. Witiler and Mr.. F.
Boarman, went aboard the Charleston to
make arrangements for last evenings din
ner. They were received by Captain
Remey, who afterward took them TO Ad-
miral Browns room There the time and
other matters of detail were settled.
Iu talking of the object of his visit here
Admiral Brown said that he was directed
to look into the matter of a proposed navy
yard and dry dock somewhere along the
Pacific coast north of the upper line of
Cali ;ornia. Congress has appropriated
$4,000 for the expenses of commission
which is to be composed of naval officers,
engineers and civilians, rho shall inspect the
coast, including the waters of Puget sound
and Lake Washington. They shall select
place which, everything considered, is
the fittest for a naval station and dry dock;
of course number of things enter into the
consideration. the water, tides. lay of land,
accessibility to the ocean, and all implied
under that broad heading; strategic situa-
ton, nearness of supplies of all kinds, from
those for men to those for building and
eGuipping ships.
One point which Admiral Brown brought
out very strongly was that it was best to
have navy yard near a large city. The
Mare island yard had beed less efficient
because there was no large city close by.
Many reasons make the proximity of a city
desirable. In the first place, at such
point it is far easier to get tools, lumber,
iron, coal and other fuel, good clothing,
and, in short, everything else needed in
keeping navy yard running. Then, too,
no matter how well supplied yard may
be, there come times when extra provisions
of all sorts are needed at very short notice.
Then the remoteness of city is source
of inconvenience.
Another very important point is the fur
nishing of employment for men. In the
first place, work does not 60 steadily on in
navy yard. Men are taken up or laid off
according to the special needs of the mo-
ment. The appropriations are somewhat
irregular, and toward the end of fiscal
year the appropriation is likely to run out
and work stopped simply for lack of funds.
Added to all these causes, the changes in
the national administration usually turn
out good many and put a good many in.
Those thrown out of work for
any of these reasons hang around
the Mare island yard waiting for
a stray job or praying either for new APP
preparation or change OF administration.
It was once proposed to make the capital
OF California near Mare island, and indeed
the capital really was there for a year or
two, but now the whole place is simply
dependent on the work furnished by the
yard. When that is dull lot of men are
idle and growing demoralized. But on the
other hand, were Mare island near big
city. as the Brooklyn yard is, then all or
most of these men would be absorbed at
once in the population of the city and find
work there.
Still another consideration is the procur-
ing of mechanics. If piece of work comes
in that must be performed at once, extra
hands are needed without delay. If the
navy yard is far from a city, it is impossible
to get them without great trouble. But in
a city good workmen can always be in
duced to leave other steady employment
even for an uncertain term of navy work.
The day of eight hours is one of the things
which attracts them, and then, too, they
do not perhaps have to work quite so hard.
From all these considerations" said
Admiral Brown, lit is evident that if the
government does finally decide to build
navy yard north of the California line, pre-
ference will be given in choosing place, to
site near some one OF your large cities"
Puget sound had obvious advantages
which had been frequently been set forth.
There was good and safe harbor for the
largest vessels afioat. Besides that no
foreign man-of-war would dare penetrate
into the Sound. Your Cities" declared
the admiral, "are safe from foreign lombard
ment. No war ship would dare penetrate in
to such cul-de-sac. 1t would be her doom.
She might possibly run past Port Town
send, but running down here is out OF the
question. You could put torpedoes in
your channels, and in a few days, or hours,
turn your tugs and other boats into tor
pedo vessels. 1t is easy enough to manu-
facture torpedoes, for they are simple in
construction. The same is true of dyna-
mite guns. Your own machine shops
could turn them out fast enough to scare
an invader away from the Sound. Yes,
the Puget sound is as safe as any place in
the world"
In order to show Admiral Brown the
advantages offered by Seattle as site for
a navy yard, the Chamber of Commerce
committee has arranged to take him with
party of officers over Lake Washington
today. They will start at this morning
by Yesler avenue car. Then vessel
will take them around Lake Washington
10 Union bay, where they will walk across
the portage. Other boats will carry them
over Union lake, and so on down to
Salmon bay and the ship again. Members
of the committee explained yesterday the
surveys that had been made for a ship
canal through from the Sound TO Lake
Washington. and Admiral Brown said he
had read The engineers reports on the
subject. The committee also told him
about the resources near Lake Washing
ton in the way of coal, as well as iron ant
fine timber for ship building, should it be
possible TO get the navy yard either OF
the lake or on the Sound near here.
AT the cso-e OF The interview the COM
mittee, which had come aboard by the adj
n,iral's launch. was tsken ashore in the