New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-08-24
WORK IN THE NAVY YARD.
CHANGES AND APPOINTMENTS MADE.
THE EXPRESSIONS USED CONCERNING THE
SPEED OF wARsHIPS-THB HARMONY
ON BOARD THE YANTIC.


SPEED OF wARsHIps-THB HARMONY
ON BOARD THE YANTIo.
The departure of the Baltimore for Sweden yes
,erday with the body of Captain Ericsson on board
will make but little difference in the things Of
interest at the Navy Yard. For tho Philadelphia,
which looks practically the same as the Bald-
morc is there, and other vessels, both modern and
ancient, will be there. With the arrival and de-
parture of the various vessels, the fitting Of some
for sea and the repairing of others, last week was
q busy one at the Navy Yard; all through the
week there were large number Of visitors in the
yard and on the different vessels there. There
were also number of visitors in the yard yes
terday morning, who watched the forming Of the
battalion Of marines collected from the various
ships now in this station, In and near Main-st.
The new cruiser Baltimore came to the Navy
Yard about a week ago. While she was in the
yard she received some repairs and was prepared
for her mission of carrying the body OF Captain
Ericsson to Sweden When she arrived In the yard
she was the flagship of the North Atlantic Squad
ron. but during the week Admiral Gherardi trans
ferred his flag to the Philadelphia, which is now
being fitted out at the Navy Yard.
Several changes which were made in tile en-
pinecrs' department of the Baltimore after She
returned here from Boston led to much specnla-
tion and the condition of the engines as IL was
found while she was at the Navy Yard resulted In
much criticism 1t was found necessary after the
vessel was moOrcd alongside OF the dock TO send
mechanics from the shops to put new packing III
the stuffing-bo and other joints, and 10 40
much other work that is usually done by the
engineers force on board Of the ship IL is also
declared that the general condition OF the ma
,hinery showed the vessel to be in greater need
# rcpair than was to have been expected at the
same time il must be remembered that the Baltl-
more is of the class OF new ships which cannot
depend upon sailpower. as the older ships OF me
Navy can in going from port to port, and that the
Baltimore has been in almost continuous active ser
y;cc in the last seven months, with little time to
overhaul the engines and boilers as thoroughly as
might be necessary 1t must also be remembered
that in the last few years the system has been
70 mt machinists in charge of the engines when
rrnn;nc and TO have only enough engineers on
I'd IN sunervsc the general affairs OF the &C.
nortmcrt This system has been deprecated by
,ho nrocticol engineers as expensive and unre-
Uob,e The condition of the machinery on the
baltimore and the employment Of mechanics from
,horc 70 do work upon her preparatory 10 going
70 Sweden are charged as due to the iact tha' 'he
,ompctent force on the ship was insu'hcleh'' All
,ticial inquiry is to be made into the matter
An inonirv is also to he made IN the platter
,f the collision between the Baltimore anu 'nc
Dolpsiu at Bar IIarbor on August 4, when 'ne
Iatter's stcrn-plates were severely ueh'cu' n"
-, Cbsrardi SUSPENDED from duty Chief
rs~i,oo,p p II Wharton and Passed Assistant
Fncncer Charles p. Howell, holding then' "
H.. Tho latter was on watch when the signal
Hacl, the engines" was given. and says that he
had lust left the engine levers to look al'ei
leak in one of the steam-pipes, and III responding
IN the signal he was confused for the moment "
the change in his surroundings, and turned Uic
levers the wrong way. The result was that the
vcssel continued ahead at full speed, causing Cne
collision. i,
Chief Engineer Wharton was al'er"oru w,
torhed and sent 10 the Pensacola IN place OF Nniei
Engineer c. f. De Vain, who relieved him. al"
Lieutenant Howell was restored to duty on "euiiee-
day. II is said that Rear Admiral Bancroft Cher
arCl: had even appointed members for the court
which was 10 try the charges against Lieutenant
IIo,veu and had set the day but that on learn
inc the full particulars Of the case, he decideo
that il would not be necessary to convene court
which would probably find him not suii'E oi '',e
chorce of negligence inasmuch as there was much
testimony 70 prove that the mistake OF turning
the lover the wrong way was maze because Alc"-
tenant Howell was overzealous IN his dutS' Inv
~ Dcn,r,mcnt is said 10 be satisfied with the
renort of the accident which Mr. HoweH gave
Now Chief Engineer Wharton has been placed Oh
waiting orders, Chief Engineer Elijah Laws Delhg
ordered TO the Pensacola in his stead ana II Is
believed that the inquiry into these matters VIII
Ia made at once Assistant Engineer Scion
Arnold of the Baltimore, also sent III his fesigh"
ton. was detached, and Assistant Engineer GEORGE
IN ic MIA
One of the officers of the Dolphin, in speaking
~ the collision. said "You cannot conceive what
our feelings were when saw the Baltimore
hearing for us at full speed We were all on
deck waiting for the Baltimore to pass alongside
so that we might give the honors TO Rear Admiral
Gherardi but seeing that the collision was inevlt-
able-and we were at anchor-the executive ofiicer
and everybody else forgot all about the Admiral
in anticipation of our ship going TO the bottom
the next minute" The Dolphin will probably be
nut into the drydock at the Navy Yard this week
to have the amount of damage ascertained and
the plates put into good shape again
letter sent to this office asks What is the
meaning Of the different phrases regarding speed
of warships Pr Ordinary speed" means one-fifth
of the specified power with natural draft; with
DISPATCH" means double the ordinary speed; and
with all dispatch means that speed which can
be attained with the engines WoTKeu aU tie hghes'
power with natural draft
The final report of the board Of naval engineer
experts on the performance OF the machinery OF
the philadelphia ker trial trip has been made 10
the Navy Department. comparison of the data
with corresponding results for the Baltimorc's
second trial shows that the boilers OF the Philadc'-
phia have more heating surface, but that they
developed about 200 less horsepower If they
had been worked 10 their full capacity there is
doubt that they would have shown much better
results. At that time, however, the engines were
giving as many revolutions per minute as it was
safe to make without heating the journals, and
consequently they were not driven foster II is
probable that the pitch of the screws Of the Phia-
delphia will be about twenty-onc feet, and that
the same number OF revolutions can be main