Iron County register., 1891-11-12
The Scattering of the Ships.

On Sunday the Petrol left New York to
re- enforce the China station, the Yantic
with an unusually fine crew started from
Norfolk for the South Atlantic, and the
kearsarge steamed away on a winter S
cruise among the West Indies. To-day
the flagship Philadelphia will depart,
making first for st. Thomas, whence she
could keep on TO Chill. In about fort
mig hit the Concord's steering gear will be
repaired, and then she will start for the
Gulf, or for as much further as she needs
to go. Meanwhile the Bennington will
receive her powder and move South to-
ward the rendezvous for Admiral Walk
er's squadron, whittier the Chicago and
the Atlanta, as soon as their repairs are
complete, will follow her. The York
town and the Boston are speeding away for
Valparaiso as rapidly as possible, the for
mer being by this time south of Bahia
and the latter at s.. Lucia or south of it.
The Newark is at Boston, fitting out for
the South Atlantic.
The first point to note is the dispersion
ed around New York harbor and Long
Island Sound. The squadrons of Rear
Admiral Gherardi and Acting Rear Ad-
miral Walker have been gradually re-
duced by derachments for foreign service
and now, with only three ships remaining
in each, they themselves are starting
away the former to the West Indies and
the latter noninally to the Mississippi.
Only the Vesuvius is left of the recent
fleet. Her pneumatic tubes cannot yet be
called satisfactory.
The next point is that these various
preparations have bearing toward Chilli.
The Yorktown and Boston are going di-
rectly thither. The Newark and Yantic
are bound for Montevideo, which is more
than half way. The San Francisco,
lately at Callao. will have had meanwhile
chance to return to the port for which
she is named and be docked before pro-
ceeding to Valparaiso. Admiral Cher
ardi Philadelphia, Kearsarge, and Con-
cord, and Admiral Walkers Chicago.
Atlanta, and Bennington will be handy
in the Gulf of Mexico for sending to Chill
ian watess in case of need. The Charles
ton will soon be recrossing the Pacific
from China, and it is said that the shells
which has been shipped for her on the
Petrol were transferred to the Philadel-
phia.
Still an other noticeable point is the
hurry of the recent preparations. The
kearsarge, for EXAMPLE. was to have sail
ceived orders that started him the day
before. The Philadelphia was to have
sailed next Sunday, and instead she starts
to-day. Every where gain of even day
or two i'm getting away is eagerly made;
and Sd great is this contrast with the all
summers dalliance that it is naturally
ascribed TO the pending affair with Chill.
Of course it is lderstoOd that cruising
in the West Indies was the regular winter
work prescribed long ago for the North
Atlantic squadron, while cruising in our
Southern waters was the work assigned to
what remains of the Squadron of Evolu-
ton, Affairs in Hayti must be watched as
well as affairs in Chilli, and the need of a
navy coaling station in the iulf or the
Caribbean Sea has not been affected by the
check received in the negotiations for Mole
st. Nicolas. At any moment a revolu-
tion In Hayti may revive this question,
and in that case the passive policy adopted
by MIR. Bayard NAV not be repeated. The
cali of Port au-Prince.
But the manifest haste of preparation at
all the yards indicates that for the moment
the complications with Chill are upper
most in thought, and that the whole
available navy is practically mobilIzed
with reference, immediate or ultimate,
to those complications. Eleven fine
modern steel ships with the heavily armed
iron Miantonomoh to round out the dog.
en-, are moving or to move in various
but in such way as to be the
more ready to Unite if needed. They
carry in the aggregate more than hun
dred high-power, breech-loading guns
of from inches to 10 inches in calibre.
In this quiet but vigorous preparation to
enfore our moderote demands upon Chill
for the protection of Americon sailors is
the best guarantee that those demands
will be peaceably conceded.-N. Y. Sun.