The morning news., 1891-11-29

TO Havana When the Atlanta does not
sail az O'Clock on Tuesday the dock laborer
is nothing daunted. His tone Of
authority is quite as emphatic on the day
following.
The sergeant of the marines does not
know as much as the dock laborer, but he
knows a good deal. His gossip has the
flavor of coming direct from the navy de-
partment and not y the vulgar channels Of
the public telegraph. One Of the clerks In
the executive building also has informa-
ton, not so definite, indeed, as that of the
sergeant, but still authentic, as he will
claim with an air of self-possessed knowl-
edge. By the time you get to the command
ants secretary, information begins TO get
scarce. And the cOmmandant himself is
the most genially uninformed being on the
continent. The higher your Office the less
you know.
But by the aid Of certain statements which
the commandnt agrees not to deny, and
certain diluted intelligence CLEANED from
officials less completely incrusted by official
reserve, the press and the public do get con-
siderable information from the bustling New
York yard. And then the yard does good
deal Of talking for itself. Since the launch
ing Of the Maine work has been going along
at pretty healthy pace. The new cruiser is
beginning to take form. It will be ready for
launching before many months. These en-
terprises kept the yard in active shape. But
at the time Of the news from Chile every
thing took on different cast. The force
was increased, and a picturesque hustle
began to characterize this arena of naval
progress. On the cruisers that were being
prepared for immediate departure men
| worked night and day. Workers in iron
| and steel were followed by men with paint
pots, who lost no time in coating the com
pleted surfaces Coaling squads scurried
here and there, and the clatter of ton after
ton of fuel as it glided down the iron chutes
became a familiar sound. Powder and
| ammunition, requiring a more delicate
handling. was packed into the recesses of
eager war ships.
The subsidence of the more threatened
signs of war has not diminished the ener-
getic preparations 1t seems to have been
the theory that every available ship should
be fully equipped, and one by one the ves-
sells in the New York waters have been pre-
pared, have dropped down the bay ready
for more specific sailing orders, or being
supplied with such sailing orders have
steamed away through Sandy Hook.
Within the past four or five days four
cruisers hav been cleared.
At the head of the list is the elegant and
popular Chicago, a ship of the first class
examined her from stem to stern before she
left the dock, and very trim and warlike
she looked. Everything that carried paint
was cleaning white. The brass shone with
fine luster. The rified cannon visible
through the white ports was jet black. The
deck rope was coiled in circles, IN ovals and
in artistic SIS. The seamen were impatiently
striding the deck when they were not occu-
pied in giving finishing touches to little de-
tails. The hilts of the sabers in the port
racks seemed to invite valorous hand. The
bulwark gatlings contrasted with the black
noses OF the cannon.
A. l.
fore the Atlanta, which is a cruiser of the
second class. The Atlanta has a bristling
and plucky appearance. Some of the new
tangled guns, long and threatening, but not
much bigger around than an old-fashioned
musket, have a toy-like effect. When |
visited the little snorter she was taking on
powder. Her coal aud other supplies were
already on board and all hands were either
on duty or within easy call. Some of the
officers who were not engaged In directing
matters between decks we're receiving a
visit from party Of ladies on the forward
deck. Naval officers are notorious for their
habit OF marrying pretty women, and the
bevy of visiting wives and presumable
cousins and aunts. on the forward deck Of
the Atlanta, was quite in conformity with
the interesting traditions.
The Concord and the Bennington have
only just been cleared. Exactly where
they are going is, of course, as much a mys.
tery-or was at the time of my last inquir-
ies-as the destination of their sister ships
The Concord and Bennington are sister
ships in a special sense, for they are of the
one design, being built from the same spe-
ciffcations. In fact, pictures Of one ship
pass current for pictures Of the other, ex-
cepting, naturally, among naval men, who
have certain little mannerisms of rig to
help them in the Identification. The twin
ships, beautiful in their symmetrical per-
fection, were made ready at about the
same time, the Bennington having some
slight after delay in securing complete
crew. s,l.,i. :
Getting crews has not been a ser ious diff
Guilty, but it has been a matter requiring
some activity on the part of the recruiting
officers.
Over near the repair shops floats that
bantam monitor, the Miantonomah, upon
whose surface hammers have been clatter-
ing at lively rate. The Miantono nah
represents the latest stage of our evolution
in battle ships. Her turrets are plated with
1116 inches Of compound armor. In the
after turret are mounted two 10-iuch high
power rifles, aud two more are being placed
in the forward turret. The military mast
is being prepared for the mounting of two
guns aloft. When all the weights are ON
board as they will be within o. week or
two, the monitor deck will not be more than
twenty-fOur inches above the water line.
Sea and shell may play as they like over
her decks. She is probably an able defense
ship, but she is slow, and would be a long
| time getting to Valparaiso.
The Terror, sister monitor. is in less
advanced state. She could not be made
ready for sea in less than two months. The
rebuilding Of such vessel of war implies
| an immense amount Of expensive labor.
The Puritan, which will draw only eigh-
| teen feet of water, will have In place of
turrets two barrettes over which the
shielded guns will fire. The shells thrown
| by these guns will weigh 800 pounds. In
the superstructure between the two bar
rettes there will be two 4-inch guns.
But the Terror and Puritan are not to be
counted upon for any war that might begin
now. The available force on the Atlantic
coast now consists Of the Chicago, Newark,
Atlanta, bennington, Concord, Kearsarge
and Miantonomah. This is a pretty snug
list. And we have now at or near Valpa-
raiso the Baltimore. Boston. San Francisco,
and Yorktown. VICTOR SIMS,
"JACK THE KISSBR."
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