Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-17
ABLE SEAMEN WANTED
Government officials Need Eleven
Thousand Men at Once
TO FULLY NAN THE WARSHIPS.
One officer Believes Congress Will Build
100 New Vessels
MOST OF THE SAILORS ARE YANKEES

Additional men are needed for the United
States Navy. The force is inadequate to
properly man the many vessels upon the
bosom of the great seas, and as a result the
service is not what it should be, considering
the population and the success of the United
States as nation"
Such was the statement made by A. c.
Buell., of Philadelphia, at the Duquesne
Hotel yesterday. The gentleman is one of
the inspectors of the armor of the new war
vessels being built by Carnegie and Cramp
& Son, of Philadelphia. Continuing, Mr.
Buell. said Congress was responsible for the
present state of affairs in the navy by limit
ing the annual appropriations to such a
figure that there is no opportunity given to
the recruiting officers to properly man the
vessels.
ELEVEN thousand men will be needed, l"
continued Inspector Buell., "by the time
the new vessels are completed, and as that
period is but year or two away, the Con-
gressional appropriations should be in
creased at once"
'1n case of actual necessity, how many
men could be secured for the navy?"
Fifty thousand men in so days time, )"
answered the Inspector. Recruiting sta
tions would be established at all places of
any size, and within very short time the
forces would be completed"
Nearly All the Sailors Are YANKEES.
"At present the navy is made up of New
Englanders, men who have been raised
within the sight and sound of the ocean,
ard the iniander, who knows but little of
sea-faring life, is an unknown quantity. The
days are not as they used to be, when boys
ran away from home to 60 to sea 1t is not
q stab at the sensational youth of yesterday,
but simply shows that the tendency of the
youth of to-day is not directed seaward.
But this L think would change if the sea
was advertised more, and the youth of the
country heard more about it,.
'How is the work on the armor plates
progressing?'
VERY tavorably: indeed, it is as well as
can be expected. The plans for the greatest
plates have been changed so that all the i'm
possible mechanical work has been elimin-
ated, and nothing is to be done that is very
greatly out of the ordinary channels of
work. The 1S-inch plates, which were
originally intended to have longitudinal
as well as a parallel curve, will have but the
Immense Size of The Plates.
''The dimensions of these plates are 16
feet long, feet inches wide and at the
top Is inches in thickness This thickness
extends to about midway between the top
and bottom, when it begins to taper slightly
in a bevel SO that it is but eight inches in
thickness at the bottom. These plates will
weigh when finished 35.S tons and the ingot
from which each one is made will weigh 20
tons The manufacturers are not vet pre-
pared to start upon these enormous plates,
but will be within short time
"Will Congress order any more vessels?"
81 think there will be a hundred new
style vessels built before Congress calls a
halt upon the present good work. New
war vessels are sadly needed, and the good
thing about it is that everyone realizes the
necessity"
"How many vessels will be in service in
times of peace after the navy is built up?"
There will be but twenty-five needed"
replied the Inspector, there is not any great
need of war vessels in time of peace, but
everything is kept in readiness for instant
work. The system of the United States
Government is admirable even though the
service is not as complete as it should be by
any means. but withal, affairs look more
propitious and within another decade the
conditions will be excellent"