New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1893-11-05
AFFAIRS AT THE NAVY YARD
THE yrw.yORK NOT YET ORDERED TO
BRAZILIAN WATERS.
x,v,1, BOARD TO INVESTIGATE THE GUN
,o,rs-c,NpfDATEs FOR EEAE-ADMIEAL
sTAyToN's PLACE-THE AP'

sTANToNs PLACE-IHh Az
PRENTICE SYSTEM.
.r,,o ronorts and rumors which have been In
,,,o,ion during the last few days IN regard 10
adna the cruiser New-iorK 10 brazil nave
! ",,ood no excitement In the Navy Yard.
ppohabv the naval officers take less IN
, in the matter and are less aroused
n II than thousands OF people VINO are
" 80 vov connected with the Navy. ~ the ship
Ill, NO ordered TO sail in few hours time. the
ulcers on her would simply co. mat Is IN the reg
Ior line of their duty-they are iiaDe at any ume
q, no ordered to go anywhere Inc o"ceis III the
vord have no official knowledge to excite them.
for they get 1lost of their Information III reearu
/ IN the ship from the newspapers
w.. 8, zoos no, now seem probable that the New
VII will go to Brazil unless something should hap
men TO make her presence there necessity. AZ Is
sod that the order which she mas IL 10 hh'sh her
work and then be ready to sail within twehty-four
/ ,ours This is natural. When the work on the
hin is finished II Is to be expected that she VIII
-, ordered 10 some squadron. and she should be
| II, IN 90 soon after she has received the order.
The lob of cauking her decks mas been pes"" anu
| that of making some changes IN her spo''o"' ''''
baen ordered; the doors are TO De put o" h'hSeo'
! r,hercas they now have TO be taken out entirey
! % make an opening. The ordnance work still con-
| ,ir,es and probably two weeks at least VIII be
| o,irod IN finish all of the work. This does not
| ,ook much like an expectation of sudden ORDERS
IN go to Brazil In fact, 1t Is SAID that t"e so'e'
70 that effect due to n MISUNDERSTANDING Vi
! the order which the Navy Department sent out
M changes have as yet been ordered IN the h''nSs
= A.. ror. yunboat Machias to overcome her top
| hoo viness' The vessel lies in the Navy fard
awaiting the decision of the Board, but peiore sne
calls away she probably Will be maze as nearly
correct and stable as Is possible. The case OF the
Machias has brought up several Others ana IL may
/ no that a general defect Of the new boats VIII De
7 ia
has been found TO have too low metacentrc height
o,d |, 10 fear red that the trouble exists III the
construction of the Castine Cincinnati ha'es'' Mar
blehead and Montgomery. In order that 'he "hoie
subject may have thorough examination speciai
hoard has been appointed to investsats IT, lh's
hoard consists Of Commodore John O. walker. zap
tain T. O. Matthews. Chief Engineer EDWARD
I,,rra. Chief Enginee~ Herschel Man, Naval con-
s,ruc,or T. /, Fernald Naval Constructor r. T..
Howles and Assistant Naval Constructor W. Il.
, Cams II viii, examine the vessels men,oHeu anu
also several others it is said The trouble on tnc
ships is though, be due to miscalculations Oh the
weights which should be put upon them and to en-
,r,ooerts of tne batteries after the original plans
had been agreed upon
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN wARsIIIPs.
II there is any one who does not appreciate the
wonderful strides that have been made IN ohly 1t
fy, vo,rs in the construction Of warshps he would
hotter 90 To the Navy Yard and visit the framing
shin Portsmouth. and then make an Inspection oi
the cruiser New-York a visit of this KIND 10
these two ships is educational. II Is well known
what The. Neyy-York looks like on the one hahd'
and on the other hand there lies the portsmouth,
with her threa mast and many spars and maze
or rorcs above decks and down below her numer-
ous short srooth-bore guns. The Portsmouth Is
receiving slight repairs before starting on her WIN
ter cruise and she Is ordered to be ready ior sea
bv November L.. 1t has been suggested that IN
stead of sending her to the West Indies Tor the
rec,ar winter cruise she be to Italy to carry
bach tho Poman exhibit to the Worlds Fair. as by
removing her batter she would be well fitted Tor
tina. duty Sine, she returned from her summer
cruise he detail of apprentice boys has been trans
ferred to the varshps and she Will STAR out with
fresh detail OF boys.
There are only few of these old lveoak sailing
ships left and the Navy Department, instead OF
laying them up, is using them for such du'! as
this II has been questioned whether this is wise
policy to give apprentice boys their training on
old time ships when there is nothing OF the kind
in the new Navy that Is growing up Boys are en-
listed who know nothing about the sea perhaps.
They are sent the training school at Newport lof
six months where they instructed In naval as
cipline how to take of their clothes, the
use of modern ordnance. etc. Then they are sent
TO sea in say the Portsmouth; they have to run
up the shrouds and man the yards, spread the
sails. etc: they have to know all about sails ana
ship; below decks they have drill with old-fash-
Toned smooth bore guns. And after a year Cor per-
hans only six months) of this training they are
sent to one the modern steel vessels. having per-
hnps only military masts. no rigging and the lat
est and most improved kinds of ordnance Oh
course the apprentices do derive some benefits
from their training on the sailing ships they get
their sea legs or" they learn naval discipline al
sea: they learn how to stand by gun when 1t Is
fired: they have practice with small arms am
cutlasses etc. But the question Is wnether tilis
training is what 1t should De- III VEN OF me -, ,
which they will see in the Navy. The officers real
n Ig anu" must also see them it may be that
a training ship will be built on modern plans ioI
built for the Naval Academy.
INVESTIGATING THE MONTGOMERY ACCIDENT.
The court of inquiry which was appointed to
investigate the recent running aground of the
Montgomery is in session in the court-martia
room In the Navy Yard. Not yet is the Montgom
cry ready for her trial trip; the accident at New
London serious that although the work OIL
repair is being pushed much az possible, II
probably will not be finished inside of the full
period estimated by the Board of Survey. The
trial OF the Columbia has also been put of J.!
was begin November 3 but the con-
tractors have asked that the trial trip be delayed
in order that they might take out the piston'
and attachments for examination the Navy De-
partment postponed the trial indefinitely
Since the detachment of Acting Rear-Admra
Stanton from the command Of the South Atlantic
station the question has come to his sue
cessor in the command of the station. Three
officers have been proposed for this important
position. and the decision probably will rest on one
Of thtm: Commodores T.. NJ. Ramsey. X. ". Meade
and W. A. Kirkland. Rear Admiral John Irwin
and Acting Rcar-Admiral J. :. Skerrett are about
to change places with each other. The former
has been detached from the command of the
Asiatic station and started for Honolulu, where
he Is to take command of the Pacific station on
November 8; after being relieved Of the command
or the Pacific station Admiral Skerrett will go tc
san Francisco and thence viii go to China to take
command Of the Asiac station. The personal stan
| transfer.
rs soon as he can be spared from duty on the
montgomery, Assistant Engineer Dew. &. Red
grave Is TO be ordered To examination for pro-
notion Chief Engineer Isaac X. McNary, who
attempted suicide due. II said, the over
work ana severe strain ne had been UNDER while
on duty the philalsluhia nj Honolulu. has