The morning call., 1893-10-08
THE CRUISER BOSTON.

and the head winds encountered for eight
days account in part for her slow trip. At
times she was buried in the seas, the
waves dashing up to the forward barbette,
and for two days she did more rolling than
during all her trip from New York to San
Francisco when she made the passage
eighteen months ago.
A week before the Boston's departure
from Honolulu divers there went under
her hull for the second time to scrape
away the marine growth. This was abso-
luteiy necessary in order to enable her to
make sufficient knots to get into port
while the coal supply lasted. AS it was
she started with deckload of bitumiD GUS
ore and only had seventy tons left when
she dropped anchor. Had she not been
cleaned by divers she would probably
have been caught outside without fuel
This second scrapiDg of the hull took away
what little paint had been left the first
time and she is now as bare below the
water-line rs if brush had never touched
her.
'What condition are her plates In ?"
Lieutenant Very, the executive officer, was
asked last evening.
ST am unable to say" be replied. "Of
course the divers were not versed in tech
nieal knowledge. and their opinion would
be of little value. We will soon know
however, for she will probably be ordered
in dock as soon as we reach the navy
yard. / think the condition of her hull
will be q subject interesting TO all naval
men,"
"Why?"
because she has been longer out of
dock than any steel man-Of-war ever was
before. The naval regulations provide
that ships shall be placed in dock. and be
thoroughly cleaned and repainted once
every six months. 1t was impossible to
do so in the case of this vessel, and she
has not been out of water since she was
here over year ago."
1t was two months ago that The
CALL published an article calling at
tention to the dilapdated condition
OF this ship of the white squadron.
The policy of concent trating the naval
fleet in New York harb0r for the
great marine show of last Nav was the
cause of 1t all, for it left the Boston the
only modern man-of-war in the Pacific
Niece ssity compelled her TO remain at
Honolulu. She grew so foul in those
southern waters that her plates had to be
scraped to enable her TO steami to Hilo for
gun-pratice, which is also ordered by naval
regulations. This scraping took off her
paint, and subjected the plates to the ac-
tion of pitting. i. e., the eating of small
holes in the steel by saline acids and marine
life.
bow far this process of ptting has gone
no one can tell, but experts believe that a
portion of the hull will have to be removed
and many new plates put on. This will
necessitate the man-of-war going out of
commission for an indefinite period, and
orders to that end will probably be soon
received.
"Have you heard anything definite in re-
gard to this ?" was asked OF the officers.
"We have heard it spoken of and expect
to be advised from Washington before
long," said he. I'VE forwarded advices
TO Washington while at Honolulu. calling
attention TO the condition of the vessel.
but you well know that it takes time to
get an answer from the head of the naval
department"
"What speed did you average during the
trip up?"
about seven and q half knots. We
never made over nine knots. We had
head winds all the way. Then the engines
are in bad shape. There is great deal Of
work to be done in the engine-room. and
these repairs will have to be made at the
navy-yard. We used five boilers on the
trip. The Boston is provided with eight.
1t is generally admitted that the ma
chinery of the Boston is inferior in every
respect to that of the cruisers Charleston
and San Francisco. After cruise OF
sixteen months she comes into port in a
condition uniting her for further sea
service for mum ber of months to come. 1t
is evident that the vessel is not what she
was at first cracked up to be. and In CON-
parison with the work of the Union Iron
Works is far from o standard of excel
lence.
Those who are familiar with the cruiser
Lnou that there is much D0Or material In