New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-24
AFFAIRS AT THE NAVY YAhD
THE CRUISER CINCINNATI STARTS oN
HEP VOYAGE TO KINGSTON JAMAICA
,.s,, ~, WORK AT THE HOME STATION
WHAT Is BEING DONE on THE SHIFTS
NOTES AND GOSSIP ABOUT
NAVAL MATTERS


NOTES AND GOSSIP ABOUT
NAVAL MATTERS
Amid all the and run'or' % a.sii, e,arod
excitcd the minds Of people WIN "iO ~ o.ia
- - a.,narertlv like to be worried the routine
anu "''o 49,, hre station of the North Atlantic
"a 60 60, 49, lont right along on the even TENOR
~ 80 ,a, Neither the officers at the yard tAe
,e,ds Of the departments or the "o' hineh e"e"e'1
-, tho different vessels appear 10 Oe Put''"e wa
,,., ,,v,ra EFFORTS toward eXpeditng the WORK. ana
- - taking on new men and increasing l'e
t tn one or two instances exactly the con-
80 ,rse has been pursued. as some OF the
-, ounloves have been laid off The work on
80 Maine which is now in drydock. has so lar au-
,onced that it is probable that her big IV-ihcn
Inns will be placed in the turrets WITHIN a moi'h'
90 the Puritan's after-turret plates nave Oeeh
paced in position. The mounts Tor me I'm .
reacemakers which she is TO carry VIII be placed
in noslton in short order, and soon as the plates
FOR the forward turret ready they Will @ISo NC
fixed The work of building the lght super
ure on her deckhouse was begun iasI "eeN' "'N
IN a fair state OF advancement. Her smaller sister
the Terror Is nearly ready for active service a''r
the work which remains TO be done Is VI ''''-N'
nature as all her guns are in place. ,
OtBcars NJ tha Department of Construction anu
penair are extremely gratfed at the reports VIII"
come back from the Cdstine, showing 'e hicb
OF her stability by the lenghening process ,o,aeo
she was subjected at tie yard IN me- ,s,,tic
ocross the Atlantic on her way TO JOIN ''e ,,1
"s s,, encountered several heavy sales "i,,'
= rooa dool of rough water, but 'h'o"7"
she showed herself TO be goou "iu -. u,bi,b
"a the additional coal-carrylhs '"pa' ,.n,o
t-as The two boats a steamlhs i"N'U' $500.
That they formerly had more ina" -. los
w"". rcduction in speed, which amounts 10 ~s'
lor -, knot The Castine Will stop at Mdu@-
-nscar on her way to the Far East
11Se trinle-screw cruiser Columbia eleven guns
Contain George W. Sumner IN cohiIhdHu' wy" as
sistant Secretary of the Navy "illl'r -nVNuoo vi
hoard pointed her nose down uAe Noi'' NJ 80!
.n.doy mon and started on her voyage 10 hhsS'oh'
- 80 cbe will not stop at Havana, her pre-
- or5ers having been countermanded. Iele-
ranbic disnatches were sent TO the department d'
washington from the Navy 1ard ahiiouH0Ins "''
denarture and Rear-Admiral Meade was aiSo ~
formed bv cable to Kingston that the swift cIuiSe'
ms ON ber way 10 join his fleet The list OF oiicerS
" 49, columbia Is as follows Captain George W.
eror Ijautcnant-C Commander Charles o. ALL
- Iiantenants William IL. briggs Os"in W.
1o,,rv lanes NJ Helm and William J." buruIcN
lieutenant Gunior grade) John A. DousheI'H' I'm
eigns Frank X. Hill and Henry {. hdehZi' t"u0.'
1ohn T. Tompkins, John NJ. Luoy, Gilbert = "d.
hrai,b and Walter ]. Manon, Surgeon Nll.am j.
Farwel Passed Assistant surgeon Nilhdh -
Rraisted Paymaster George II. Reed, CHIEF Ensl-
naer William H. Harris Passed Assistant Lhsl-
ueers John X. Barton and Martin BeV!hs'o" anu
Assistant Engineers William H. Mcdfahh anu
George Shepard. She carries crew OF ABOUT ="
men, the last consignment having peeh 'dAeh 4'''A
the ward yesterday forenoon
The ringing Americanism OF the dispatch sent by
ex.Secretary of the Navy William c. Whitney from
Naples in reference to the Aliianca aH@-' mas
caused a good deal of favorable comment anu
,bera are many officers who would not be N the
least sorry to the spunky eX-Secreiary at inc
head of the Navy department again.
= Tor HichbOrn
radical changes in the plans at first proposed for the
six composite gunboats authorized by the last Con-
gress These gunbOats, according TO the act are
10 be of about 1000 tons displacement Ihat WORD
about" however. leaves consdereoIe mar s'ii,
and Il is not at all likely that the new boats VIII
h.. any smaller than the Machias and Castne while
they may be a little larger as the cost OF consuuc
ton which is a potent factor IN puiUIhs guhood'9'
Is somewhat less at the present time than IL was
when either the Petrol. s92 tons. or the NaatAI''
III tons, built, and the competition Is nm
n no much sharper With these facts in Ne"' Tue
Bureau of Construction and Repair has oecu.u !
make the new vessels totally uslKe thoSe VI -"
similar class now In service. They VIII nav d mo
crate speed thu plans calling for only ee'ei M
an hour The need Of docking the SHIPS every S'A
months as is now the case with the steel Vesse''
will be avoided as the bottoms will be pahKeu "'''
yellow pine and coppered While me nun "'o' -
water will be of steel. With Dottolh VI ''''' ~
the boat can stay in the water for az Ied'l wv
without injury. The present pans can Az -
placement Of g75 tons but 1t is not likely Iha' 'S
go ,,,,n he adhered TO: the extreme length Will
he 1sS feet with breadth of "a feet inches anu d
mean draught OF u feet inches Inc co@l Ca
pacity will be 200 tons. and the engines are
velop between 500 and 800 horsepower sPiea4 "a
1900 square feet of canvas Will be proVlueu iN =!
q barkentine rig. Provisions have been maze LOT d
battery Of six 4-inch guns, four 6-poundeF anu wv
l-pounder rapid-nrng guns. The bureaus OF the DS-
partment viii be called on in rev ID! I0i ~
weights they desire the gunboats' ana 'heif
plies will be considered in connection WIN the
plans. as in making the plans only an est'""'e 40
made of the weights which will be caiieu 4oi'
The relief OF Civil Engineer a. g. MenocaI IIoiii
duty at the Norfolk Yard is considered by 'hoSo
familiar with the subject in Brooklyn to be pre-
lininaTy 10 the appointment OF naval oHiccI do q"
member OF the board to make survey OF the
Nicaragua Canal, which provided for IN 'he
Sundry Civil bill 1t may be that civil Engineer
Menocal will relieve Civil Engineer Mordecai g..
Endicott, present duty in the Bureau of Yards
and Docks, and that Mr. Endicott will be detailed
as a member Of the board. 1t is more than prob
able that one Of these two officers will re assigned
10 this duty. Colonel w. =. Craghill. OF tine Eng-
neer Corps OF the Army is mentioned as the sec
ond member of the board. and the third member
will be appointed from civil life.
The work accomplished by the dynamite cruiser
Vesuvlus and her commanding officer. Lieutenant
Commander Harry Knox. in blowing up wrecks
along the Atlantic seaboard is one which gives
great satisfaction TO naval men, as well as those
connected with the merchant marine. The work OF
the trim little craft was necessarily delayed by
heavy weather, she has low freebOard ana the
work OF launching boats and attaching torpedoes
when there is a heavy sea running is one which
involves too much risk to be attempted except in
case OF necessity. AS a result of the cruise from
which the Vesuvius returned 10 the yard last week,
four floating derelcts have been blown 10 pieces
and number OF projecting maStS have been torn
away from sunken hulls the hus themselves be-
Ing destroyed. at least shattered. wherever pos
sible Lieutenant Commander Knox viii take his
vessel 10 sea again as soon as the weather outside
Is sufficiently mild to allow Of effective work being
accomplished.
one effect OF the growth OF the new Navy is
SHOWN oy the opening TO settlement of Government
reservations in Florida Alabama and Mississippi.
these reservations were secured years ago for the
TIMBER Nhcn grew on them, from which men-Of-
war were TO be constructed This was a urocau-
tionary measure on the part OF the Government as
II was reared that an attempt would be made 10
corner the lve-oak supply and compel the Govern
ment 10 pay an exorbtant price for Its timber The
fear OF any such action has been remove1 hv no