The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-08-12
The CruI.er Columbia.

tired. said of the cruiser Columbia that
she had been built as a compromise be-
tween the commerce destroyer and the
fighting ship. and that she had escaped
being either. Capt. Summers report with
regard TO the Columbia's special trial on
her run from Southampton TO New York.
recently placed on file at Washington.
goes to show that the admirars criticism
was we'll founded, and that the Columbia
is not either such n racer or such fight
er as the government should have had for
the amount of money put into her. The
craft was designed for speed. Her fight
ing qualities were abridged in order TO
make room for propelling machinery.
Three sets of engines and three screws
We're put into her. the calculation being
that the extraordinary set of engines and
screws would give her additional speed.
1t seems that they have failed 10 do so,
and the claim is made by some experts
that they have actually reduced her speed
from what IT might otherwise have been.
Capt. Sumner was ordered to speed his
ship across at her very best pace. He
brought her over at an average speed of
little more than eighteen and half knots
an hour That may, indeed. be her best
pace. At any rate. it was all Capt. Sum-
ner could get out of her. He could not
force her, because under a natural
draught. he says, I'VE were blowing out
(boiler tubes at 40 pounds pressure
the engines were in a loose state from the
long run, and the coal bunkers were so
badly arranged that it was impracticable
to get coal to the furnaces as fast as il
would be needed to feed the fires under
forced draught. Besides these drawbacks,
the condensing apparatus did not act
properly This was at natural speed. I'M
der all of the boilers; yet at that speed.
the run involved such extraordinary la
Dor on the part of the ships crew that
the captain made mention of the fact in
his report. There is no telling what would
have happened had the ship been put I'M
der forced draught and her steam run up
to more than 40 pounds. Presumably
great many more boiler tubes would have
been blown out and the crew might have
been worked to death at passing coal Yet
the Columbia burns less coal than many
of the great express steamers that race
across the Atlantic three or four times a
month, and which make more speed on
their regular runs than the Columbia
made on her special run.
The express steamers, 1t should be re-
membered, race across the ocean, remain
in port only about three days. and then
race back again. They have no time to
make especial preparations for their runs.
Capt. Sumner had all the time he wanted.
The bottom of his ship had just been
cleaned. He selected his coal and trimmed
his ship as best he could for the race;
but owing TO faulty construction he was
compelled to put her down by the head"
fully a foot and a half-a bad trim for
fast time. If he were to go into a race af-
ter a fast merchantmen with the purpose
in view of capturing or sinking her, he
would have to depend upon making the
chase under about the same conditions as
he came across from Southampton; and
the result would more than likely be that
the Columbia would never get within
sight of the smoke of the ship being
chased.
1t is true that large part of the COM
merce of the world is carried on in ships
that make probably ten knots an hour
or less. But this government is hardly
building 81, 100000 and $4,000 cruisers for
the purpose of chasing such craft. The
purpose of the crack cruisers is to catch
the crack liners. The Lucania or any one
of probably a dozen others of her class
could run all around the Columbia, the
merchantmen going at their average speed
and the war vessel putting and grooming
along with her engines loose and blowing
out boiler tubes under 14O pounds press
ure. There is no other conclusion to be
drawn but that the Columbia is a disap-
pointment.