The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-10-31
Plenty of Water TO Float and Dock any Of
Our Naval Vessels.
ADMIRAL BROWN MAKES EXPLANATION
And Virginia pilot Takes Several
Newspapers to Task for Trying to
Discredit Our Ability to Take Caro-
OF Uncle Sans vesseIs-onr Depth
Of Water.


patches yesterday appeared a para
graph stating that 1.-The battleship Tex
as cannot be docked at the New York
Navy Yard until the 7th of next month.
On this date there will be u spring
tide. at which time there will be enough
water to successfully float the new
ship into dock. After being docked and
cleaned she will have her official trial
trip. which has been postponed sever
al times"
This dispatch, In connection with ar
ticles which have from time to time
appeared in New York and other North
ern papers, have led many people to be-
lfeve that the Texas had been sent to
New YORK owing to the lack of suf-
llcent depth of water to take her UP TO
the Navy iard at this place. Admiral
Brown, when seen by n Virsinian re-
porter yesterday. and asked the reason
Tor sending the Texas to New York,
when the vessel was built here very
promptly gave an explanation.
ADMIRAL BROWN TALKS.
An impression has gone forth"
SAID he, that we were unable to dock
the Texas here, but that is wrong w.
nave plenty OF water over the sill of our
dock: in fact we can dock the aver
age vessel drawing three feet more
than the Texas. The trouble Is this:
me great breadth of the beam of the
Texas makes her hilSc kcels touch. and
10 obviate this Ii would have been ne
ccsSarN TO have removed at least 900
toEs OF weight from her. To do this;
would have required the crew TO have
worked ut least thirty days and nights
removing her ammunition coal and
other portable articles. After this was
done the work on the vessel would not
have cost 5000
OF on,' dock as they have IN New York,
nut there Is u difference of two feet
IN the rise OF water between here and
New York and what IL would have
taken the crew thirty days to have done
here nature does In New York we
nave had the Columbia and Minncapo-
lis In our dock and each OF them draws,
more water than the Texas
IT is the great beam of the, Texas
Whlch is in our way. and il would have
been necessary to have raised
her two feet to have kent her from,
touching on the sides.
When our docks were built no one
contemplated such huge vessels. but
IN future that will be provided for"
ihc ADMIRAL argued that he was OBJ
posed To making the crew of the Texas
work so long when the amount TO be ey-
pended in cleaning her bottom was so
small.
At the United States Engineers Office
II was stated that in the narrowcst part
OF the channel. off Sewell's Point bar.
the water was twenty weight feet dcep
on low tide and that the average deptb
from Hampton Roads to the Navv
yard was twenty-five feet In the nb.
sence OF the officer in charge however.
me hSures of depths along the entire
channel could not be obtained.
WHAT THE PILOTS SAY ON THE
SU UBJECT.
The Nirginiu pilots do not mlnce
words in their condemnation of The
statements published by the New York
ana other Northern papers rejecting
upon the harbor of Norfolk and Ports.
mouth. as well as of Hampton Roads
One of the oldest of the pilots express
ed himself as being tired of contra
alctlng these apparently malicious
statements. which have not the slight
eSt foundation of truth. Another mem
Der of the association was indignant al
Ine repetition of these false reports.
re Sald that recently, scarcely an in
terFal or more than three DAYS pass
now that you do not find on picking rp
the northern papers some article in
print which reflects in a most iniurious
way upon the dignity and Importance
OF inns port. ana remarkable as IL NAV
seem, yet is truth, that on several oc-
castons recently communications have
appeared In several of our own local
papers that would confirm the Justice of
the reflection upon our harbor He did
not hesitate to say that the statements
IN question were untrue and founded
cincr upon unwarranted ignorance or
W'iliui malice. He called attention Is
the TACT that promoters of these arti
cies were not satisfied with combining
lhelr unjust reflections to our harhor
ltself, but had the effrontery to attack
hampton Roads, the greatest harbor
IN the world. He asserted that All that
mas been said with regard to lack OF
water IN the approach to our port is
untrue In every sense and claimed that
we nave the second deepest port on the
Ntiantlc coast. and the first, as far as
saiety 1S concerned, for the reason that
the bottom OF the Eliza beth river is OF
Sucn nature that a ship which would
be In any danger Of grounding on hrr
way up. would come to no harm, be-
cause the bottom is of very soft mud
He asserted that there can be broupb,
to the Navy Yard twenty-scven and
one-half feet at high tide and ms tho
average rise and fall of tide AT this
port is only 81 feet, II can readily be
seen that
THIS PORT IS AVAILABLE
at nearly all stages of tide for the deep
est draught ships.
He pointed out that all Of these artt
cles he alluded TO have been written
since the Texas left this yard for her
trial trips, and il appeared to him as