New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-19
THE INDIANA EARNS A BONUS
AN ACCOUNT OF THE TRIAL RUN OF THE
BATTLE-SHIP.

SHE EXCEEDED THE REQUIRED sPEED BY 6I1o
or KNOT AND THE ALLOWANCE FOR
TIDE WILL MAKE HER SHOW
ING STILL BETTER
Boston. oct. ls-In her official trial trip be-
tween Cape Ann and Boone Island, distance vi
thirty-one knots. the battlc-shlp Indiana to-day
made an average speed of 1851 knots an hour lot
four hours This is slxty-one-one- -hundredths OF
n knot above the speed required by the Govern
mcnt. and as there premium offered OF
s25 900 for every auarter-knot made over fifteen
the Cramps will receive $780, 600 as n bonus In ex-
cess OF the contract price. This may be Increased
10 s7s 900 when the tidal observations are worked
out as the allowance for that obstruction VIII
probably give the ship 1916 knots. The satisfac-
tory speed developed by tre Indiana Is secondary
to the wonderful way In which the machinery
worked
with their usual luck the Cramps had a day
that was perfect for trial trip. The atmosphere
was clear and the breeze that was blowing had
only weight enough to crest the sea win lttle
whltecaps. Every one aboard the Indiana arose
early and when Commodore Selfrihge ana the
trial board Of oficers arrived alongside In tug
from Boston at 8 o'clock the ship was already
under way
4 start was made at once for the course. The
the big boilers were bottling up steam for the
dash across the line. The forced draught was
turned on an hour before the starting point was
reached
The can buovs that staked the course were
marked by a Government boat anchored at each
can The boats used fer this purpose were the
revenue cutter Dallas. the Boston Navy YARD tug
Iwana the Dolphin the Brooklyn Navy faro tus
Nina. the revenue cutter Woodbury. and the fern
OVER THE TRIAL COURSE.
At 10 o'clock the Indiana approached the start
ing line The red flag which indicates that
trial is on, was run to her masthead. ana one
short blast of her whistle was answered by the
Dallas At l0:03:l3n Captain Bradioro cr'eu
Mark" and the Indiana was Off The run 10
Boone Island was made against the tide IN
hours minutes and seconds. the ship passing
the last stakeboat at l2:O5
The average speed for the thiry-one knots was
1924 knots ar hour. The average speed between
the buoys follows: l47S' l9Z3' lo'o4' io'4''
1913 ,,.
The speed made to Boone Island was disap,
pointing but the expectation that the snip w@oulu @
DO better on the way back was fulnIied Nlie
teen minutes was spent In making the lurll an an
tho Indiana passed the Fern again at l2;Z4Oli -
The speed Of the ship was noticeably greater;
The engines were revolving faster ana raster, anu
the immense hull qu!vering ana VIBRATING
40 II rushed along The first leg was reeed OH
~ an average speed Of 1899. the second at lo.l-'
the third at 1885. the fourth at loio ana the Ias.
AZ 16 80 knots 1t was 2:3o:2l hen the tral was
over inst hou- - minutes and 35 seconds from
Rcone Island a total time for the trip OF 3 hourS
IS minutes and 2S seconds -
4 gain Of eight minutes on the westward run
u..s ma dc and the average speed was 15.93. Thls
brought the average for the four hours up 10
1851 comfortable excess over the con.tac'
speed of II knots. \ remarkable cHcuHis'anoe
was the speed made between the last two
stskeooats II proved that the Indiana was aoie
IA dc, better after her machinery had peen
driven at high pressure for considerapie une
than when the engines were hrst put unueI
forced draught This IS In marked contrast wltn
the performance Of English battle-shps or the
ROYAL Sovereign class. Inc fnsIsn nav xtee, xtae
succeeded in getting much better thah siAtee'i
knots out Of their frst-class battle-ships, ana
when they have attained this speed IL mas oee''
at the expense Of ruined machinery.
A REMARKABLE SET OF ENGINES.
The Indianas machinery is a triumph of Amer
lean constructions The engineer officers OF the
trial board we're surprised at the performance
OF the engines to-day Not the slightest o'ii'-
Guilty was developed. and the engineers were
unanimous in the opinion that the engines "e'e
the best they had ever handed
During the last fifteen minutes OF the run
II 800 horsepower developed The average
borsenower shown was 300. whicr is 700 more
than is required by the Government The maxi
mum revolutions of the screws were iSl aha no ,me
average revolutions were between IN ana i'V.
Tho average steam pressure at the boilers was
16- and at the engines l5l. The average water
pressure in the ire-rooms was one inch ana 'he
average temperature was lU)
.fter tho RIM was over a helm test was made
The ship was turned IN circle or 4oo yatus, or
200 less than It took TO turn the cruiser Ne"
York and she answered her helrn WIN sIea'
rnr,r,ross After the helm test the Indiana
ran up the bay to Boston Light. ana the Naval
Board went ashore III tug r,,
The vessel will leave here to-nlght lot Ihiia l
soi,hia ard vii nrobably arrive there on SUNDAY
afternoon 1t is expected that she VIII go Ni'o
commission about the 1st Of rext month