The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-20
KOHL. RS.
1 O BR UGHTON ST.

it is from New York state, and q great
silver seal represents the municipality, On
another side, for the punch bowl is large,
there is an engraving of the old cruiser
Brooklyn and one of the new. The differ
ences in the two warships is brought out
by the finish of the work.
An American modern cruiser is such an
expensive affair that the small matter of
$l1 900 added plays little part in the whole
figure. when a million dollars are easily
used up in building the ship and putting
1t into commission. Still, 1t must be recol-
lected that the ST. 900 silver service is In
the nature of removable things. There are
small spoons and tiny platters. These, I'M
less carefully guarded, could be purloned,
month by month as souvenirs and as
treasure, until little would remain Of the
famous set To guard against this great
precautions are taken.
When the admiral steps aboard the
warship an inventory is taken of the
stock. If there is no admiral in charge
the commanding officer is called forth
as the responsible party. The ship $
goods are gone over carefully and all is
charged up to the commanding officer.
He, if he be an admiral has his secre-
tary carefully accompany the inventory
takers, for he knows that the goods are
his while he is in charge, and he must
give an account of them when he resigns.
Laboriously the work Is done. Each lit
tie pot ana pan goes down with descrip-
ton and the original value. Each cot
is noted; each hammock put down. Fin
ally comes the stock taking of the famous
silver service. This Is obtained from the
manufacturer list and is pasted in the
admiraPs account. From that minute he
is responsible for 1t.
When a %. or pan wears out the mat
ter is reported to the secretary of the
admiral That gentleman reports 1t TO
the stewart. who obtains another, max
ing suitable record of the same. And so
the minor things are managed.
The keeping of the silver service Is
carefully performed task. Large beauti-
full cabinets to match the woodwork will
be placed around the walls of the dining
room of the Brooklyn, and in these cabi-
nets will be placed the service. The doors
will be kept locked. Each piece will rest
upon a handsome square of velvet, which
in turn rests upon a velvet-covered shelf.
Every precaution is taken not only TO pro-
tect the service, but to show 1t or The
cabinets are so constructed that each piece
stands upright, and cannot fall In the
heaviest seas. A rare find for pirate
ship would such a service be! And could
the pirates not come near taking 1t In
their own rough, unknown seas? But
that's another thought
AS accidents happen in all perfectly reg
ulated families, so they happen on war
shin. Pieces of silver disappear. But
how? Well, to tell carefully guarded Sc
cret the honored guests take them!
Suppose when the Dolphin welcomed Ii
Hung Chang, that gentleman had been
banquetted on service like this. And
suppose that, looking upon the unique and
wonderful design upon tiny coffee spoon,
he had asked as a favor to carry IL away
with him "as a souvenir" Who is there
that would dare to say him no? Not onel
The spoon would be his.
To prevent irreplaceable ravages, the
manufacturers preserve all the dies from
which the service is made. These are
not used for any other silver set; for this
would be a gross miscarriage of ETH
auette, but they are kept. and If a piece
disaDpears the manufacturers can make
another at ordinary cost. This they are
often obliged 70 do.
The trouble with a cruisers silver ser
vice Is the same as with any other piece
of silver. Il furnishes. On the high seas
II gets Gusky in a day and black In a
week. To keep it bright the wardroor
man emp cys a corps Of assistants, who
go over II daily with paste and keep It
eve- shining.
The new cruisers service has a finish
warranted rever TO tarnish. If mud Is
thrown upon II II will be muddy, or II
all can be removed with a handkerchief.
Ihe color OF the service Is a French gray,
and the process Of finishing 1t Is the new
French oxidation that never alters
This process is not very shining. II has
a dull surface, very pretty and glistening,
but disappointing TO those we want the
glittering. mirror-lke surface. The COM
mittee with the service In charge may
eventually repudiate the gray surface.
In that case It will be returned to the
manufacturer for a high pol'1h The trans
formation is easily managed. The adyant-
ages Of either way are apparent.
The silver service OF a great cruiser is
not in use except on great occasions. II
would not hurt II to be used every day,
but the care Of keeping 1t clean would be
great, much more than the navy would
care to audit The service is brought out
for state occasions for an honored guest
and for brilliant displays and exhibitions,
when invited guests wander through the
ship to admire. Then the punch-bowl gets