New-York tribune., 1896-05-24
.rFAIRS IN THE NAVY YARD.
,r INDIANA NEARLY READY TO REJolN
THE FLEET.


IN FINISHING THE PURITAN AND
r,.r ArLANTA-PUsHING WORK
ON THE SEA WALL.
.Aoro is an end in sight OF the work
-.,assary to fit the Indiana lof hei pa" .He
nece although she Will not take part IN the
cruise OF the ships now OF lo''pNiis'
SS.., Island. which Is schedu'eo ~ Dee'" ~
''a ,rou AZ noon. The announcement. was ".''0
"..a-dav that to-day would be ,he i"S' o"l'O"'
!rAicb work on the ship WouIu oe Nai o'''
" ,ho, the end Of this week woulu p'ooAo's
all the Jobs on the big oatue-Si'ip .o'''r',
.. .h,, was as usual. overruh WIZ" Ni'i'o''
'". .aav and every place to when NlSl'o'' "V'e
'.,..o5 was inspected and commented Vi" O''c
.' .ba neople Of Brooklyn ana Ne"-' oiN' anu
s,-oneers who have taken enough OF 'ne!i
"" T., .ov,n t. make a short WISH 10 the !"'u'
." hod nothing but praise for ana 'ha' is 'he
ass,,,rs courtesy Of the officers ana ere" Oh 'ne
- ,be way Of showing visitors over lne
'f One does not have 10 WahoeT a'ou"u
.,or few minutes before there IS d re-
nv .., salutation and the question: "oulu y GU
' . sas the ship" An afirmatNe answer
mn '~N .,e volunteer guide agoing, ana II ne Is
=. will do the rest The interest SHOWN
i'' ,essal has been remarkable. ana IS espe-
n, rrat,fvjng 10 her officers ana men, LOT 'lieE
'"'. o,,d ~ her and take delight IN explaining
~, ~ GOOD points Of offence and defence ohe
s'' her MACE with ths other vessels or Rear
VIII '-' , r,r,o,s fleet without delay after the
AD-,.,. -, - the steam engineering and construc-
Wv. ,,,roaps are through with her.
'Un ...a-r is eXpacted to go down the Bay
Inv go, davs as she is practically ready
"I''-,. Cantsin Theodore F. Kane. whose latest
LOT S'' .. tho Monterey. will have command
comma ord this assignment dispCses of the
.ha+ Captein Kane is II succeed cap
,,..as-ck Rodgers. at present captain or
'. .d when he goes To take charge OF the
wy .hus.t,s The monitor Terror IS also
-,,b tho eyception Of few unimportant
le~u' .ots her place with the fleet and will
-.,.h,v he q close follower Of the Newark
rs.ro anpears 70 he no end in sight to the de-
g.. IN tho completion of the Terrors big sister.
~. p,r,-a as the Board Of Inquiry which Is
,,vss,,gating the wrangle between the Bureaus
~ Ordnance AMI Construction is still in session.
.,a there vii be nothing done in reference 70
rcountns her tVslve-inch guns until the diff
.r,+v Is settled and the proper bureau 10 have
control Of the installation Of the battery decided
ar The proceedings Il the Board Of Inquiry
are NOT made public. but the outcome Of the IN
v.s.lgetion Is awaited Will, a great deal or IN
,.-sst by large number Of people who have
,..ched the progress Of work on the monitor
and are anxious T. see her completed as soon as
possible.
THE CHICAGO TO LOSE HER SPoNsONs.
The DELAY in finishing the Puritan has coun-
,.rparf in the prospective delay in work on the
Atlanta. which has for sOme months been ald
n, IN ordinary in the yard The designs for the
chicago. which is also undergoing repairs. nave
tssn about completed. and It is settled that the
sponsons Of the ship are 10 come on, ana she
viii rresent when rebuilt smooth. unhTokeh
tie in place Of the present unsightly ana dah-
,.-ous excrescences. With the Atlanta. however
Vie different Some months ago Chief Engineer
yavila of the Bureau Of Steam Engineering
-adA a recomuendatio that the vessel De
,ruinne1 with twin screws. This was reierreu
IN TIE Board Of Construction, and. after warm
debate. the recommendation Of the Engineef-!h-
Chief was adopted. Secretary Herbert has since
been reviewing the subject. and Chief NaVaI
Constructor Hichborn has fled with the Secre-
tary a protest against the proposed change. Inc
Constructor. II is said, declares that the ma
chinerv Of the Atlanta is in need Of repairs which
will not cost more than 10000. and Will then
be in condition 10 stand several years of ser
vice In order 70 change her system OF pro-
nulsjon 70 the twin Screws Il will be necessary 10
alter the whole after end Of the ship. and this
operation will cost not less than S21OooO. Ihis
question. however Will probably be settled De
fore the machinists are ready 10 begin work on
her as at presen' they have their hands fu.I OF
business with the Chicago and other vessels.
The contractors who are building the new TIM
Der drydock announce that the dock VIII be ready
10 take water by July l. but as there Will stu De
the quay wall 70 be built and some other "orK
done outside the line 4 the ca!sson. II VIII not De
ready 10 receive vessel Tor another month al the
least. This state OF i.efaics Is entirely satsiac-
tory 10 the civil engineers. and they are free win
congratulations u the contractors for the speed
with which the work has been rushed ahead.
A CONTRACTORS LITTLE SURPRISE.
A curious point has come UP in reference to the
new gate at Sands-st.. on which there has been 50
much DELAY The contractors, T. J. Carlin & Co.
have completed more than one-half the amount or
work called for In the contract, and recently made
an application for the payment due on account
when certain percentage Of the work was nm
ished An inspection followed, and while II was
psted was more than enough to warrant the
payment, there were one or two small items. OF
mite Importance which had not been finished ana
a. ihey We're called FOR In the contract woId was
sea' % the contractors that on the completion oi
ua's Items the payment would be made. TO TINS
me contractors eplied that they had conpleteo
"O'e 'han the percentage required. and II the De
pa.'mehI Insisted on the carrying out OF the de-
'''S ahd letter Of the contract In the instances
'perined that was all there was TO II. The hrm
vas mol In need OF money, and could and wouId
81 ahead and finish the work. and payment could
= MADE later This Is a totally new proceeding
:" contractors on the Government woTK IN the
.Na and Was a surprise 70 the Department as
AS TO the officers directly Interested AS the
~'a'nt involved was close to Sll0oo' the
s'@'nees with which the firm declined 10 enter
any controversy over the payment speaks