New-York tribune., 1896-11-22
AFFAIRS AT THE NAVY YARD
-r,u GOVERNMENT FORCED TO HIRE AN
OUTSIDE DOCK OWING TO THE
RUSH OF WORK.

RUSH OF WORK
,,,,un NOT WAIT FOR THE COMPLETION OF RE-
PAIRS ON THE TEXAS TO DOCK TIE ERics-
sox--corrRr OF INQUIRY DIsBANDs
WITHOUT wARN1NG-GREAT HASTE
SHOWN TO PREPARE ALL
VESSELS FOR SERVICE
THE OREGON MAY
CONE TO TIE
NORTH At
I.ANTIo
rr.re IS no cessation In the activity at the
49,, Yard. and the preparations for war are
-o,,e IN lust as II 1t were probable that there
.uId bs a fight between the naval forces OF
A.. United States and any other country The
.rcers and men at the yaro are not at all
VIA over the prospect, and say that al
enough the ships are fitting for duty, 1t Is more
roeasure Of precaution than anything else,
- that II is expected that the knowledge tnat
g. aeet IS ready for duty at short notice VIII
a 70 cha effect Of cooling the blood Of some of
-. snanish people who are clamoring for an
e,, ., the Republic. The battle-ship Texas
~.,u ,r tbe timber dock and she will probably
-, .bare for week longer, and right here
1s rn q remarkable point in the present ar
a.,,snts for getting the ships ready for duty.
- .o-oed- boat Ericsson, which was In the
-. dock when the Texas sunk at the Cob
-, rar was foated the next afternoon, TO
- q, the dock being prepared for the recep-
49,, q, the Texas Since then she had been tied
- Of the Whitney Basin wall. and some day
..,s week will be towed to the Erie BASIN, where
.ocr has been engaged for her. The repairs
In occupy about ten days. and 1t is deemed ad-
,..oh,a TO have her ready as soon as possible.
NJ. the Department deems the demand for
....ss,s narticularly urgent is shown by the fact
=, outside dock is called on to take in
Government vessN -
rur coIJRT OF INQUIRY DISBANDS
.rA.re IS more mystery about the Texas With
.,. warning the court of inquiry which has been
....,pstng the recent accident. was dlsbanded
-..,srday. the members going back TO their
..snacriye stations. No explanation could be
.,.sned Of this action, but II was said
an Friday that there was a weeks work ahead or
.,s court the idea has been advanced that the
.rcuirv had taken turn which 1t was not
thought advisable TO follow up. The castiron
voks which broke. allowing the water 10 flood
,ba engine ROOM has been found to be Of a good
ouaIjtv OF iron. and stood pressure under test
Of 10000 pounds to the square inch. 1t was
mt brittle. and the cause of its giving way
Is as much Of a puzzle as ever. One explanation
advanced is that the man whose duty it was
to see that the valve closed discovered
that it leaked and. thinking that the leak
was caused by its being imperfectly fitted, put
a wrench on It. the increased pressure making
q fracture which did not show until after he had
cooa op1 ranortad that Il WAS safe.
AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY IN THE NEW
YORK
The cause OF the leak may be explained by
q somewhat similar occurrence on the flagship
New-York recently when it was found that the
fanges OF the port cupboard delivery had been
attacked by electrolytic action and so weakened
that they will have TO be renewed. The water
which escaped was led by the drainage system
OF the ship 10 the hilge and then pumped out.
The leak was discovered in time 10 prevent seri-
Gus results. and pending the placing OF the snip
In the drydOck, when the whole apparatus VIII
be overhauled the passage of the fange through
the compartment wall between the condenser
and the wing passage IS covered by q steel plate
with rubber sasSet. which prevents any water
going where il does not belong. The NewY Ork
will go into drydock soon as the Texas comes
out. and viii have a. thorough refitting in that
particular line.
There has been somewhat Of boom in en-
lstments within the last two three weeks.
and the announcement is now made that the
crew for the Brooklyn is complete ana that the
puritans contingent is nearly full. This means
that the two vessels will 60 into commission
within a short time. Captain John X. Bart
lett has been appointed to the command Of the
big Incnitor with ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS James
r. Selfridge or Lieutenant Austin NJ. Knight as
executive officer In pursuance Of instructions
TO keep the Puritan in sucn condition that
she be used short notice, there has been
an extra force Of machinists at work on her. her
engines turned every day. and everything
is in readiness for the hosting OF her flag and
entering on active service
SATISFACTION OVER TERROR's SHOWING.
There is a good deal of satisfaction expressed
ever TIE excellent showing made by the Terror
In the recent ga trials and gun tests. and the
result Of the short cruises recently made by
the monitor is pointed to another indication
Of the great value of vessels Of her class for
the purposes of harbor and coast defence. The
Terror came up to the yard yesterday afternoon.
and. beyond the slight injury Of three men
who in the Of one OF the 1O-inch guns
on It's recoil neither the ship nor her crew
showed any signs Of heavy wear.
The work On the Indiana and the Maine is so
near completion that a few more days VIII wlnd
II up. while the Montgomery is fairly well along
on the road to sea service. All the ships IN
commission at the yard have had their maga-
zines filed and their bunkers are filed with
coal.
Another instance OF the activity Of the Navy
Department, Is the ordering into commission
Of the dynamite thrower Vesuvius. which VIII
hoist her flag AS coon as a crew can be as
sembled for her In response to a query sent TO
the Herreshoffs at Bristol, word has been re-
ceived that the torpedo boat being built there ana
officialy known No. q. will be ready for steam
In two weeks
CHANGES IN THE CAsTINE
Contrary to general expectation. the Castine.
which recently returned from the South At
lsntic station. will not be attached to Admiral
Bunces squadron. but will return to Southern
waters. Her commander Thomas Perry. ana
his executive officer. Lieutenant Davenport.
nave been detached, with two months leave or