New-York tribune., 1896-02-02
AFFAIRS IN THE NAVY YARD.
TRANSFORMATION THAT IS BEING
WROUGHT IN THE CINCIN-
NATrS ENGINES.
SPECULATION AS TO THE PERSONNEL OF THE
KATAHDIN's CoMMANp-THE CHICAGO TO

bon, the ships force and many Of the men from
the Bureau Of Steam Engineering busy all the
week and there is still considerable work ahead
Of the machinists At present the engine-room
NJ the cruiser looks If 1t had been in a
wreck but Chief Engineer Chasmar expects to
have il all Strengthened cut in a short time, and
the ship Will be good as ever. 1t was found
that considerable Of her cement had become
Ioosened during her long stay South. and. in
stead OF being q clean white surface her hull
IS a mass Of red blotches which do not add to
the beauty OF the cruiser No more paint will
be applied, however until dry weather comes
and in the time .he interior of the ship
will be thoroughly attended TO. The mystery
attending the movements Of the North Atlantic
eouadron adds to the uncertainty regarding the
ACincinnatls immediate future. but wherever the
feet may be when she leaves the yard she VIII
ioin II and take part in whatever work may be
cut out for the other vessels under command OF
Rear-Admiral Bunce.
The announcement that the Katahdin is to go
, into commission on February IL has given rise
to some speculation to who will make up her
list Of officers SO far all that is known Is that
Commander Richard P. Leary is to command
the novel craft, and that Lieutenant William NJ
Wood who has been waiting orders since
last october. will be one of the other officers
The detail Tor ner crew Is DtlHs HioNO "f ""
board the receiving ship Vermont
There is some satisfaction TO the members oil
the engineering department that the decision
has been made in reference 10 the boilers Tor
the new machinery outfit for the Chicago, Ihere
ere n be four Scotch boilers and two OF the coll
TYNE made by the Babcock & Wilcox Company
With these boilers it is expected that 9ooo Morse
mower will be developed. giving the ship speed
OF eighteen knots. The cost Of the whole outht
will be about s3Oo0OO and the two remaining
cylinders are nearly ready for placing IN the
testing-room.
The officers who were up before the board or
investigation which recently inquired into GER
tain charges made by disgruntled workmen are
still waiting for word from Washington relative
n the disposition Of their cases. but the powers
that be are silent and nothing is allowed 10
escape from the hands Of those who have the
e,al disnosition of the papers. In the mean
time. all hands are at work as usual, and the
current of steam engineering affairs shows no
.irns Of the recent disturbing inquiry
Rand progress is being made on the new gate
O.. sands-st and the contractors expect 10 nave
the work completed early next month. ON each
side of the new entrance will be an ornainehlaf
building Of granite, for use as offices ana
guardhouse. and the new gateway will be a grea;
convenience 10 visitors to the yard and oihcers
stationed there
The Mace where the new wall is TO be De-
gins TO show signs Of what is intended 10 De
accomplished there. A large amount OF 'he
foundation piling has been driven ana as 'he
cement and sand are already on the spot. there
will be no delay in rushing the stoneworK aheao
es soon as the foundations are completed
The contractors who are building the new dry
dock are doing excellent work and have been
greatly favored by the mild weather The MOOR
ino Is laid up to the bukhead. and the diggers
and dredgers are compelled 10 hustle 70 Keep
ahead Of the timber workers. There Is only
narrow stretch Of ground left between the waiis
Of the new structure and the waters OF the
Wallabout channel, and number or the pig
mines Of the drainage system have been put III
nlace IN the last week No date has been fixed
for the completion Of the work. but the con-
tractors do not expect TO be kept beyond the
time limit OF the contract. That particular part
'os the yard is not agreeable place TOT VISIT
orc as beyond the present timber dock there is a
c,,sen,ire varied by occasional patches or heavy
t,mbers which extends TO the new boundary
wall between the reservation and the CITY
property where the new Wallabout Market Is
being built.
THE DISAPPEARING GUN AFLOAT."
Assistant Naval Constructor r. p Hobson
has received a number OF criticisms on his paper
on the disappearing Gun Afloat, a synopsis
of which was published in The Tribune snort
time ago. and the next document from the IN
stitute will be interesting reading Conmunica-
tions have been received from several well-known
marine engineers and constructors most Oh
which favor the Constructors argument tha''
while the gun is an important factor in the mat
Ter of coast and harbOr defence in shore ba'-
.er,es its adaptabihty for the use Of vessels has
,ba irving of any costly experiments by the
Government on the new ships building and au-
thorized.
lust what IS to be done with the Atlanta Is
a question which has been puzzing 'he people
interested In the ship recently The present
estimate OF the cost OF her new machinery Is
sl5OOOO. and the proposition when seems u
meet the most favor provides for supplying loui
Pabcock & Wilcox and two Scotch boilers "hich
would give the ship development OF ABOUT 4'v'o
horsepower In addition 10 this, there IS no" 'aiA
of equipping the ship with twin screws Inns
would be long and expensive job, as the hull OF
the vessel would have to be altered extensively
II this idea be carried out 1t Will make the COST
=, tho ,,nnrovements aggregate about s45o,Voo'
and extend the time by at least SIX mohths.
A CALL FOR MORE WORK.
There Is a strong feeling in the yard that'
when new vessels are authorized. the GoVehihe"'
shops should be called to build at least ehoue"
of them to keep the plant ana the "oiN.'e
force in a good state OF efficiency. Inc point
was made recently that, while the present WI
assigned to the home station included the coii-
pletion Of two monitors and the rehtting OF TWO
cruisers, there was not enough work on '"e
two latter vessels to crowd the yard anu
the two former were too near coiipe t
TO call for much work. BY the uhs
plans and specifications can be peiec'eeu ~
the new buildings under way VIII pe
completed and the yard improvements nm
ished, and when this is done there WIZ
be no naval station in the country with
better facilities for the construction OF vesseIs
Of any size needed by the Government. IL was
itl1ro- o-Afxao arl1