New-York tribune., 1896-11-15
AFFAIRS AT THE NAVY YARD
EVERY EFFORT BEING MADE TO FIT THE
FLEET FOR SEA.
ADMIRAL BuNcEs SQUADRON MAY BE READY TO

ADMIRAL. BuNcE's SQUADRON MAY BE READY TO
LEAVE PORT ~ AN EXCEEDINGLY SHORT
rIME-REsPoNsIBILIrY FOR THE ACcI-
DENT TO THE TEXAs-FooTBALL BE-
TWEEN SAILORS AN DMARINEs.
Whether or not the Spanish dons decided to
provoke a war with the United States, there
Is one thing sure. the present rush at the Navy
Yard will have the effect of greatly increasing
the effective force of the North Atlantic squad-
ron within a short time. provided, or COURSE
men can be had to man the ships which are
watingfl now or will be ready to so into COM
mission within short time. This question OF
men Is the chief point on which the Depart
ment is stuck at the present time. The work
Of placing he ships In good order Is gong
ahead as fast as rush orders and overtime. with
some hours Of work on Sunday, can carry H.
and the days may be numbered which Will
clapac before the fine fleet under the command
of Rear Admiral Bunce will be ready to take
the sea The Texas was foated into the dry
dock without accident late on Friday afternoon.
after about 30 Otons OF coal had been taken
from her bunlers. Yesterday the red flag de-
noting that ammunition was being handed was
flying at the fore. and the crew was hard at
work cleaning the ships hull and preparing ior
Il coat OF paint. 1t is not expected that the
battle-ship will be clear of the dock for at least
a couple Of weeks. as he work OF Strengthening
out her engne-room will be supplemented Dy
some work the bulkheads and water-tight
doors. The statement that the ship would nave
sunk had the breaking Of the injector waive
happened at sea, has been met with the reply
that that sort OF work would not be undertaken
while the ship was at sea. and that ait any rae
he nange would not have been taken off the con-
denser apparatus while there was a pressure or
water from the outside. This statement may
be correct but II 1t Is 1t raises the question
as 10 who is responsible for the undertaking
OF the work while the ship was out Of dry dock.
The court OF inquiry has had number Of wit
nesses before 1t. including the officers OF tho
ships and members OF the engineering depart
ment and 1t is expected that next weeks ses-
sion will call up the construction people, and
that the inquiry will be ended by Wednesday
or Thursday.
FLEET TO KEEP AWAY FROM CUBA
Rear-Admiral Bunce in Washington
Wednesday in conference with Secretary Her.
bert over the programme for the winter cruise
OF the squadron. 1t is understood that the IL
tention Is to have the vessels. as soon as re-
pairs are completed. make n cruise in Southern
waters. touching ports In the Caribbean Sea.
hut keeping away from Cuba. The winter
headquarters will be at Hampton Roads.
formerly, and all the time possible will be given
to drill work. at the same time keeping the
squadron intact and always ready for any
emergency that may arise. 1t is not considered
possible to have the ships now at NewYork
ready for sea before the middle OF December, as
even II the repairs on the Texas are completed
before that time. the Indiana Will not have the
work on her double bottom completed within
five weeks The builders trial Of the Puritan.
which was made last week. was entirely salts
factory, but there Is now strong probability
that the Brooklyn Will be put in commission
before the monitor flies her flag. on account OF
the difficulty OF getting men, and the advisa-
bity OF placing the cruiser In line Of service
as soon possible. 1t is expected that she Will
be able to obtain some men from the Castine.
which recently came up from the South Amerl-
can Station. and Is now at Hampton Roads.
and from the Marbehcad, which left Fayal on
November g. on her way home from Admiral
Selfridges command. and is expected here with
In the next few days. The coming Of cold
weather Is also expected to increase the appllca-
tlons for enlistment materially In this matter
Of men there Is interesting point covered In
the report OF Admiral Ramsay. head Of the Bu-
rcau OF Navigation. to the Secretary. The Adj
nral says that. while 1854 men and 1880
boys were rejected for physical causes. at tho
close OF the fiscal year. 81 per cent OF the en-
listed In the service were serving under
continuous service. and more than - per cent
the enlisted men are american Citizens,
per cent Of the apprentices being American
born. -
SPORTS AT THE YARD.
While the fleet Is at the yard sports take up
large part OF the time OF the men who have shore
leave. Yesterday afternoon there was a game
Of football between the crew OF the Indiana and
the eleven of the Marine Barracks. The Indana's
team week ago "wa!loped' the Marines by
score Of 1 to 0. but yesterday the soldiers got
back at their sailor friends by the score Of to
6. a margin that would have been wiped out had
the clock been set back about two minutes
There will be another game Of football. and In
addition to that there Is a lot OF preparation
being made for boat race between the crack
crew of the New-York and boat full OF men
from the Indiana. This race will probably take
place in Hampton Roads. and the New Workers
will have out their crack boat. the Victoria
Louise, with which their foreign record
made. Abel Davis will be the coxswa!n OF the
hagship's crew. and he has never been beat
en- there Is an exciting race ahead for the bat
tle-ships representatives.