The times., 1898-04-19
THE FLEETS OF COLUMBIA
Kearsarge and Kentucky May
Be Ready Within Ninety Days.
THE NAVY HASTENS WORK
Merchant Vessels Are Being Trans
formed Into Auxiliary Cruisers
With All Possible Hosfe-The
Viclsburg, Rodgers, Hamilton and
Window May Sail Tomorrow.


ported on good authority here that the
first-ciass battleships Kearsarge and
Kentucky, launched at the shipyard here
on March "a. will be ready to go intus
commission in three months. Now that
war is considered inevitable, the authori-
ties at Washington. as well as the Off
GERS of the Newport News Shipbuilding
Company. are very anxious to get these
fine specimens of naval architecture in
the service.
With this end in view, large forces of
men are working on the twin warshps
twenty-four hours each day. AT the
time the vessels were launched IL was
announced that they could be placed in
commission in six or eight months Work
ing at the present rate. It is believed
that they will be ready in half that time.
Inc work on the merchant vessels sent
mere TO be transformed into auxiliary
cruisers is being pushed forward with all
possible speed. The hospital ship So
lace Is expected to leave for Key West
on Wednesday. The Yosemite will prob
ably leave on Saturday, while the Dixie
will be ready for service in two weeks.
1t Is reported that the American line
steamships st. Louis. New York and Par
Is will be brought here to be transformed
into cruisers.
The gunboat Vicksburg. torpedo boat
Rodgers and revenue cutters Hamilton
and Morrill, are scheduled to sail on Tues
day or Wednesday. The destination of
the vessels Is said to be Key West BY
Friday next the ram Katahdin, revenue
cutters Window and Hudson and several
tugs will have left the navy yard The
cruiser Montgomery and revenue cutter
Manning are expected to get away by the
last of the present week The work OF
ha
done in thorough manner. The work
or loading ammunition on board the new
vessels is rapidly progressing. Stores
and rations are on board nearly all the
vessels at the yard. JUS; now $500 work
men are employed in outfitting the fleet.
The revenue cutter Dexter reached
here yesterday from New York with
drafts of men for vessels in the revenue
cutter fleet.
The Auxiliary Board.
New York, April 1S.-The Board on Aux
iilary Cruisers has advised the Govern
ment to purchase seven steam yachts
to be used for cruising and blockading
the shallow inlets on the Cuban coast.
and the necessary transfers will likely be
made. today The boats inspected are
the steam yacht Corsair, the flagship of
the New York Yacht Club, owned by J.
Pierpont Morgan. This vessel is built
entirely of steel. She is 24l feet inches
over all, and 20i feet on the water line,
q feet wide and draws about 13 feet She
Is fitted with triple expansion engines of
the three-cylinder type, and can under
forced draught attain a speed of 20 knots.
The late Charles Fleischmann's steel
yacht, the Hiawatha, was also examined
at Morris Heights where she is moored
This vessel is one of the best of her kind
afloat. She was built in 1889. under the
supervision of Charles L. Seabury and is
said he hot ba IL
signed. Her dimensions are: Length 40
feet; width, u feet, and draught feet
She has speed of II knots, which with
forced draught can be increased to about
IS knots. The yacht is now owned by the
FIeischmann estate.
The quaint looking old Spearwater
owned by Henry r. Wolcott is another
yacht that passed muster. She was
built in 1897 She is a Single screw steel
vessel. Her length over all Is 124 feet
She can steam at the rate of fifteen
knots.
The Thespia. which was built for Da-
vid Dows, jr., in 1895 ana recently sold
10 a yachting agency, was found suita-
bic by the board Her best speed is only
twelve knots. She is a steel vessel. 1874
feet long, twenty-three feet wide and
nine feet draught.
Tn old Viking, single screw iron
yacht that was built in 1882 also came
Naval
Board. She is 13S feet long, twenty-one
feet wide and draws nine feet of water.
Her best speed is twelve and one-half
knots.
The Sylvia, the old flagship of ex-
Commodore E. M. Brown, of the New
York Yacht Club. is the slowest craft
of the lot inspected This big yacht
moves at the rate of ten knots She was
launched in 1882 and is single screw
iron vessel Her dimensions are: Length
146 feet width eighteen feet, draught
ten feet.
Hiram w. Sibley's yacht. the Restless.
was the last boat examined and passed
upon. She is not a particularly fast ves-
sci, steaming at the rate of twelve knots
an hour. The Restless vas built in 1887
She is single screw iron vessel Her
length over all is 1l3 feet
The Revenue Cutters,
The State Department, it is learned on
the best authority, has been given to un-
derstand that vessels now in transit
through the st. Lawrence Canal will not
be prevented from proceeding to the At
lantic seaboard. No vessel that starts
prior to declaration of war will be
stopped.
The above statement is said to apply to
the revenue cutters ordered to the At
lantic seabord from the Great Lakes All
the locks on the St Lawrence Canal sys-
was announced by the British foreign
office recently that the canal locks could
not be used in time of war by vessels
destined to be used on the Atlantic sea-
board as warShips
The new ruling permits the Government
to move the vessels now en- route to the
ocean. 1t is expected, however that all
these vessels will reach the coast prior
to hostilities
The Alabama.
Philadelphia April 1S.-May 1 has been
fixed as the date for launching the battle
ship Alabama, in course of construction
at Cramps shipyard. Miss Morgan,
daughter of United States Senator Nor
gan, it is said, will christen the ship. Tho
Alabama will be the first of the three
battleships contracted for in October
1896, 10 be placed in the water. The other
two-the Wisconsin and Ilinois-are be
ing built respectively at San Francisco
and Newport News.
The Lnmpasscs.
Key West, Fla, April 1S.-The Mallory
Line steamer LampaSseS, which arrived
here Thursday with coal for the fleet
has received instructions from the main
office to remain at Key West until fur
ther orders, as the Government is nego-
tiating for her purchase. But whether
purchased or not she will be used by the
Government to transport troops 10 Cuba
should the necessity arise.
The Passaic.
Brunswick. Ga, April 1S.-Charles H
Inch. chief engineer of the United States
Navy, and Lieutenant Sherman, of the
Ordnance Department, arrived here to-
day.
MY purpose here is to follow orders
and place the monitor Passaic's machin-
cry in proper condition for service" the
chief engineer said. ''She needs some
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