The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-04-20
This End of the Big Building Busy
In the Work of Mars.
CRAFT FOR CUBA WATERS
SEVEN FLEET YACHTS PRO
CURED YESTERDAY.
Indignation Expressed Over Extor-
tionate Prices Asked for Graft
Wanted by Uncle Sam-Million
Dollars Already Spent for Trans
porting Troops.

l
naval preparations continued today
with undated vigor. Seven fleet steam
yachts suitable for navigation in Cuban
waters were procured and several bids
for steam Golfers were made. Arrange
ments are making to utilize a number
of the powerful converted smooth bore
guns, survivors of the late war, as
armament for the auxiliary cruisers.
! Many agents for shipowners were at
| the navy department today, offering
to sell crafts to the government, but
| the prices are said TO be excessive and
| no purchases were made.
! The important event in the war de-
! partment was the decision to enlist
only national guardsmen under the first
| call fer troops, which will be very
gratifying to the militiamen. Some
idea OF the cost of transporting troops
may be formed from the fact that it
was necessary to allot $1,000,0O0 today
| to defray the expenses of the move
ments already ordered. Reports from
all over the country this morning ind1-
Gated that the movements were going
on with the most gratifying celebrity. A
| picturesque condition of warlike con-
dition was presented right in Washing
ton by the departure for the south of
the Sixth cavalry and Secretary Alger,
busted as he was with official tasks,
managed to make time to get to the
station to see them off. An allotment
of funds for a balloon service shows
that the par department does not pro-
pose to ignore any of the latest scien-
titic aids to warfare.
EMERGENCY FUND.
Secretary Alger made several allot-
ments from the emergency fund. One
million dollars was given for the quar-
termasters department only to meet
extraordinary expenses in the transpor-
tation of troops and munitions OF war,
$4,000 for war balloons and $4,000 for
perfecting the army Geographic SER
vice. General Greeley, the chief sig
nal officer. is a staunch advocate of the
use of balloons at the various ports of
the country and in regular field service.
EXTORTIONERS.
A great deal of indignation has been
expressed by naval officers over the
cold blooded attempts of persons own
ing vessels or acting as their agents,
to eXtort from the government sums OF
money largely in excess of the value of
their worth. Some complaint is also
made as to many kinds of military and
naval supplies although it is gratifying /
to note that in a few exceptional cases
(the tube making and boiler making |
firms, and some ammunition and gun !
making people, every disposition has |
been shown to give the government the |
best terms in price and time of deliV |
cry.
PLATING SOME VESSELS.
The navy department has arranged
to place some light aTmor on the four
ves sells acquired from the Morgan line,
the Prairie, Yosemite, Yankee and
Dixie The Carnegie company has un-
~ +ol,- CT
plate, one and a half inches thick. Two
layers of this plate will be placed
around the boiler and engine rooms of
the boat, making about $50 tons of ar
Nor in each case. This Will be suftic-
lent at least to repel the fire of ma
chine guns, and perhaps TO keep out
the murderous six-pOunder shells.
APPREHENSIONSR REMOVED.
The navy department has received
information that the coal ]
L AIDED at Newport News upon the Brit
Ssh tramp steamer Hampstead. is not,
is was supposed intended for the Span
sh naval craft at the Cape Verde
Islands, but is for a line of merchant j
steamers, so that apprehension from i
hat score has been removed. |
The department is still reaching out
or vessels suitable for Golfers, and
several cable messages were sent today /
o its agencies in Europe, looking TO c
he purchase OF some of these vessels. I
FEARS OF SMALL TOWNS. E
Applications are pouring into the war
md navy departments for the imme- :
late protection Of supposedly exposed '
)oints on the Atlantic and gulf sea- S
boards. Some towns ask for the lnme- a
late construction Of batteries, while Q
theirs want warshipS stationed off the n
hore. A vast majority of these apph-
atoms are from very small towns. !
The officials say it is manifestly i'm l
ossible to comply with these requests. |
nd have no hesitation in declaring that .
he apprehension among the people Of !
hose towns is entirely groundless. :
They say that there would be no in \
ucement for Spanish naval force 10 .
tack unfortifled small coast towns. /
Also ii is said that the rules of civil :
zed warfare require that no unforti- {
ed town shall be bombarded without d
t least "a hours notice. the object CT ;
MS delay being to allow non-comDaI- !
nts to retire to a place of safety.