The San Francisco call., 1898-03-13
THE OREGON TO GO .SOUTHW ARD
 --------- Valparaiso the Destina- ton of the Battle
 Ship. Gould Be Dispatched Thence Around the Horn to
 Cuba.
War Deoartnaent to Let an Enorrn Ous Order for Shot and
 Shell.
Special Dispatch to The Call.
Call Office, Riggs House,

Call Office, Riggs House,
 Washington, March 12.
 The sending of the Oregon, now at Mare Island, away from San Francisco is an exhibition Of the farSightedneSs with which the Secretary of the Navy is observing the situation of to-day. The vessels orders are to cruise down the Pacific Coast, touching from time to time at various ports where cable connection exists to receive any orders that the department may have to give. In this way it is expected that she will work as far south as Valparaiso, Chile, where she will await orders.s
 Valparaiso is very much nearer Cuba and to Admiral Sicard's fleet than is Mare Island, while if it should be de- sired to send the ship to the Asiatic station, this can be done almost as conveniently from Valparaiso as from San Francisco. At Valparaiso the Or egon will be where she can be most usefully manipulated in case of an emergency.
 The Nashville arrived at Key West to-day, while the Marblehead arrived at Tampa. The naval officials will not state the purpose of the Marble heads visit to Tampa.
 The war talk has had the usual re- suit of bringing before the War and Navy departments perfect flood Of suggestions and inventions. Many of these are most remarkable, dealing with balloons, flying machines, kites and the like, centipede-like steamers with manifold propellers and torpedoes Of fearful and wonderful construction. All of them are given attention, and are offered to the proper authorities for in vestigation, but not much is expected from them.
 The War Department will on Mon day open bids for one of the largest orders of shot and shell for heavy cal iber guns ever given, including armor- piercing projectiles and deck-piercing torpedo shells. The number and char acter of these follows: Nine hundred and thirty nine 12-inch deck piercing shells, weighing 1000 pounds each; 1241 12-inch k-piercing shells, weighing 800 pounds each: 4S1 10-inch armor- piercing, shot capped; 149 S-inch armor- piercing shells; 150 S-inch armor- -pierc- ing, sheet capped.
 These projectiles are for the heavy fertilization guns now mounted along the coast. The purchase is not to be made under the fifty million defense appropriation bill, but is in anticipation of the fortification bill, which grants $940. 900 for a reserve, supply of projec tiles and powder. AS the making of the. heavy proiectiles will take consid-, erable time, the contract will be let ahead of the passage of the bilk as surances having been given from men in Congress that no question would be raised as to the regularity of this pro- ceeding. The entire amount is de- signed to give all the heavy guns now installed, and those to be put into place during the coming year, full quota of projectiles and powder.
 The 19-inCh shot are among the Iarp- est made. The cost of a single round of this class of projectiles is $511. Aside from the large order to be placed on Monday, the emergency bill willpermit additional orders to meet the require ments of such fortifcation guns as may be mounted for emergency. The present order is for the actual nesds of the guns now mounted, without refer ence to any existing emergency, al though it has been made all the more imperative by the Spanish crisis
 The Oregon, steaming at the rate of ten knots an hour, would be able to run from this city around the Horn to Key West in eighty-one days. She would be compelled to coal at least three times on the trip. It is an open question whether it would be altogether safe to take a battleship of the Oregon's size through the narrow channels of the straits of Magellan, although an ex- ceedingly rough passage of 800 miles might be avoided by the cut off.
 Should war with Spain be declared before the Oregon arrives at Valpa- raiso, the authorities of Chile would be called on to determine whether coal is contraband of war Should the deci- sion be in the affirmative the battleship could only receive a supply sufficient to enable her to steam to the nearest home port, which is San Francisco Should the question arise while the ship was applying fer coal at some port on the Atlantic, the ruling might be that Key West was the nearest home port
 Spain may have some good cruisers and several armored ships of modern type, but there Is no vessel in the Span ish navy that is the equal of the Ore gon. In fact, the United States battle ship Indiana, which is frequently men, toned as the pride of the American navy" is not quite up to the Oregon's standard.
 There is some talk in the navy that Lieutenant Commander Carlin may go to the Oregon as executive officer With Captain Mccormick in command, Carlin as executive officer and Nichol- son as navigator, the Oregon in a bat tie would add luster to the annals of the navy. A Spanish man-of-war looking for a brush need only come within easy range of the Oregon's 13- inch rifles to be accommodated
 There was great hustle and activity upon the big battleship yesterday morning. Three or four scows, laden with coal and ammunition, lay along side and all hands were busily at work transferring their contents to the depths of the ship. Aft sailors were laboriously hoisting heavy shells, one by one whilst forward the atmosphere was thick with coal dust. White painted ships, from a picturesque point of view, are very effective, but when it comes to coaling up sailors would de- cidedly prefer the somber, unattractive black The beautiful white-p painted sides of the ironclad were streaked with grimy stains, sailors were not to be dis tinguished from stokers, and every port and aperture which led below was her medically sealed.