Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-05-21
Straps and faet5.

teers from the state, and tender their
services to the president. MIR. Bryan
has accepted the commission and is
now getting up the regiment.
- There is good deal of talk at the
war department of the possibility of
an issue by the president of another
call for volunteers, but careful in
ouiry tends to warrant the statement
that this is at least premature, and
that no further call is likely to issue
until the aggregate number of soldiers
already called for have responded and
have been equipped for service. This
last matter, the equipment of the new
troops, is the main source of delay
and promises to become even worse in
the future.
- The cruiser Charleston left San
Francisco Wednesday on her long
Journey to meet Admiral Dewey at
Manila, and should arrive there in
about "a days, allowing a couple of
days at Honolulu for coal. Admiral
Dewey's cablegrams show that he is
able to maintain the ground be has
gained until reinforcements arrive in
the usual course so that the Charles
ton will get there in time to serve him.
The stock of ammunition which the
Charleston carries is believed to be
the greatest essential just now, the
fierce engagement at Cavite having
consumed a large part of the Ameri-
can admiral's shot and shell.
Spain has three ships named Al
fonso, and confusion exists as to which
is which. One of the Alfonsos, the
armored transport Alfonso XII, is in
Havana harbor, and was there when
the Maine was blown up. Over at
Cadiz there is a brand-new protected
cruiser named the Alfonso III. The
other ship of the name is the Alfonso
XIII. 1t was formerly merchant
vessel and is now being used as a
troop ship. When last heard from in
this country, it was at the Barbados
with load of soldiers on board. The
Barbados belong to Great Britain and
are located about 100 miles south of
Martinique, off the north coast of
Venezuela.
- Naval officers, says Washington
dispatch, are indignant over an order
Just issued by the chief of the bureau
of navigation prohibiting them from
conversiug with newspaper men on
any topic relating to naval affairs.
They regard it as rejecting on their
integrity and discretion. A number
of them were bold enough to say that
it was merely intended to cover indis-
Greet admissions made by members of
the strategy board to personal friends
outside the service concerning the
plan of operations against the Spanish
feet, and which has gotten into the
newspapers in that way. One said
that if the deliberations of the strategy
board became public it must have been
because some member of the board
had heen indiscreet enough to talk
about it.
1t was given out on last Monday
that the Philippine expedition, in
charge of General Merritt, was to con-
sist of $4,000 men, including only
1000 regulars. The New York Trib-
une of Tuesday morning published an
interview with General Merritt, and in
it the general was quoted among other
things as saying that he would not 90
to the Philippines with any such force.
As a reason, he stated that the Spanish
army in the Philippines was composed
of the best and most experienced
troops of Spain, not boys like the army
in Cuba, and he would not move
against such troops without an army
that is made up of at least fair pro-
portion of seasoned regulars. Next
day General Merritt wrote to the de-
partment claiming that he had been
misuuoted but did not state in what
particulars. All the same, however,
the department has appreciated the
force of his reasoning and has decided
to give him not less than 5000 regulars
along with 10000 volunteers.
- Probably there is no nautical term
more frequently used during the
present naval war than the word knot.
The word is synonymous with the
nautical mile, or 6,0S0.27 feet, while,
as every one knows, the geographical
mile is $3.50 feet. This would make
the knot equal 10 l l5.100 Of geo.
graphical mile. and therefore, in order
to compare the speed of boat ex.
pressed in knots with railroad train
it is necessary to multiply the speed
in knots by 1900. Another point
to remember is that speed means dis
tance travelled in unit time, so that
when one speaks of a boat having a
a speed of 20 knots it is not necessary
or proper TO add per hour, as the word
itself when employed as a unit Of
speed signifies nautical miles per hour.
A cruiser that makes 81 knots travels
PALS geographic; miles per hour.
The fastest speed yet obtained by any
boat is said to have been obtained by
the yacht Ellide, which is known to
have a record of one geographical
mile in l minute Sc! seconds, or 1872
miles an hour. In fact, a recent arti-
Gle in one of the engineering journals