Evening star., 1898-12-06
COAL FOR THE FLEET
The Navy Department ~as in DeSper-
ate Straits.
NEED OF THE VESSELSDU6IEG THE WaB
Imperative Demand OF Fresh Water
for the Ships.
THE ELECTRICAL PLANTS

An account Of how tho na'y Wa equipped
T." meet the emergency ,rr -I hy ts, war
Is contained in tho annual 9ruor; cf can't
x. b. Bradford. chief "s .he lur,.u oc
e1umm"n; Navy Department. Seer
iary Long in his repor. las made
som" brief reference ta the Wotktun-
"f The bureau iU d cu--r.r rl.a.ary rDar-
ner. and Capt. Bradford rrpart r,r.isb.s
'he details of the ogora snus sf that i'm
r'r."nt bureau. lie sas & .s ,op carly .a
rI'ca On record 1or fg.vra -nilll,er the an
ilr" experience of ;hc bureau d4.!us. tE.
Val but it is proposed 10 do This 40 som,
n:urr time.
ia" demands upon the bureau and fits SUBJ
"''i'.'.'" 'TanchaS-;hc naval ,.;Isrry.i. .,fv
III" photographic office. commas fiyf.i,r.
na1iral almanac and ,ler.ri,s,l ..apIttu,,4
'NiSl""-o'oaSioncd hy the Sar were very
great
Gent for tn" Fleet
This was "ss-:t;iaIIy SO wiki reference I'd
the r"al supply of The to. When war
threatened The bvr,aV mI!, ..ary possible
ehoij 10 rr"eur" cJaling s'et,Hua near tl,
scene Of is probable lpg .f.n dfr...4p.s
special "ffnris. wifEnut sue. .s- Frv-.y,r io
the passages 3hoa: the Ar1ir,s. There. y.,r-,
nhi\ one coal shed At Key w.. and ou,
'i@ "''t, h"' "''niu'lly al inr available
'H.''' 'f'' i' VI covered she .i- q
forage capacity 81 a,uur t,u-. NJ n..l.
place rear the scene Of W. WI ..,.til .FI,
A. a preparation Tor war -h,.. I..-r,3 md
asked Tor ana obtained meuy tenders FOR
IN transportation and supp y ar coal NVb,n
.!' crucial mo'r'n. came. Win t.r,, ,N,aI.
tion "t singl" Raltimrre fg:n ..l declined
10 adhere To their oncgs Ola asru.,rf ,.r ,,.9r
risks. The Baltimore t.pf.o.l4l ma a rp,
sch"oaefs. The dcpar,m.n WIS la drsper-
a." straits ana the aIfrrua iv. U..s Ia ppr-
thaSe ships "nd arm ard man "a m as
transports. Thrro were hu- f.w .,.=s..ls i'm
thlS country suitable for :i.a 'fsi,,-.rtrtari,u
of coal and im.nediat.l. .,Hi,a9.. W.,
these were found their owners Eu,w wrIi
iHe necessities nf The yCn .-fr,n.l1r aud ,,.n-
~ t,"'ly defnand'd d "N"rb an; pr.c,s. Whatever
the cost, says Cant. Erad.ord an l.,y.-.n-
Inent could least "f ali. bfrorl delay 80
hNe golfers were purchased ranging in
nric@ from <t9""op for ;ho Sterling To-
>"i2,"" for the Merrimac.
adequate Coal supply.
The first great emergency having passed.
ana the squadron being relieved. afditional
'oill"rs. mostly foreign vessels. were pur-
erased at fair prices. ana ov,p,uaIly the
bureau possessed an efficient arIr-l collier
heal. with carrying capacity nr Ja.naD
tons Tor use in the Atlantic Without these
vessels it would have been impossible 10
carry on the operations brought ta a sue
ccssful issue by the fleet Tho nIouitors
were especially heiul'sS with their small
steamins radius, without the help OF col
Hers The assistHuc" rendered ny ne Mer-
Iinlac Is historic. Captain RtJlf.rd says,
"lta pardGnabl' pride tfat WITH IN. ,X-
csFuon Of a sine!e telegram from th, COM
nauder-in-chiel. urging tlat "a paiticular
Kind of coal only be supT led To- thr fleet
not single Request or co.amuuIrt ian con-
cSlnlhG an adequate coal SU,fliy NaS re-
celTei from any ship ah1st during 'he n
tlre var; evidence that an ahguiaut sup
ply was ai""yS available. At one iime here
were ahoat. in steam "ol'i"rs an Hampton
Roads ready 10 sail at an hours notic, To-
any point desired, ln.mo tons of he best
coal.
Fresh Water for the RoiIers
one lesson OF the war which will he Of
Use 10 every navy in the " MA was a demon
stratiou that in future fresh water for
boilers must he abundantly supplied to- the
feet by transports just as coal ,- carried
With the exception of the Oregon. the dis
ullins plants aboard our warShlp~. which
were supposed TO be sufficient 10 supply the
loss in evaporation to the boilers proved TO
he inadequate, owing chiefly to lraky steam
pipes. II more difficult 20 supply fresh
water to ships al Key NrSt than 10 supply
coal. The boilers Of the ships on block
aae before Santiago were much injured for
the want Of fresh water aud gave the com
mauder-in-chle much concern. The bu-
Tcdu has heretofore bought fresh water for
stoamlng purposes, hut that Was tou eS-
penS;Ve. During The war the bureau paid
at one time S2.d67. for ia2..,9 gallons Of
flesh water at Tompk nSNiHg, y y. FOR
the st. Paul and pro rata Tor other ShipS
Had this water been drawn from he Brook
lyn mains and transported 10 the ship in
water boats II would have cost only 81. -.
J" remedy this evil the bureau is procur-
lnE a water barge ior cacn naval station.
and is erecting stiiiinS plants WheFe es-
Sdry. 1t has also pre- .IvI Cd l.Ink-~hip. the
Arathusa, to carry water N bulk.
The equipment bureau bought nearly half
a million tons of coal during the year at
the rate OF Si.GS per ton. The year before
only l3S,3lS tons were bought at a cost Of
$I5 per ton. The coal bought abroad.
4,1ll tons, cost $S.l2 per ton. The in
creased cost of coal abroad was due To-
serious and prolonged strikes of coal miners
and threatened war between foreign ma
ticns. BY watching the markets and MAX
ing close contracts the bureau was able
to keep the cost down 10 a minimum, and
at d price believed to be remarks BILE in
view of the conditions.
Care of Electrical Plants.
Captain Bradford regards with much con-
Germ the constantly increasing demands for
repairs and renewals for electrical outfits
and supplies of ships. With the notable
exceptions of Dewey's feet and the oregon.
the experience Of our warships would seem
to indicate that they cannot long be self
sustaining without dockyard electrical
miiar with electrical engineering seems to
he decreasing rather than increasing. Prob
ably owing To the closing OF the torpedo
school, where a course on electricity was
taught. In the meantime elcctrical ap-
paratus on shipboard has multiplied many
fold and become ike all other accessories
Of man-oi-war, much more complex. II is
earnestly recommended tnat a special corps
of men ne provided to care for the electri-
cal plants. Captain Bradford says that
as a monopoly practically controls the most
important electrical supplies. with the usual
high prices. ne considers il advisable To
erect at the New York navy yard, for the
purpose OF overcoming this evil, sufficient
appliances for the manufacture Of the arti-
cles now purchased.
Homing Pigeon Service.
While the results of the homing pigeon
service have not been as satisfactory as
was wished, especially at Key West near
the war; yet Captain Bradford says this
may have been due TO the climate and the
want Of an experienced man to care for tie
birds, so he recommends a further trial
OF the system.