Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-14

tion by way of the Suez canal, has been
found to be in fair shape, as result of
the examination by the naval inspection
beard. A thorough ovsrhauling will be un-
necessary in the present instance, as she
will be sent to Boston. where all necessary
repairs can be made to her in about twelve
days.
Orders have been issued to the Mare
Island navy yard to prepare the Charles
ton for commission without loss of time,
end it is expected this ship will be in serv
ice again by the first week in April, or
some days ahead of the Philadelphia. Both
vessels will be retained near San Fran
cisco, and with the two monitors Monterey
and Monadnock will defend that city
against war vessels that might be sent
against it.
Authorities have been advised that re-
pairs to the monitor Puritan are practically
completed, and she will drop down to
Hampton Roads In a day or two to await
developments. The cruiser Brooklyn will
join her at that point, and these ships
will soon be reinforced by the cruisers Co
lumbia and Minneapolis.
The monitor Miantonomoh will be retain
ed at the mouth of the Delaware to guard
the city of Philadelphia, and the ram
either to New York or to Key West, with
the chances in favor of her reinforcing tie
Terror for protection of the port of New
York.
To Give Up the European Station.
1t has been decided to abandon the Eu-
ropean station for the present to meet the
exigencies of the situation. Orders have
been sent to Commodore Howell command
ing the fleet, to send the gunboats Helena
and Bancroft to the United States with all
spcsd and to prepare to return himself oil.
the flagship San Francisco on short notice
These three vessels comprise the entire Eu-
ropcan fleet. They have been at Lisbon
Portugal, for several weeks awaiting orders.
The Helena was originally intended for
the. Asiatic station, and was proceeding
thither by the Mediterranean route when
directed to remain at Lisbon until further
orders. The Bancroft was built as a prac-
tlce vessel for the Naval Academy cadets,
but was sent to Turkish waters during the
critical period of the Armenian troubles,
when so many American citizens were be-
ing ill-treate6 in the sutans possessions
and has been retained on the station ever
since.
The Helena has displacement of only
392 tons and that of the Bancroft is only
$50 tons. The San Francisco is prote cted
cruiser Of 4,O9S tons, and is very good
vessel of her class, although in need of a
rapid-firing battery.
1t is expected that the Helena will ar
rive at Hampton Roads and the Bancroft
at Key West within two weeks time.
They will be attached to Admiral Sicard's
formidable fleet. and in the event of trou-
bic will be used in blockading Cuban ports.
The abandonment of the European sta
ton is due to the desire of the department
to remove from possible sphere of dam
ger three ships which might there fall an
easy prey to Spanish battle ships or ar
mCred cruisers, and which could render
much more effective service on this side of
the Atlantic.
Disappearing Gun Carriages.
The ordnance department of the army has
sent an invitation to all of the firms which
have in the past proposed to build disap-
pearing gun carriages, in answer to the
departments advertisement, to now come
forward and submit on their own behalf
proposals for building such carriages. They
are invited to state how many carriages
they can undertake at one time, and are
especially enjolned to state the exact time
to be consumed in making them.
The ordnance officers have discovered to
their great qualification that it is possible
to use the carriages of the old fifteen-inch
Rodman guns to mount the eight and ten
inch guns of modern manufacture. This is
because the Rodman carriages were fortu-
nately of particularly heavy construction
for the guns they were designed to carry,
50 that with even the vastly increased
power of modern ordnance the fifteen-inch
Rodman carriage is still able to carry safe
ly an eight or ten-inch breech-loading rifle
OF course, the expedient is only a tenn
porary one, the carriag ges are very slow
in operation, according to modern stand
ards, but they would serve very well in an
emergency.
Clothing the Naval Militia.
Representative Elliott of South Carolina
called at the Navy Department this morn
ing to talk with the officials respecting the
clothing of the naval militia. Representa-
tive Elliott is endeavoring to secure the
departments aid in having the section OF
the naval bill providing for clothing go
into effect immediat tely upon the passage
of the bilh in which case considerable
body of the South Carolina militia can be
put into active service at once. The de-
partment is thoroughly committed to the
measure.
Conditions appear to be Quieter on the
surface at the Navy Department today.
Probably this was because Secretary Long,
Captain Crowninshield, chief of the navi-
CATION bureau; Engineer-in-Chief Melville
and other leading bureau officers Of the de-
partment were called to the Capitol during
the forenoon to inform the appropriations
committee of the needs of the naval service
In the matter of legislation. In the various
bureaus there was hum of industry, how
ever, and the work progressed as inces-
sanity and steadily as 1t has for the past
two weeks.
Men for the BraxfIfan Shtps.
The recruiting service Of the Navy De-
partment is naturally one Of the biggest
branches of the service just now. 1t is in
the temporary command of Captain Hemp
hill during the absence in the south OF Cap
tain Hawley. He was busy this morning
with representatives of the various rail-
roads engaged in arranging for terms for
transportation of recruits to the seaboard
and of sailors already in the service from
one port to another made necessary by the
commissioning nj