The Portland daily press., 1898-04-20
NAVAL RESERVES ON DuTYi
The Montaux VIII Not Sail for Week
signal Detail to Go on for Week.


Th. Montaux VIII Not Sail for Week
st.nal Detail to Go on for Week.
Tho Newark Call says: "The boys on
the old monitor Montauk at League
Island Navy Yard Philadelphia have
| lot to do before the vessel Will 10 feauy
| to put to sea- 1t is expected ohaO 'no
battalion of the West New Jersey Naval
Reserves would take the boat TO fort-
land, Me-, fully month ago. Delay ioi-
lowed delay, however, and it WAS not
until last week that any o. the jersey iiien
save two or three officers, got oruers "
report on board the monitor. NO" q
squad from the Engineer Division maae
up largely of Stevens Institute stuoenVs
or graduates, with a small detail ifoiii
Newark and Jersey City division are On
| the boat helping to get ready for sea.
When the Jersey men got to the snip
| they found a vast deal remained TO pc
done before the vessel could go to sea. IL
seems the New York Reserves have been
the lucky ones, for they got their poat'
the Jason, into dry dock first, and thus
got long start of the other reserves.
The Jersey boat (the one the Battalion OF
the West is to take to Maine) needs an
entire new deck. 1t seems the beams
have rotted badly, and it would be very
poor policy to go to sea without new
planking. The boat has it's coal on boaro,
but has not as yet received either its am
munition or provisions. Her engines are all
ready, and this was the only part OF her
| that was ready when the Reserves got to
League Island. The Jerseymen and the
detail from the Massachusetts, Reserves
are laughing at the New York Reserves,
who have taken tug to haul their boat
to Sandy Hook. Both the New Jersey
and the Massachusetts, details are deter
mined to take their vessel to their desti-
nations without outside help if possible
| The Jersey reserves are called by the
Massachusetts, men the Exclusive set, !"
for they have nothing to do with anyone
else in the yard. There is good reason
| for this-Jhe Jerseymen have no time to
be social-there is so much to do on the
Montauk. They sleep on the monitor
and mess in the old receiving ship Rich
mond.
Adjutant General Stryker yesterday
issued an order directing Commander
| Charles B. Dahlgren, of the battalion Of
the West New Jersey naval reserves, to
at once detach from his battalion one
lieutenant two lieutenants. junior
grade, two ensigns, one surgeon. one pay
master, one chief engineer, one assistant
engineer and 100 seamen, for service
aboard the United States ship Venezuela,
| in accordance with instructions received
from the Navy Department at Washing
ton.
| Commander Dahlgren is instructed to
make immediate report of the detach.
ment to the adjutant generals office.
There are three divisions of the battalion
of the West, one at Trenton. one at Cam
den and the other at Haddonfield. Col
onel Dahlgren will call the divisions to-
gether at once to rake the detail, after
| ascertaining who are willing to volun-
| teer. The men will then remain in readi-
ness to respond to a future order to re-
port on board the Venezuela. Lieuten-
ant James Boyd Cotter, of Bridgton.
will probably be assigned as lieutenant
| in charge Of the detail.
| 1t is probable that the detail of signal
mon from the Battalion of the West to
the two signal stations on the Jersey
| coast will be ordered to their stations on
/! Tuesday or Wednesday, of this week.
The stations are to be located at Barno-
gat and Cape May, and there will be
from four to six men at each station.
The Newark division is to furnish two
| signalmen and lso a telegrapher.
| When the detail which is to take the
NIontauk to Portland is off, and then
men for the signal stations have left, the
| Newark division will have upward of
| fifty men left, and these men, naturally
enough, are wondering what Is to be
done with them. When the Battalion of
the East goes aboard of the Venezuela,
| the men Of the Battalion Of the West who
are still left win be the only Naval Re-
serves ready for duty in the State, and it
| is the opinion Of some that they will, in
case of war, be ordered to report on some
one of the regular warships, to ill up
crew, as there will not be enough of
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