Arizona republican., 1898-04-27
BUILDING UP THE NAVY.
The Department Orders Ten Block
 ading Vessels.

The Department Orders Ten Block
 ading Vessels.
 Washington, April 25.-The growth of the auxiliry navy to proportions which already surpass numerically the unarmored regulr fleet of cruisers and gunboats took new turn today when authority was given for the purchase of ten light-draught fast yachts, which were called for by ths strategy board to be used in main taining an effective blockade of Cuban ports.
 The seven yachts so far selected arg the Thespia, the Restless, the Viking and the HiaWatha, now at Ne" York; the Illawara and the ltuna, at Boston; and the Au Revoir, at N1i- mington, Del. The Thespia is 5O9 tons, and was built two years ago by the Cramps in Philadelphia; the Restless is 160 tons, built in 1887, and now owned in Rocheter, N. Y.; the Viking is 230 tons, built last year and owned in Cincinnati; the Illawara is 200 tons, and Was built at Bath two years ago the luna was designed by G. L. Watson, of Valkyrie fame, and was built by A. and J. Inglls, Of Glasgow, in 1886; the Au Revoir is 575 tons, and was built at Whining ton in 1893.
 These vessels draw twelve feet of water as maximum and can therefore enter harbors inaccessible to naval vessels They will be equipped with machine guns and rapid-fire 6-pound- CTS. They will start south as soon as possible, and until Cuban occupation is complete will act as scouts and dis patch-boats for the Key West Squad ron, afterwards enteIin into the reg ular work of Cuban coast patrol.
 Surgeon General Sternberg of the Army, is negotiating for a large mer- chant vessel to be used as floating army hospital, to be stationed in the harbor selected as the base of sup plies for the army operating in Cuba. This vessel is to be equipped with five hundred beds and many of the con- trivances now being installed in the naval ambulance ship Solace. Unlike the Solace, she will be stationary most of the time, except when it may be necessary to transport the wounded to American ports.
 It has been practically decided to abandon next summers cruise of the naval cadets, and to send the boys at once to sea in the mosquito fleet. The cadets of the upper class have already joined the fleets, and it is believed that the under-class men have had experience which will make them ex- ceedingly useful aboard harbor-de- fence vessels and on scout duty.
 The Board of Naval Bureau Chiefs is considering the advisability of util- izing some of the old converted smoothbore guns for the auxiliary cruisers. Working day and night and using up raw material for the manu- fcture of guns as rapidly as it can be produced, the Naval Ordinance Bur eau is unable to supply the enormous demand now made upon it for guns Of medium caliber. Almost all the avail able ordnance of this kind in foreign markets has been purchased. A large part of the guns set apart for the auxiliary navy has been taken by the recently purchased Morgan line vessels, and it is the intention of the board to supply deficiences in the ar mament of the amount of the remain ing vessels by the use of the con- verted smooth bores.
 The guns are really not smooth bores at all, but are cast iron guns lined with steel tubes fully rified. There are two classes of these guns. First, an S0-pound muzzle loading Parrott gun, such as was used in the civil war, converted into breach loader by cutting off the base and fit ting a bEeech block. These are light ande effective pieces, although their range is limited The other class is made up of what were 11-inch smooth bore naval guns, reduced to the cali ber of eight inches by the insertion ot a rifled steel tube. They are not however, breech loaders, so they will be slow in action. Their weight is eight tons and, all that would be nee essary to fit them to vessels of the St. Paul and New York class would be the laying of a deck track and the fastening of a couple of heavy ring bolts for each gun. They fire a solid armor-piercing shot weighing 1SC pounds or bursting shell with ten pounds of powder weighing 1856 pounds. With an accurate range of from two and half to three miles, they would be effective weapons against any unarmored ship. It is the intention of the navy department to replace them in the vessels by mod ern weapons just as fast as the new guns can be turned out.