Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-08-16


the new island possessions OF the Unit
rbs ambulance ship soiace. formerly
the cromwell Line steamer creole, " "
proposcd to maintain permanently IN
he noot and after her present voyage
40 Porto Rico, Il Il probable that she
viii start Tor the Philippine Islands 10
enrs for the sick OF Admiru Dewoya
souadron. This splendid vessel was
practically now, having been launched
only two years ago. and although tho
first vessel Of her kind In any navy,
has proved Of such lncHtlmable value
that no thought ~ entertained " the
navy being ahlc 20 get along without
her.
naval officers regard the repair ship
Vulcan IN a similar light. This In
trusely practical American novelty has
demonstrated her worth In a remark
able degree at Guantanamo, and the
bureau are w enthusiastic about her
that they have urged the advinahility
~ sending her ai once 10 Manila and
nttinv another ship on her plans for
usc In the Atlantic.
Perhaps the most remarkable cco-
nomlcal achievement aiectlng the navy
whkh has occurred during the war has
btln due 10 the purchase u twenty
colilofu and half a dozen refrigerator
and diatiilinr vessels. The refrigerator
ships may perhaps be- dispensed with.
but most OF the collicfa are certain OF
retention. When the war began the
price OF coal outside Of the United
States had risen ON account Of tho
Welsh strike to an cxorhltnnt figure.
It. cust az Key West WIS 81 ton and
at s. Thomas, Jamaica, and other
I I..aN
can ports. II averaged fis. The Eng
liah maneuvcru were abandoned ON ac-
count of IL.
| Commodore bradford found that he
l could buy al the coal he needed for
| Wa At LHmbert'H Point, Va, loaded
| and trimmed on board vessels This
was PocahontaA coal, unsqunlicd the
, Norld over Tor Hteaming. Al FIRST h.
, chartered large fleet OF schooners
oai ,ilsr hesiill,lei besan he found he
could not deliver coal To the ncut nt
any price Sampson and Schloy we're
c1bling ior coal. but cow obtain none.
and IN this emergency " purchase "
cnlller was begun. Tho fleet OF those
vessels In the Atlantic now Includes
| me Abarendn, the Alexandria, the
/ caesar the Hannibal, the Justin, the
i'on.daH, The Niagara, the Lebanon.
/ me lumprll, the cnHsiua, the Raturno,
l me Scandal, the Southern. tho gterlinr
I ihe Hector AMI the Marrellus. the lat
~ taking tho place Of the sunken
Mlfrinac. In the Pacific thor are
! four such vessels, the Brutus. the Nero.
lhc lcailro and the Nanshan, the lat
90 two purchased by Admiral Dewey.
Just before the war broke ont IA.
inlfal Dewey had 10 pay so a ton Tor
fuel az Honrkonr. mo navy depart.
ment now delivers Il 20 him al 81 a
inn by sailing vessels and SO ton by
steamer, ana at these rates over co. 900
TONS have been sent o. him. When tho
problems ~ sending the Monterey and
MohAdhock were forced upon the navy
department., Commodore Bradford
solved u and avoided the danger Of
uAlng 20 coal these vessels at sea by
purchasing two Of the largest c1llloru
ln that ocean 10 tow the wnfships In
order that tho latter might save their
own coal and yet be- constantly rrady
Tor action In case the enemy was en-
cpunlercd. The nrutus which towed
went Win the Monadrock. each took
A'pl tons ~ coal ana maintained a
spe,d ~ seven knots for 1000 miles,
while the monitors under their own
hlelm could scarcely have gone one
thousand miles ~ ton knots.
WIN certainty that the United States
WI hereafter maintain n large firet In
AHihtlc waters ana with the necessity
hetplns large amounts OF fuel at
honolulu, Samoa ana Guam, aa well az
IN The Philippines. AZ least slx of the
nlHl class steam culllers must be main
laincd In the Pacific ocean. with the
lhrfe OF naval activity In the Allan.
l' ana especially In tho West Indies,
l'I!nhhently augmented, 40 least ten
Hssh golfers VIII he required on the
eastern coast OF the UnltUd States ana
la theref1rc unlikely that more than
w. ur Two q the smaller vessels OF
.Nh those considerations that moro
inah half " tho auxiliarles which have
ul'fed the naval fleets IN the last
me- months arg 10 stay, and naval
.WetFs are confident that one 81 the
ul acts of the next Congress Will pro-
n.ue means for very large program OF
nnNai construction, which viii place
~ united states firmly among the
l.aulng powers OF the world In the
PRIME essential OF preparedness FOR