Evening star., 1898-10-20
Important Lessons Regarding Steam
Warships.
REPORT OF TEE ENGINEER CHIEF
importance of Maintaining Efficient
Navy Yards.
ABUSE OF TORPEDO BOATS


had thorough trial. So says Engineer-in-
Chief Melville in his annual report, and
then he proceeds to note the important les
sons as far as they respect the machinery
Of the vessels, which have been taught by
that experience, as follows:
/. The vital necessity of giving the ma
under working conditions, so that any de-
fects may be discovered and remeded be-
fore war makes the vessels services abso-
lutely necessary In several cases defects
We're found after the ships had begun
cruising and the repairs laid them up In
the midst of the war.
9 The great importance of having all
our naval stations in positions of strategic
value properly fitted out for repairs and
with adequate supplies of non-perishable
stores. It had been evident for long time
that Key West was such station but
money to put it in proper repair was re-
fused year after year, and only granted
after the war had begun. The movement
of large bodies of troops and their equip
ment almost blocked the railroads, so that
after the beginning of the war it was al
most impossible to secure the forwarding
of tools and supplies.
3. That fresh water for the boilers is al
most as important as COAL and that dis
fleet operating away from base where
fresh water can be readily obtained.
4. That every fleet needs a repair ship to
enable the efficiency to be maintained with
out leaving the station, and conse quently
that several ships should be equipped so
to be ready to proceed with the fleet.
5. The great tactical advantages OF water
tube boilers This has already been dis
cussed under another head
6. That if more than two main engines
are to be fitted. there should be three en-
gines driving three screws, and rot two
main engines on each shaft. The New
York and Brooklyn had their forw lrd en-
gnes disconnected at the time of the San
tiago fight and could not stop to couple
them. An accident to any part of efher of
the two engines on shaft disablas half
the power; in the three-screw ship this
fraction would be only a third
7. That there should be frequent trials
under forced draft to keep the blowers in
good condition and to make the men thor
oughly familiar with working under maxi
mum conditions. 1t appears that same of
the ships had never been Under forced
draft since their contract trials III til the
day of the fight at santiagoA @-'
8. That the location Of the force 3-draft
blowers is a matter of serious Importance
In some Of our ships, owing to the demands
for all other space for other purposes. the
blowers had to be located in corr ers or
pockets in the fire rooms where It was
impossible for human beings to Civ. them
due to lack of ventila ton. In the -incin-
natl temperatures as high as 2n5 degrees
Fahrenheit were noted and the con mand.
ing officer, when investigating the ase per-
sonally. had his face scorched. The blow
ers must be placed where they can b. prop
erly cared for, or else they are useless and
might as we'll be left shore.
o. That the personnel of the service
should be adequate to the material. 1t has
been notorious for some time that this is
not the case, and we are providing for
decided increase In the number Of vesses
with no increase whatever in the Ierson-
mel. BY sending nearly every officer On the
active list to sea we were able to sfS the
regular ships fair complement of trained
ones, but had the war been of long dura-
ton we should have been greatly embar
rassed to supply the places of those dis
abled or invalided. Volunteers, however
well trained in other ways, can not en-
ureiy replace the regular officer.
10. Ihat we must make provision for
framing the enlisted men Of the en- sineer
department. Many Of the golfers anG aux
l1ary vessels had to start out with ahso-
lutely green crews, many of whom so far
from having the sea habit had never
been on vessel of any kind. This must
be remedied if our enlarged feet is to be
efficient.
II. That our fighting ships must have the
hlgnest practicable speed. There is TN al
most general agreement this point
among naval men, but If any had thought
this did not apply to battle ships the fight
at Santiago must have shown that the
highest practicable speed was important in
Ihese vessels 1t is very gratifying, there
Tore that our three new battle ships are
TO have speeds of at least eighteen knots,
which Is now recognized as the standard.
Efficiency of Navy Yards.
The chief says that the most obvious eff
tect OF the emergency demand was to DEM
onstrate in a vigorous manner the facii-
ties and deficiencies Of the various navy
yards, and particularly to justify the pol
icy which had been previously advocated
by his bureau Of placing the more southern
ydruS ana stations in a state of modern eff
cheney. The experience at Key West in
meeting the first great rush created by the
demand for repair work on the ships was a
PROOF OF the vast increase in the cost of re-
pair work occasioned by insufficient build
ings and plant.
With pardonable pride the report dwells
upon the tremendous amount of work ac-
eompiished by the bureau in preparing the
Meet for war involving the placing of new
boilers in the old monitors, the fitting out
or ships in ordinary for sea and the equip
ment of the auxiliary navy, nearly 110 ves-
sells being added to the regular force. Stress
is laid on the Importance of having the least
accessible station in the navy--that at Key
West-amply stocked with stores and tools
for emergency work. and to fhis end the
chief engineer submits estimates for COM
piete equipment of the station.
The record made by the repair ship Vul-
can, 1t is said. will convince the most skep-
teal that this floating shop was of inesti-
mable value off Santiago, and that there is
not more important feature today than
the maintenance Of such a ship well stock
ed with every large fleet Therefore, an
appropriation is asked for the procurement
OF another such ship, and also for the equip
ment of another distilling ship such as the
Iris.
The engineer-in-chief says that there was
remarkable absence of casualty in the
machinery departments of the vessels of
the fighting squadron during the war. Even
in action. when forced-draft conditions were
In operation and the excitabe natures of
the men most wrought on by their surround
1ngs, the reports show that the machinery
not only worked we'll generally, but that in
no case was 1t greatly distressed. This is
as fine commentary upon the personnel
as on the machinery.
Experience of Torpedo Boats.
But the torpedo boats could not show the
same excellent record. The report says: 'tIt
is a sad affair that nearly every one has had
some accidents, and the machinery of some
at the close of the war was in a condition
that can only be described as horrible.
where boilers wefe burnt, cylinder covers
broken, pistons and valves stuck and ev-
erything in bad shape. This condition of
affairs seemed attributable to two causes