The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-10-20
IT is WONDERFUL
That So Much Was Accomplish
ed In the War
By the Navy Considering Its
Bad Condition.
LESSONS LEARNED.
Engineer-In-Chief Melville In
His Annual Report
Makes Many Recommendations
For the Future.

vile IN his annual report, and then he
proceeds to note the important lessons
so far as they respect the machinery
OF the vessels which have been taught
by that experience as follows:
THE vital necessity of giving the
machinery of vessels in reserve fire.
quent tests under working conditions,
so that any defects may be discovered
and remedied before war makes the
vessels esrvice absolutely necessary. In
several cases defects were found after
the ship had begun cruising and the re-
pairs laid them up in the midst of the
war.
2-The great Importance of having all
our naval stations in positions of strate-
g1c value properly fitted out for repairs
and with adequate supplies of nom
perishable stores. 1t had been evident
for long time that Key West was such
station but money to put in proper
repair plant was refused year after
year and only granted after the war
had begun. The movement of large
bodies of troops and their equipment
almost blocked the railroads so that
after the beginning of the war it was al
most impossible to secure the forward
ing of tools and supplies.
3-That fresh water for the boilers is
almost as important as coal and that
distilling ship is an important adjunct
of a fleet operating away from base
where fresh water can be readily Cd
tanned.
THAT every fleet needs a repair ship
to enable the efficiency to be maintain
ed without leaving the station and con-
sequently that several ships should pc
equipped so as to be ready 20 proceed
with the fleet.
5-The great tactical advantages of
water tube boilers. This has already
been discussed under another head.
6-That if more than two main en-
sines are to be fitted there should be
three engines driving three screws and
not two main engines on each smart
The New York and Brooklyn had tnelr
forward engines disconnected at the
time of the Santiago fight and could not
stop to couple them. An accident to any
part of either of the two engines on q
shaft disables half the power; IN the
three screw ship TINS Iractloh "ou4u NC
only a third.
trials under forced draft to keep the
blowers in good condition and to make
the men thoroughly familiar with work.
ing under maximum conditions. II ap-
Dears that some of the ships had never
been under forced draft since their con
tract trials until the day OF the hght at
Santiago. $500
8-That the location of the. forced
drsf # blowers is a matter Of serious I'M
nOrtance In some of our ships, owing
10 the demands for all other space for
other purposes, the blowers had to be
located in corners, or pockets IN the nre
rooms where it was Impossible Tor nu-
non beings to give them proper atten-
t H. oVi1er to the intense heat due to
lack of ventilation. In the CINCINNATI
temperatures as high as 205 degrees
were noted and the commanding OFFICER,
when investigating the case personally,
had his face scOrched. The blowers
must be placed where they can pc prop
erIv cared for or else they are useless
and might as we'll be left on shore.
9-The personnel of the service should
be adequate to the material. II mas
been notorious for some time that this
is not the case and we are providing ter
a decided increase in the number OF yes
sells with no increase Whatever IN the
personnel. By sending nearly every or
ficer on the active list to sea we were
able to give the regular ships a fafr
complement of trained ones, but had the
war been of long duration, we snoud
have been greatly embarrassed to sup
ply the places of those disabled or in
valided. Volunteers, however, Wen
trained in other ways. cannot entirely
replace the regular officer.
love must make provision for
training the enlisted men OF the eng1n-
eer department. Many of the golfers
and auxiliary vessels had to start out
with absolutely green crews, manv of
whom so far from having the sea hab-
it," had never been on vessel Of any
kind This must be remedied if our
enlarged fleet is to be efficient.
11-That our fighting ships must have
the highest practice bic speed There
is an almost general agreement on this
point among naval men, But if any
thought this did not apply to battleships
the fight at Santiago must have shown
that the highest prs cticabIe speed is i'm |
pOrtant in these vessels. It is very
gratifying, therefore, that our three new
battleships are to have speed of at least |
Is knots, which is now recognized as the |
standard.
The chief says that the more obvious
effect of the emergency demand was to |
demonstrate in vigorous manner the |
facilities and deficiencies of the various !
navy yards and particularly to justi- I
fy the policy which had been previously /
advocated by his bureau of placing the |
more southern yards and stations in a /
ence 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 the |
repair work occasiOned by insufficient |
buildings and plant. With pardonable |
pride the report dwells upon the ire !
mendous amount of work accomplished /
by the bureau in preparing the feet for !
war, involving the placing of new boil !
ers in the old monitors, the fitting out |
of ships in ordinary and the equipment /
of the auxiliary navy nearly ITO vessels |
being added to the regular force Stress !
is laid upon the Importance of having /
the least accessible station in the navy, |
that of Key West, amply stocked with !
stores and tools for emergency work |
and with this end in view. the chief en-
gineer submits estimates for a complete
equipment of the station.
The record made by the repair ship
Vulcan it is said, will convince the most
skeptica1 that this floating shop was of
inestima BILE value off Santiago and that
there is not a more important feature
today than the maintenance OF such a
ship well stocked with every large fleet
Therefore an appropriation is asked for
the procurement OF another such snip
and also for the equipment of another
distilling ship such as the Iris. The en-
gineer in chief says that there was a
machinery departments of the vessels