The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-05-25

"sl rart in connection with Uncle
l" naval operations against Spain.
s ,I ,'.dv one vessel for this purpose
a"' y. heen purchased by the govern
s S nas an recommendation by experts
s n,'. ,hs bureau of construction and
" .m engineering, and two more will
ho,ght. The one secured is the
,s,lmette, :, good-sized and staunch
D '.mer well adapted for The purpose
49,. .,.mplated. For this kind of work
81 w. 's style Of craft most suitable is
& T.; s;0o Of > 800 to 5000 tons, with plenty
81 q. Z spacc between decks, so as to afford
" am for the apparatus of small
s,orv She must also have large
.s,l m capacity, SO that she may be able
Leen the sea for 10. 3 time. Be-
q ! 40. the fuel is needed for distilling
q s,,er. , which is an incidental duty Of
y 81 the repair ship.
s Each one of these vessels will be a
81 ,y;eable repair shop Of a most com
,obensiyc description. 1t will be
,,ovidel with heavy steam tools of
,be latest patterns for executing every
m,cnablc kind of work in metal, and
;s]; Is equipment will include massive
s -aOes for hosting weighty things
} ,hoard In its hold will be carried
iuplicates of pretty nearly every sort
of article that goes to make up mod
s,u warship, from coil of boiler
q IS ,ubiug to patch Of armor for mending
hole made by projectile. anside,
between decks, the craft will be awhirl
rth machinery, belts flying, engines
H numping, steam hammers pounding,
# wheels revolving, and all the para
Dbernaia Of busy factory in active
s employment.
# ,;rjmy mechanics will rush to aud
fro or stand at forges, heating big bars
u # iron white hot or turning ont objects
of steel or brass which are designed
to serve as parts Of one piece of deli
3rate mechanism or another. The
trouble is to say what will not be done
On board Of these factory steamers,
i (which must be prepared to mend or to
REPLACE anything that may be wrong or
5missing above the waterline of bat
Elte.ship or cruiser.
lz2 The Navy Department intends that
one Of our fleets shall be provided
with repair ship Of this kind, whose
ES3busincss it will be to accompany the
5xar vessels and co serve them on all
4 s]uecessary occasions as a sort of first
"a aid 10 the injured. Such a floating
Z machine shop, however, will be
serviccabc for good deal beyond
mere emergency work, though this is
81 what is required Of it chiefly. 1t goes
without saying that in an engagement
on the seas, no matter how favorable
the result Of the encounter to our
& side, the American ships are bound to
suffer very serious damage. They
q will be cut up to a considerable extent
=l6y the explosive shells Of rapid fire
Iguns, and more Or less in their internal
M mechanism will be in need uf mending.
"a 1t is under such conditions that the
repair ship will come into use, plug
slgns Shot holes, fixing UP boiler-tube>.
s. mendlng engines, etc.
"a during an action the repair ship
SaWlll avoid the thick Of tho fight, hang
a Ing on the skirts Of it so as to i c
available in case her services arc
I wanted at any moment. Suppose, for
example, that one of the American
8 q ships becomes disabled by an accident
HtO her steering gear and thus is rem
dered useless for fighting purposes.
81 The repair vessel, unless the cngage-
nent Is 81 hot as to render such a
movement impracticablc, will steam
81 upand take the helpless ship in tow,
pulling her away to distance and out
Of reach OF the cnemy's FIRE. Though
q . not herself fighting craft, the float
Ing machine shop will be provided
With half dozen good d-sized rapid-frc
guns, so as to be able to put up some
& sort OF defense in case she is attacked.
1t might be that she would be assailed
Oya torpedo boat, though vessels of
this kind, being small and unprotected
oy armor, would not be likely to take
part IN general fleet engagements on
Inc open seas. She could keep off
such warship foe by means Of her
3,and-hre guns, and her speed only
n ..as''g"lng steamers will be employed
,Of tins rurpose-will enable her to
= Acsr out of the way of the big war
y ships.
q An engagement On the ocean be-
Aeen Spanish and American ships
s VIII not be likely to result in the total