The times., 1898-06-13

consult with these steamship companies,
and to inspect their vessels and report
to the department their availability for
transport service.
This officer has made such thorough
examination OF ships and furnished the
office with such complete reports, that
when the call came the department was
in position to call upon the various coast
wise lines to supply the vessels that this
department was called upon TO furnish
for anticipated movements to Cuba.
ut has been the policy of this depart
ment to secure the required ships from
each of the companies, respectively, with
n view of not interfering too seriously
with their commercial interests, to which
the steamship companies have agreed;
and the department has been enabled IN
the most harmonious manner to make,
il is held by some of the principal steam
ship owners, the most reasonable char
ters that the Government has ever made.
up to this date forty-one first-clas3
steamships for transports on the Allan
| tic Coast; four water vessels; one tug;
three steam lighters, and one steamer
| for use of signal service have been char
| tered as t.r
Below is list of the companies that
have chartered their vessels, with the
| name of the vessels chartered from each
| of them: -
New York & Texas Steamship Com
| pany-San Marcos, 2.S87 tons; Concho.
| g. 70i tons: Comal, 1884 tons: Rio Grande.
1886 tons; Leona, 1923 fons; Alamo, 29iS
| tons.
New York & Cuba Mail Steamship
ompany-Vigilancia. Ais tons; Seguraa-
ca, AIS tons; Crizabas 3, ,49T tons; Yuea-
| tan, 1896 TONS Seneca, 2.729 tons; Sara
toga, 2,320 tons; Santiago, 2359 tons; City
| of Washington, 2.6S4 TONS Manteo, 5S3
tons.
Southern Pacific Company-Gussie. 99S
| tons; Whitney. 1887 tons; Morgan, 99i
tons; Aransas, 1.l56 tons; Clinton, 1,137
| tons.
Merchants and Miners Transportation
Company-Allegheny 2,O14 tons; Berk-
shire 2.014 tons; d. H. Miller, 229S tons
PLANT Investment COmpany-Florida,
| 1,7S6 tons; Olivette. 1611 ions.
"Tweede Trading Company-Catania.
| 1900 tons.
William P. CLYDE & Co.-Cherokee,
2,557 tons; IroGuois. 2,944 tons; Comanche,
| 3,202 tons.
Miami Steamship Company-Mattea-
wan, $500 tons; Miami, 1850 tons.
Cromwell Steamship Company-Knick-
| erbocker, 1,642 tons; Louisiana, 2,S49 tons;
Hudson, 1,S00 tons.
New Orleans, Belize, Royal Mail
Steamship Company -Breakwater, LOGS
| tons; saltwater, LUIS loIS
Angler Line-Unionist, 2,l5S tons net;
! Specialist, 2,SG2 tons net.
Ocean Steamship Company-Gate City,
| 1887 tons; City of Macon, 2,G9S tons.
New York and Porto Rico Steamship
| Company-Arkadia, 2,3l7 tons.
Water supply vessels: John A. Donald,
Kanawha: Standard Oil Company, Nave
rick. barge IS. o. Co. of n. Y. No. n,
Anne z. Stevens. tug.
Ts,I, cItfr md
Light Company, Bessie and Laura; ;
| Cumberland Steamship Company, Cum
| berland.
Signal service: Western Union Tele-
graph Company, Adria.
IAN of these ships had be transferred
! from their ordinary use into transports
/ for troops and animals and freight by
/ erecting hunks, building pens for anil
mails and adding capacity for large sup
/ ply of water, which was done by putting
In extra tanks and supplying large num-
/ bers of water barrels and casks.
I'm addition 10 this extra contracts had
( TO be made for supply of coal and water
/ at points where troops were accommodating.
! The Government has now been enabled 10
make most acceptable contracts for sup
! ply of fuel both at New Orleans. Mobile.
| Tampa, Key West Savannah Fernando
ma, and also for contracts for coal afloar
| TO follow the fleet of transports wherever
they go. on the Island Of Cuba or even
Porto Rico.
Transports in the Pacific.
This department has also chartered on
the Pacific side for use of Transporting
troops TO the Philippines, under reasona-
BILE charters. It has been more difficult to
secure the ships on the Pacific Ocean, no;
because of unwillingness of the steam
from the fact that they were mot available
/ for the reason that most of the companies
were trading across thePaciac Ocean and
as far south as Panama, and we could
only get the vessels as they arrived in
port.
In many instances these companies
| have had TO charter other vessels 10 re-
place those that it was necessary for the
| Government TO have TO transact its busi-
| ness. In order that sufficient vessels
| could be secured 1t has been, necessary tG
! ask that American registry be given to
! such ships as were available and at the
| same time suitable for transport SER
vice. There will be no difficulty in eventu-
| ally getting all the vessels necessary to
| transport the troops that are destined tC
the Philippines.
Delay has also been caused in fitting
| up these vessels with the proper appa-
| ratus, and placing in them ample galley
| facilities and lavatorieS and water clos
cts. These ships had to be fitted up as
comfortably as possible, owing not only
to the long distance they had to 60 but
also taking into consideration the fact
| that they were going to a tropical cli-
mate.
THE companies that have thus far
| chartered their vessels to the Govern
| ment for use in transporting troops tC
Manila are set forth in the following list
together with the names of the vessels
chartered and their tonnage:
Pacific Mail Steamship Comparatively
of Sydney, 5000 tons; Colon, 26S5 tons
China. 5000 tons: City of Para, 1882 tons
Oceanic Steamship Company-Austra.
liza, 2, 1855 tons; Zealandia, 2755 tons.
Empire Steamship Company-Ohio
$500 tons; Indiana, 3,l57 tons
johnson Locke Mercantile Company
Morgan City, 2,299 tons.
'Pacifice Coast Steamship Company
Senator.
1.-The matter of supply of coal at Sar
Francisco, Manila or Hong Kong fol
tranports on the Pacific has been placed
in the hands of the QuarteTmaster's De
partment under the direction of Gen
Merritt. Favorable offers have been made
by dealers on this side to supply this Goa
in bulk at those points, but 1t was con
sidered that as the distance was so grea
the matAsr had best be left in the hand:
of those who were managing the expedi
| ton.
"The labor of preparing and the execu
ton of the charter parties for the service
of these vessels, which has been done il
the office of the Quartermaster Genera
has been very considerable For each yes
sci five copies of the charter party hav,
been made and distributed. as required b,
the laws Each copy gives the names ant
titles of the parties In interest; name an,