The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-08-15
YANKEE NOVELTIES IN WAR
USED TO GOOD EFFECT DURING
THE LATE PICKERING,

Two Hospital Ships to Care
for the Wounded, and Floating
Refrigerators Called scPantries'
by the Sailors to Keep Jack Tar
Supplied With Vegetables and
Fresh Meats.
| WASHINGTON, Aug. 1.-THE Unit
| ed States has lived up to its reputa-
ton for novel ideas in the war with
Spain. The operations about Cuba
gave rise to certain requirements I'M
usual in naval warfare. Each of these
was met by American ingenuity, and
| at the close of hostilities the govern
ment has af1Oat a little fleet Of new
and hitherto unknown ships Of war.
This fleet consists of half a dozen
vessels. Their mission is to succor the
wounded, feed the fighters, provide
water and to repair the fighting ships.
Every one of them is a novelty In war;
fare, an American device, yet so quietly
have they been provided that their
| appearance has not been heralded as
anything unusual In few weeks
they have come to be accepted as prac-
teal and necessary auxiliaries in mod
ern naval operations.
J
| deemed so essential that the war was
barely a settled fact before both the
army and navy were developing ideas
which have resulted in the commits
slonlng OF two ambulance or hospital
Ships the Solace and the Relief. The
former, the naval vessel, was the fine
3.Se0-ton steamship Creole of the Crom-
we'll line. She was selected by Surgeon
General Van Raypen, after careful
consideration, and was speedily con-
vertedAinto a floating hospital, being
-! the first of its kind in the history Of
| naval warfare
The Solace sailed on her mission of
! mercy early in the war, and has been
in constant use attending the blockad-
ing fleet and carrying the sick and
wounded to Northern hospitals. AS
befits her duty, she carries no guns
! nor weapons of any kind. The hull is
painted White, with a wide and promi-
nent strip of green along the sides,
which, with the Red Cross flying from
the masthead, is supposed to convey
her identify to the enemy Every pos
sible comfort and medical contrivance
| can be found In the spacious wards
Two large steam launches form a part
| Of the equipment, and am elevator has
been constructed in the bow for the
speedy conveyance Of the wounded to
| the operating room.
WE'LL EQUIPPED SHIP.
! The war department lost no time in
! following the example set by the navy
and shortly after the Solace was placed
in commission the steamer John Englis,
Of the Maine Steamship company, was
purchased and converted into an am
bulance ship. Under its new name, Re
lief, it is an entirely different vessel
The military authorities had the bene-
! ut OF the navy'S experience in fitting
out the Solace, and the Relief lis there
| fore equipped to better advantage
There are five wards on the latter craft,
two on the main deck, and another on
! the after berth deck. Fully 500 wound
| ed men can be accommodated, the
wards alone taking $780, The interior
fittings are the finest procurabIe, the
| wards and operating rooms being COW
| cred with rubber thing. The ship car
ries an Ice plant capable Of producing
200 tons day, a disinfecting plant, and
complete electric plant for incan-
| descent lighting. There is also a car
bonator for supplying mineral water,
which is assuredly a decided novelty in
steamships Of any class. In the labora-
tory Of this remarkable vessel will be
| found several X-ray outfits to aid in
| Locating bullets, microscopic depart
ment and well equipped photo
graphic dark room.
In close touch with the relief of the
ill and wounded of military force is
the care of the WELL The maintenance
| of health depends directly ON the quail
| ity of food and water supplied to the
| soldier and sailor. These refrigerator
vessels, for that is precisely what they
| are, have proved to be the most Valu-
| able additions to cur modern, navy.
With their aid the system of feeding
| oh NJ NV hot az
changed for the better. Admiral
SIMPSONS fleet off Cuba has been reg
ularly supplied with fresh meat and
vegetables, and the crews, instead of
| being compelled to scpsist on naval
salt horse" find their mess kids filed
with choice cuts of beef and mutton.
That Jack will fight better when well
| fed is a self-evident truth.
NAVAL PANTRIEs.
| At present there are three of these
novel ships, or "pantries,' as the face
tious naval officers call them. They
are the Supply, Celtic and Glacier. The
Supply, formerly the Illinois, well
known American liner was the first
| to be fitted out. She is now with Ad-
| miIal SIMPSONS fleet, and the splen-
| did work SHE has done distributing
fresh meats and provisions has thor
| OuSNly proved LIle success OF the new
| idea The Celtic was originally an
American trader called the Celtic King.
She has a caEacity OF about 1000 tons
of freight, besides the refrigerating
] compartments
The latter form the unique feature
of the vessels equipment. They are
three In number, and are located
tween decks, forward of the engine
room. The refrigerating apparatus,
which cost the round sum of 100000,
| is so complete that it is possible to
maintain temperature of 10 degrees
month after month The three COM
partments are SO arranged that fresh
meats can be kept in one, vegetables
in the second. and Ice in the third.
When the Celtic sailed ON her first trip
South she carried 100000 pounds of
fresh beef and mutton, 100000 pounds
of fresh vegetables, and 450 tons of
Ice. A mere bagatelle like that does
not go very far, however, when one
! takes into consideration the fact that
each man and boy In Admiral Samp-
sons fleet is entitled by law to one
| and a quarter pounds Of meat and the
same quantity of vegetables each day.
PARSONS LIQUOR BUSINESS.