The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-07-02

ronord1 oseakino piece o. WORK was
es0paeted yesterday at thS Puget sound
laval station. when the finishing touches
vefe put on the new bii9s keeis OF the
oattieship Iowa 1T the end Of fifteen ana
= half days of actual working time Mean
Nhite thu dock has not swerved or sunk
= hairs breadth. Thus once more Ii .
uat contradiction given to the saanderous
E,amors that have been SO diligently and
pessfstentiy circulated about the imper-
eectiOnS Of the dry dock and the made
nuacy of Its equipment.
After tho enemies Of the Puget oonnd
hawai- station had seen their nrst Wild
tfories about the faulty structure OF the
oock eeuplet1iy punctured By the sue
beeaful docking Of the Monterey ana the
Ors96n. they turned TO another and what
ehey thought. more Vulnerable point Of
attach, and seid, 20 yes. the structure
Ind capacity Of the dock may be all right
md In fact We must concede that they
lrG put the equipment at the station IL
- poor that the necessary repairs on yes
sspeas can not be made there. and even II
~ tools and appliances were there. the
ldIled mechanics are lacking and would
& have TO be imported"
40Uc~
sure this wild statement also. The Iowa
nas been promptly locked. without the
hast dalay or tbs slightest hitch or ac-
edoent. and her bitge keels have bceen put
N IN ieas timo than that consumed by
any other vessel Of the navy at this or any
othfr dock. And all this has been done
Almost entirely by local mechanics. for out
s ~ the nearly 30 men employed In various
CArfs Of the work only q were from Mare
her aItn
We class OF iron workers. and they did
/. not make up the whole Of the force In that
department. by any means.
Comparative Figures.
n order 10 appreciate the rapidity with
which this work has been done IL 10 neces-
eafy " consider sevcrafs things, among
enst bslng the time taken for similar re-
I'm - 1pther vessels. the magnitude OF
ia &efk itself and the amount OF pre-
s11aary work thai had been donc prior
Ethe hour q starting On the main work
sslFhen the baesieship Oregon was locked
~ months OF january and February lsae.
N teok twenty days to put on her
onp keelN or yearly twice N long rs the
80 required for the Iowa. When tho
AaegncAusertn wss locked as New York
IN Ct TIRE close of the war with Spain II
Required sixteen days,
@1t the comparison IS stiii more favor
eble 70 the work on the Iowa than would
appear from the face OF these figures. In
shs case Of the oregon. nearly all the pre-
Iiminary work. such a. punching the
ylotse Tor the rtvets. had been previously
oooe ~ Marc island. whereas tn the case
~ the Iowa little or none OF IL had been
eonA In tho case Of the Massachusetts,
the work was done under emergency or
eesA and she had force Of 30 men work
Ing on her night and day. With the Iowa
u hae been different The mon have
worked only during the day. Occasion
Any they have worked a little over time
n order To bring up some particular piece
u work and have 10 ready for the next
9ofninx. On one Sunday they found Il
hecensary TO do some wood work AZ
hot to delay the iron workers next day.
Tho Iowa reached her station on the
evening Of June H. Next morning al
BREAKFAST time Can't. Terry informed the
department. 1T Washington thar tho
ahsp was In the dock safe and sound
Iwv days later. on the morning Of June
u oin electric drills began the work Of
eofang the holes for the rsvcts that hold
We hilss kees- 70 tho sides Of the ship.
Yesterday AT noon the work on the hllge
seeas Was completed.
fAese hllec keels. IL may Re explained
Tor the benefit of The iandsmaa. are pat on
Ter the purpose az keeping the ship from
rs'lng They extend along each side Of
Me vessel. AMI are well down on the huh
elcng which they extend almost NJ right
snxis<. Some idea CT the magnitude Of the
werk Fnay he gained from the fact that
ssc keel on each side lie si4 feet in length
snd varies from two tc three feet In width,
I've ssess plates and angles IT which the
A are chiefly composed weigh seoa,
twenty tons
eame Of the hea, work done on tire kesis
- IN hitting IN the woodwork with which
saey are allied Each Keel "a wesse-shaget.
- That Il Hes sssng the slice af the vessel
Eeea TIE a huge piece az triangular
nosasnG The wefse-shapsd keel IS holiow
"a u vas this cavity ssat was filled With
.soa Thss wcFk wAs done enc sunday 50
NAT the i.en workers we're not aeiasts.
al but wsns sisas on with their part at
me sork nsxs morning.
Other WORK peae.
aeanwsiie .hs putting on ef The hiixc
by no means all the work that
- beer asrs. Tee stsc Plate which was
saNxssd IN collision with the MeSri-,ac
Ssssng saa eloesaae OF the coast Of cuea
Beer taken cue ara replaced. and the
sssEe Back cf she n,ats has hssa straight
Fss watss Fosr.sS have been csrnsn,-
- AMI tn iris alone Some thirty or forty
1s 81 etaaeu1 hsex hesn used Every
hrS IN 'as Sain has sewn cSerasuled
= 80 sae valves r9S IN thorough repssr All
- SessaieS~ has bern taken ear ef sae
assastns - Is 20 eus on doubles plates.
s as WEEK SET gemaiR!nx 10 BE- done -
esaS1y a. sc.snss CenRn;sag the aouhse
senas in me engine FSscnss. pa:fing THO
Nsessss hack iete ssa easTercarax. anS
senax Ire aul' &C tie sAir> Tire hull vii
PANIED sfsen, Ss,A ssgIn az red aacas
ss"s Ns1e fsDntnS sgeua5 sAs s0r. fer
sEs Tia s&ilsys name - .shees~sssga
snssT Is ar immense quantity ~ taas
4 ss = sso1t $50 eus1e fees In all r.
0s SSatses - - Sschs ara fssss ~ ne
sNHSssfs sae3. aaA mere x.saes ~
sufficient 10 sisew whas a task II Is