The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-01-20
8REYENUEcU7TERSlNW,AR..
What the Work OF the ,icCuIloch has
or propcr a rmn ncnt. I.

4 What the Work ofthc sIcCnIloch has
PrOvcd-Sced of Proper Armament.
n itfs said at the raYy department that
Rear Admiral DeweyS9las paid the rev.
enue cutter service the compliment Of
asking that the revenue cutttr Mccul-
loch be senteut 10 him again. The Nc
culloch arrived during the present week
at San Franclsco Her run from Bal
tfmore To- San Francisco, via the Suez
canal, was In ,manyircspccts as remark
able In its way, as the showing made, by
the Oregon. The McCulloch. steamed
In all nearly 1900 miles, and during The
last few days OF her run she averaged
fourteen knots per hour against half
gale OF wind. Her chief engineer. Mr.
Randall. dropped dead at his post as
the vessel was entering the fight at Ma
Mia The chief assistant engineer i'm
med!atelF took charge. IA Wy
II was the McCulloch which stopped
{ the German 'warship Irene on August %
last. The Irene persisted In entering
Manila harbor WITHOUT permission, from
Admiral Dewey, when the McCuttoch
deliberately fired across her bow. It
was this act which cnused the German
admiral to call upon Captain Chichester
of the. British warship 5ImmortalIte, to
makeI5a Joint stand against the Ameri-
4 can pretens.ons.f At the time the Nc
Cullocli fired across the frenes bow the
cutter carried no heavier battery than
four six FOUNDER guns. q
II lwas:thls lack sot sufficient battery
which alone detracted from the useful
ness OF the McCulloch at Manila, This
fact. II IS said" would seem IL eii GSa.,
size the necessity OF keeping fully
armed all the power vesselss1f the rev.
enue feet. Had the McCulloch been
armed as well as tho revenue cutter
Manning, OF Rear admiral SIMPSONS
fleet, Dewey would have possessed
ship In every sense the equal, II not
the superior OF the gunboat Petrol. De-
spite her Hlo1grc armament, the Nc
culloch rendered excellent service In
the Philippines. Admiral Dewey Is re-
ported as saying that IL the McCulloch
IS Given battery OF elght four-iuch
quick-frlng guns he would rather have
her In his command than any gunboat
In the service. 1t Is thought probable
here that q first-class battery viii be
sent 10 the Mare Island navy yard for
the McCulloch. and should the condition
OF affairs warrant II the vessel will In
nil likelihood be ordered: back to the
Philippines. i$8; 4 @J.,i
The work done By the revenue cutters
during the war Is nowhere more appre-
ciated than by the ranking officers OF
the navy who had vessels Of this class
under their command. q 1t Is said that
when CommandersTodd was fitting out
his squadron for service on the south
western end OF Cpba he made three re-
quests OF Admiral Sampson before he
was nblc to ootnn the revenue cutter
Manning. The Manning participated In.
four general engagements. She was the
heaviest armed vessel OF her class in
the service. As curious coincidence,
it fell to the lot Of the Manning to chase
\ the German warship Geicr at n time
whensit looked as lf that vessel were
attempting TO test the effectiveness OF
the Havana blockade. The Geicr was
/ caught up with by the Manning after
one OF the most spirited chased of the
war. The fact that she was ove-hauled
i rendered ahortive any claim that the
4 American blockade was ineffective.