The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-03-17
NEWS HND COMMENT

NLWO NM kUPullLNl !
A Washington dispatch to the sun says:
The ordnance bureau of the navy depart
ment has settled by recourse to figures
| a very interesting question concerning the
| fighting efficiency of Dewey's ships in
| the battle of Manila bay. Just before
Dewey started from Hong Kong for Ma
| Mia It was generally reported that his
| ships had IA very small allowance of am
muntion. This, however, was not true,
! as the Baltimore. which reached Hong
Kong the day before the American
! squadron left there for Mrs Bay to pre-
pare for meeting the Spanish fleet,
| brought AN ample supply of powder, pro-
| jectiles and fixed ammunition. After the
| engagement with the Spanish fleet had
lasted about two hours the American
| ships were withdrawn to a sheltered part
| of Manila bay for the purpose of taking
| account Of ammunition. Dewey sent up n
| signal from the Olympia asking how
| much ammunition each ship had left
| The signal was misunderstood. The cap
| tains of the American ships took it for
question as to the amount of powder and
| shell they had expended in the fighting,
and each vessel reported 'about 10 per
| cent" Dewey was alarmed until further
signalling developed that "about Is per
! cent had been expended, leaving 81 per
| cent. IN the magazines, enough 10 0Snt
| at the previous rate of expenditure for
eleven hours more. The ordnance officers
| have been examining the detailed reports
| from the ships engaged in the fight, Civ
| Ing the amount of ammunition expended
| by each during the entire period of the
engagement. which has given the sur
prising result that during the whole pc
riod of the battle the average expendi-
ture of ammunition for Dewey's squadron
| was only 143 per cent. instead of IL per
| cent for the first two hours. This left
Sc per cent. in the magazines an amount
| sufficient to fight six other enga gements
| of equal duration. The reports of the
| ordnance bureau show that at the time
| of entering Manila bay Dewey's ships
had 40,377 shells of all calibre out of a
| total allowance of 40, S04 and expended
in the battle $500 shells, leaving 34,517 or
50 3-5 per cent, remaining in the maga-
zines.
General orders have been issued by the
war department prescribing the qualiGca-
tions for enlistment in the reorganized
regular army. The order says: "Any
male citizen of the United States or per-
son who has legally declared his inten-
| tton to become a citizen, If above the age
of q and under the age of 80 years, able
bodied, free from disease, of good char
| acter and temperate habits, may be en-
| uSIeu unuer the RESTRICTIONS contained IN
| this article. In regard to age or citizen
| ship this regulation shall not apply to SOL
diers who have served honestly and faith
| fully previous enlistment in the army.
| The enlistment of persons of any of the
following classes is prohibited: Former
| soldiers whose service during the last
term of enlistment was not honest and
faithful, insane or intoxicated persons,
| deserterS from the military or naval SER
vice of the United States, persons who
have been convicted of felony or who
have been imprisoned under sentence of
Il court in a reformatOry, Jail or peniten-
tiary; also, for original enlistment, per-
sons under IS or over 35 years of age, and
for first enlistment in time of peace, any
person Except Indian) who is not a citi-
zen of the United States or who has not
made legal declaration of his intention
to become a citizen of the United States
or who cannot speak, read and write the
English language" Recruiting officers
are directed to be very particular to as
certain the true age of the recruit. Minors
between the ages of IS and q years may
be enlisted with the written consent Of
father. only surviving parent, or legally
appointed guardian,
According to advices received at the
state department in Washington from
Consul Cunningham at Alden, an Ameri-
Norma, has disappeared in the Red sea
Consul Cunningham writes that the Eng
hsh warship Brisko put into Alden on
Feb last and that her commander noti-
fled him that he had run across a dis
abled schooner yacht in the western part
of the Red sea and had towed her near
ly 300 miles, when the hawser broke and
the yacht and the Brisko parted. The
commander of the Brsko didn't know the
name of the schooner, but said there was
an American named Weaver on board of
her. Consul Cunningham's dispatch
leaves little doubt that the yacht was the
Norma, owned by Nicholas j. Weaver of
tho Atlantic Yacht club, New York city
Weaver and the Norma left New York
! early in October 1896 for three years
cruise to the remotest corners of the
earth. lie announced that he was going
10 take party of scientific men along
with him to collect data and photographs
of unknown tribes of savages and strange
lands which the historians and map max
erS had never invaded. When he got
back. newspaper articles and books We're
to be written about the discoveries made
and the sale of these was expected to pay
the expenses OF the trip. When the
Norma sailed the scientific men who sailed
with her We're A. T.. Hewlett, natural
list and geolOgist: DIR. Theodore A. Wor-
rel physician and botanist; ID. w. Smith
photographer; w. I. Newcomb and IL
p. Tabor, of Buffalo Besides these men
and Weaver there was a crew of sixteen
men, Tabor was at one time associate
editor of Elbert IIubbard's Phiistine.
Writes "Holland": "When Senator
Cushman X. Davis said To a friend IN
this city that one line of American man
ufacturing had plants sufficient to supply
the entire domestic markets by four
months work and that for the eight re-
| DnDipiDR TnnnfbG pf the these n
ufactureTs must rely upon export trade,
he did not say all that he might have
said. For the fact is that in certain lines
the remaining eight months are not suf-
ficient to meet the foreign demand. 1t
was said today that only yesterday for
eign Offering for nearly 5000 tons of steel
rails was not negotiated for the simple
| reason that American manufacturers of