The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1899-01-05
THE OREGON
ALWAYS IN TRIM.
I'VE Just Keep Her A-Going, :"
Saws the Chief Engineer.

-, who was chief engineer of the
o,aoon on her famous voyage around
IL Horn aud in the sea fight at San
,:.oo and who is now chief engineer
- .be New York, Was called to Ar
,bur Warren article published Sun
dsv on the unprepared condition of
,be machinery of the ships OF Samp
.on,s feet when Cervera came out of
Santiago harbor. Mr. Milligan
said:
~ don't propose to get mixed up
in any controversy. 1 don't know
very much about any other ship
vb;le the feet was off Santiago but
,be Oregon, and don't intend TO
er,ticise any one. It is true that
Ere, were kept under all the boilers
Of the Oregon while she was on
blockade insisted =" that, I'D
it's the only thing for which / take
spy credit. 1 believe, and my views
on this point are well known in the
.o,v;ce. that in time of war a war
sh;p should be ready for action at
all times She ls not ready if her
machinery is not ready to work on
signal. Therefore l kept the Ore
pon tuned up all the while"
..Was the Oregon the only ship of
The fleet whose boilers did not con
tam salt watel?" asked the reporter
81 don't know about that, but l
think net. I am pretty sure there
was no salt water in the boilers Of
the New York or Brooklyn. There
was. am told, salt water in the
boilers of the Iowa and Indiana and.
think, the Massachusetts OF the
latter. however, am not certain"
"How did it happen that you were
able to keep your boilers filed with
fresh water whilo other ships had to
use salt water
"That was all due to the wisdom
Of our doctor. He did net insist
that the water we condensed for
drinking and cooking should be alb
solutely free from salt It had to
be so that no salt could be tasted,
but he did not apply to it the nitrate
OF silver test TO detect salt Had he
done so l could not have evoporated
enough sea water TO supply the
needs of the ship, keep my boilers
full aud at the same time make up
the steam that would be lost in re-
eondensing"
''In order to keep fire under all
your boilers all the time did you
have to leave the line of blockade
oftener than any other ship?"
I'm not certain, but think not.
We were on blockade from June to
July 3, and during that time we coal
ed on blockade once and at Guanta-
namo four times. I don't know how
often ths other ships cosled.'
eff you kept fires under all your
boilers all The time and used only
fresh water, why didn't the other
ships do likewise?"
Il don't know l can only speak
for the Oregon
I'm his article Mr.. Warren states
that you gave your men practice al
forced draught coming around the
Horn and that gave the Oregon's
engine room force q great advantage
over the forces in the engine rooms
OF the other ships, most of whom
had never had any forced draught
practice "
The engine room crew of the
Oregon had practice at forced
draught four times on the journey
round the Horn, but it was not mere
practice work On three occasion:
the work was done in order to make
time between two given points. Tbs
last time was just after we had lef
Bahis and thought we saw 3 torped'
boat oa the horizon. Captain CIarl
II had received a. Bahis dispatel
that Cervera had left the Cape d
Verde islands with streng fleet Q
cruisers and daep-sea torpedo boats
The hope was expressed in the dis
patch that If we met the fleet ",
would defeat fhem