St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1900-12-05
NEWS OF THE NAVY.
The Vermont may be Abandoned.

The Vermont may be Abandoned.
Efforts have been made for some time
to have the use of the Vermont as re-
ceiving ship abandoned. 1t has been tor
sixteen years the regular receiving ship
at the Brooklyn navy yard, and before
that was an adjunct to the receiving ship
Colorado Admiral windshield, cbiei
of the Bureau oil Navigation, recently Wis
tied the navy yard and insE ected the YER
mont. Subst quently he recommended to
The Bureau OF Navigation the substi'
tuition OF barracks for the ship Only
about seven hundl ed men can be Comfor-
tably accommodated on tie Vermont,
although as many as fourteen hundred
have bt en- put on her at one time AS only
about three hundred men can be seated
at the tables at once it is necessary to
keep the tables set all day. The bar
racks would accommodate one thousand
men without inct nvenience, would be
fitted out with modern sanitary arrange
m nts and have all the appliances netes,
sary for the training OF the men.
Three AdmiraIs for the Asintic Station.
In recognition of the large American
interests in the Western Pacific, Secretary
Long has decided to add another flag
officer to the fleet in those waters, and
Rear Admiral Frederick Rodgers has
been ordered to prepare to ON Rear
Admiral Remey and Rear-Admiral Kempff
a second in command. He has SELF cted
the armored cruiser New York for his
flagship, and orders have been given to
have that vessel ready to start tor China
bv February 1. Rear-Admiral Rodgers
will 60 out to the Pacific by way of Suez,
and when he arrives there three distinct
i've remnants will fly for perhaps the
first time in the American navy. Rear
Admiral Rodgers. who is popularity
known in the service as Turk" Rodgers,
has been president OF the Board of In
spection ever since the Spanish war. His
service has closely parallelej that of
Rear-Admiral Kempff, who will become
third in command of the station under
the new orders. The two entered the
service together on Sept. 25, 1857, and
became rear admirals together on March
3, 1899. Naval officers regard them as
perhaps the best officers OF their grade in
the service, and express some disappoint-
ment that the fleet in the East could not
be divided equally between them without
making them subordinate to any other
officer. Secretary Long said, however,
that no change is contemplated in the
command of the station, aud that the
detail of Rear AdmiraI Rodgers is merely
to give Rear.Admiral Remey much needed
assistance. Owing to the large size
of the Asiatic squadron and the i'm
portant duties devolving upon it just at
present. in consequence of the troubles in
China and the Philippines, it has been
thought expedient to divide the response
biities of the navy in that quarter
among three admirals instead OF be-
tween two, as at present. Rear.Admiral
Remey, the senior officer, will continue in
supreme command of the naval forces,
and will act in the character of general
manager OF the operations OF the fleet
1t will remain for him to decide whether
be will take station ashore at Manila or
direct operations from on board of one
oil the battleships. The fleet will be di
vided into two divisions, one operating
in Chinese waters and the other in the
Philippine archipelago. Admiral Rodg
ers will undoubtedly be placed in com
mand of the Chinese fleet, giving him the
most important squadron, and if AID
miral Remey elects to remain afioat il
command of the gunboat fotilla, AID
miral Kempff will be assigned to thu
command of the Cavite naval station
The chances are very strong that either
Admiral Remey or Admiral Kempff, o.
both, will decide to come home for retire
ment.
Rear-Admiral McNair Dead.
Rear-Admiral Frederick V. McNair .diet
at his nome in Washington Wednesday
Nov. 2S, from a stroke of spoplexy
He had been in poor health for man
months, and plans had been considere'
r to take him to Europe. Tuesday he wa
taken violently i'll, and Wednesday hi
condition became so critical that his at
tending physician called in for consuta
ton one of the navy surg ons, but tn
Admiral slowly sank away. He was tn
ranking rear admiral OF the navy and tn
officer next in line to Admiral Dewey
Frederick Vallette McNair was born i
Pennsylvania in 1889. Upon gradus
ton from the Naval Academy at Ar
napolis he entered the service as an act
ing midshipman in 1858. He was pre-
NOTED to a lieutenancy in 1861, and du1
ing the civil war was engaged in man
of the most important naval operations
He served on the Mississippi river unde
Admiral Earraont and took mart in III