The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-05-15
Seeking Good Coal for Transports.

the army has directed Major Hyde,
quartermaster at Nagasaki,ssto rmake
every effort to procure better coal for
the transports which coal at that place.
The necessity of coaling at NagaSaki
became apparent as soon as the Unit
ed States took, control or Manila. 1t
is true that coa1ing could be done from
Golfers in Manila bay, but for only six
months in the year. For the remainder
of the time it is impossible to ge, ship
and collier together with safety. Ar
rangementS are now made to coal in
San Francisco and Nagasaki. and no
oftener in Manila than necessary
! The japanese coal is not the best
but it is found to be the most economI-
cal that can be used. 1t costs about
81 ton, while Australian coai taken
! to Nagasaki and resold costs about S12
ton, owing to the high duty placed
upon coal by Japan in the interest of
her own coal fields. The great draw
back to the Japanese coal is the fact
that it contains too much sulphur, and
instead of the combustion occurring in
the furnace, it often goes into the
pipes, and is very destructive 10 that
portion of the boilers.
At San Francisco the Quartermas-
ters Department pays the highest
price for coal Most of it reaches San
Francisco as ballast, but some comes
from North Pacific ports. The depart
experimenting
from Utah, and it is believed that it
can be shipped to San Francisco and
sold lower than other Goals which are
now purchased there.
Hospital Ship Relief.
The. Relief will sail from Manila for
southern ports, instead of Hongkong,
as first reported. She is experiencing
some difficulty with her crew of Chi
neSe, whose time expired the first of
April 1t is the wish to employ a
Philippine crew and ship them at once.
but there is no provision, for the pay
ment of their wages in advance as is
customary with sailors.
Kearranging the Batter IS.
A plan looking to the Encouragement
of the batteries on the Oregon, Indiana
and Massachusetts-the three big bat
tleships in a class by themselves-ha
been under discussion by the naval
board of construction for some time
past, but nothing definite has yet been
decided upon.
The view is held by members of the
board that by installing superposed
turrets on these vessels to reinforce
the present 13-inch circular turrets fore
and aft, their offensive efficiency would
be enhanced. 1t is said that the in
tention is to consider these vessels one
at time as they may come in for
long stay in dock, and prepare a ten
tative plan giving estimates of the
cost, time and labor such a step would
entail.
OF course, the move could not be
considered with regard to all three
vessels about the same time, for thus
three of our finest battleships would
be temporarily out of use. The Indi-
ana, which has been detailed as
i
be inspected to this end at the tern1ina-
ton of the summer cruise. The Ore
gon will have to go into dock for ex-
tensive repairs when she reaches the
United States, and the Massachusetts,
is available for an inspection in regard
to the new plan.
Should it be decided to place super
posed turrets on these vessels it Is
stated that a special appropriation by
Congress would probably be necessary
as the amount available for PURPOSES
of this kind in the naval appropriation
bill would not cover the estimated cost
for carrying out the plan.
To Leave Honolulu.
Assistant Harbor Master Captain h
Friis leaves for the Sound In a few
days to accept a position there. He,
will take the bark Hesper out for Cap
tain Sodergren. Captain Friis has been
Record of American and Foreign Ship
ping. He has turned that work over
to Captain Cameron.
Klnau Sails for Hilo.
II At noon yesterday Wilders steamer
kinau, Captain Freeman, sailed for
Hilo and way ports with the following
passengers: George Ross J. Michaeis,
A. 3. Loebenstein, c. N. Prouty, Miss
n q IT
hurst Jr., Miss M. Bruins, Mrs. S. J..
SHAW, Mrs. P. Brickwood, t. E. Hud-
/ son. Mrs. A. v. Napthaly, Mrs c.. j.
fDeering, E. Deinert, A. Voss, d. How
Iard Hitchcock, Mrs. w. Fernandez and
child. w. M. Graham, G. A. Reeves, A.
Wachs, S. G.. Jacques, L. K. Doyle,
Mrs. E. A., Judson. Miss c. A. Judson.
Miss K. Spencer; for Makukona, c.
Ahee. j. Lennox; for Lahaina, c. v.
Sturtevant, William Myer, w. L.
Schmidt, Alexander Nichol, F. L. Ber-
kai. Mrs. w. L. Emory and two child
rem; for Kawaihae, Ho Fow, Frank
Woods and wife, A. w. Carter, Mrs H
Amy, F. Summerfield,. A. P: Taylor.
III. Irwin, II. T. Walker, Master j.
ish.
Shipping at San Francisco.
The extraordinary growth of ocean
commerce of San Francisco and the in
crease of the fleet of steamships engag-
ed in the foreign trade, are noticeable to
every observer of the San Francisco wa
terfront remarks the San Francisco
Chronicle. The docks are constantly fill
ed with big steamships receiving or dis
charging cargoes. Some of these vessels
are too long for the slips n which they
lie and their hulls project far into the
fairway beyond the ends of the piers 1t
is only few years since many of these
docks were constructed, and they were
then supposed to be large enough to
accommodate the biggest steamships that !
would be likely to arrive at this port for
twenty years to come. This Is all chang
ed now. Piers and docks must be
heightened to adapt them for the big
liners which are making San Francisco
their home port. Shortly we shall see
vessels at our wharves which will make
the old Pacific Mail liners of twenty
years ago look like cockleshells along
side them. Scarcely day passes now
hut what q fleet of Ia rpe OF sriDs 10