The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-10-25
ENORMOUS EXPENSE or THE
INVESTIGATION.
Fully Sl5o,OOO VIII be Paid to Send Two
Vessels to Tutuila to Try Tiuey In
toXication Charges.

! There have been some extensive do
bauches in the history of the world. In
| fact, old NerOs Bacchanalian revels
nave painted more morals and adorned
| more tales than the memory of man
| lecalltth, and when IL came to storing
away booze, old Lucullus was a regular
/ double riveted tank. Cleopatra. when
thirsting for the love Of Marc Anthony,
/ is said to have had a very expensive
/ thirst too. History claims she dissolv-
| ed a pearl worth $4,000 in a goblet Of
vinegar and quaffed the health of her
martial lover.
Cleopatra may have had her 1000
| drink, science to the contrary, Lucul-
lus may have stored away wine of cost
| ly vintage, Nero may have gulped red
/ liquor until his gin-sOaked skin burst,
| but even the drunken revels OF those
royal old Bohemians, pale before the
costly jag which Commander B. r.
Tilley, the governor of Tutuila is alleg-
ed 10 have enjoyed and for which
court Gf inquiry may be convened
1t is more than likely that the in
quiry into the charges Of having been
once under the influence of liquor and
of conduct unbecoming an officer and
a gentleman which certain missionaries
! i'm Tutuila are said to have filed with
/ the Navy Department against Cover
nor Tilley, will cost the United States
| government more than any other court
martial probably in history has done,
| and certainly more than any profess
sional debauchee among the old Ro-
man gluttons paid for his jags.
In the first place, Admiral Silas
Casey the commander Of the Pacific
squadron, has been ordered to proceed
to Pago Pago, and inquire into the
charges against Governor Tllley, who
has been relieved from that Office how
ever. pending the investigation. In
case Admiral Casey should find the
| charges sufficient to warrant it, he will
summon court-martial. In order that
I Admiral Casey may make his investi-
CATION, the battleship Wisconsin has
been ordered to proceed from Bremen
| ton on the Pacific Coast to the island
of Tutuila, a distance of about 5000
miles.--ln anticipation that it be found
necessary to convene the cOurt-martial,
| the seven gentlemen who will compose
I that body, have been ordered to pro-
| ceed on the Solace from San Francisco.
| In addition to the seven members of
| the court one of whom Is Rear Ad-
miral EN sgs and the others six cap
| taIns, there will be captain Tilley and
| the judge advocate and various clerks
who will accompany the vessel to Tu-
tula.
The idea of sending these vessels to
Tutuila for the sole purpose of inves-
tigating the charges of intoXication
against Tilley, is huge joke from the
police standpoint of jags.
| In the first place, in coming down
| here from Bremerton, the Wisconsin
used about 500 tons of coal. Between
here and Tutuila she will use at least
similar amount. From Tutuila, she
is to go across the Pacific to Valpa-
raiso, a distance of about 5000 miles
and from there she will cruise up the
| South American coast. She burns coal
at the rate of about 100 tons day. on
the trip from the Coast to Tutuila, she
| will therefore use about 1900 tons of
fuel. Coal costs on an average of So a
| ton which will bring that item up to
| $4,000. From Tutuila to Valparaiso, on
the home trip, the vessel will require
at least about the same amount, which
means $l4, 400 more. From Valparaiso
back to the north Pacific she will use
probably 800 to 800 tons more, so that
by the time she is home she will have
burned up well onto $4,000 for fuel
alone.
The Solace win burn about 60 tons a
day under ordinary draft and more,
if forced. Estimating on the average
of 60 tons, it will be seen that her coal
consumption from San Francisco to
Tutuila win be close onto to 1860 tons,
a cost of about $S,4SO. From Tutuila
she is to go to Manila and from Manila
back home. This will be about 25 days
additional runs SO that her coal Will
foot up to the neighborhood of $23,360.
The daily maintenance of the vessel
has also to be taken into consideration.
Five hundred men on the Wisconsin
have to be fed and several hundred on
the Solace. so this part of the expenses
will be quite large. Then there are the
salaries to be figured There are three
| Rear Admirals in the expedition. A
Rear Admiral receives $15.25 a day, six
captains who are on the board receive
$3.50 a day, lieutenant commanders,
$970; senior lieutenants $7.75; junior
lieutenants, So; ensigns, $4.30; warrant
officers $3.50 and the average members
of the crew, $l.40.
The pay of the members of the court
and various clerks WIN reach close onto
$500. More than this, most of the
court expect to return to the United
States, on one of the Spreckels line of
vessels The passage from Pago Pago
will be about $3.50 each, which will in
round numbers, be about $500 to land
them in San Francisco.
Summed up the proposition simply
: amounts to the fact that because Cap
tain Tlley is accused OF having been
intoxicated on one occasion, the United
States government sends two ships ia
burn about $5S,36O for coal, about
800, 900 more for additional expenses of
the boats, and $1,000 for steamship
transportation to a private corporation,
1t is well that Commander Tilley is not
accused to having been on a 30 day
jag. 1t might have cost the govern
ment 30 times the present cost of inVes-
D tigatiOn and at this rate few more
such Investigations might bankrupt
Uncle Sam.
1t can, of course, be claimed in de-
fence of those bringing the charge
t against Tilley, that the vessels would
J have to be maintained anyhow so the
cost of the trip to Tutuila and return
does not really amount to anything
on the other hand it can well be said
that had the charges not been made
. the vessels would not have had to go
to Tutuila and, in consequence, the
trip represents an actual loss OF at leas'
I about 1000 for coal and transporta-
CONTINUED to page hve.)