The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-07
OUR NAVAL COAL STATIONS.
WIDELY SCATTERED OVER
IU0EI n

WORLD.
We might illustrate the growth OF our
navy by the vastly increased quantities /
of coal bought for the furnaces of our
Warships. In the year ending June 80.
1892, we paid $3.50. 451 to supply our naval /
vessels with coal: in the fiscal year OF
10000 we spent for this purpose $z7zzOs- /
2Ol- Last year also we expended $780,
900 for developing and improving our
naval coal stations. About three-fourths
of the coal consumed by our warships
is from domestic sources; the balance
is foreign coal
Some interesting facts are observed
with regard to the naval coal supply 1t
is found, for example that it is cheaper
to buy Cardiff coal. duty paid. in San
Francisco than to ship our own coal
from Atlantic ports around Cape Horn
to supply our vessels on the Pacific sta
ton.
The bureau Of equipment in the navy
department has made agreements in
sixty-one foreign ports all over the
world to supply our naval ships with
coal at less than current rates. These
arrangements were begun three years
ago and are found to be both convent
ent and economical All the large ma
vies of the world have adopted this
method of increasing their facilities for
coaling Warships.
We have fourteen coaIing stations on
the Atlantic and gulf coasts from
F'renchman Bay, Ne, to New Orleans.
The only coaling station on the south
Atlantic coast IS at Port Royal, S. c.
The construction of the coal depot at
the Brooklyn navy yard has made slow
A pier runs out from the Cob dock into
the East river upon which a. coal pocket
with capacity of 5000 tons will be sit
uated- A vessel Of any size may be
docked on either side Of the pier and re-
ceive coal from the pocket by gravity.
Coal will be distributed throughout
the navy yard by means of cars which
will be run under the pocket and load
I hV 7 fsa1r ina.
to build the pocket. but the contract has
been let.
large amount of coal will have to
be kept on hand: the 5000 tons which
the pocket will hold would go only a
snort way toward supplying squadrOns
that may rendezvous in this harbor. Our
new battleshlps and armored cruisers
have capacity of 1000 tons each,
while the older ships of these types can
carry on an average 1900 tons.
We nave I'VE coaling stations on our
long extent of Pacific coast. They are
situated at San Diego. San Francisco
the Puget Sound naval station, Sitka.
and Dutch Harbor on UnaIaslxa one OF
the Aleutian islands.
Twenty acres of land has been trans
ferred to the navy department at Dutch
| harDor for its coal depot The water is
/ deep, the site is excellent for the pur-
pose, and wharf and coal depot. with
a capacity Of about 5000 tons, are to be
Quilt The fact may not be generally
known that the war department is about
to fortify both Sitka and Dutch Harbor
/ me coal storage plant now building
at the Puget Sound naval station will
/ have a maximum capacity of 20. 900 tons
of coal. As no good coal is obtainable
on the Pacific coast it is necessary to
transport all the coal used by our war
sh1pS on that station about Is, 600 miles
| by water.
Among our insular naval coal stations,
San Juan, p. R, is one OF the most use
+ul, supplying coal and water to large
numbe of ships of the navy, particular
~ during the winter months. San Juan
IS anything but an ideal coaling station
as it can be used only by ships of small
or medium size. Larger ships are pre-
vented from entering the harbor by
shoal water at the entrance
1t has been regarded as very unfortu-
nate that we had no other coaling sta
ton In the West indies, and the chief
desIrability of buying the Danish is
lands was the fact that St. Thomas Of
fered ideal conditions for a coaling sta
ton. Now that Cuba has agreed to let
US have coaling stations on the island
we will be very well equipped in this
respect in the West Indies
The storage capacity at our coal de-
pot in Honolulu has been increased to
SO. 600 tons and it is intended to keep the
depot in good condition as it will be sew
eral years before the proposed naval
station can be tablished at Pearl Har-
Dor. a while ago there was a coal fam
inc at Honolulu and several mail steam M
supplied with coal from the naval de-
pot 1t was fortunate that this service
could be rendered. for otherwise the
steamers would have been OBLIGED to Law
UP and the cane crop would have been
ruined for lack of fuel to run the ma
chinery
Pago-pago Bay in Tutuila Islands.
Samoa, is now a naval station and an
appropriation is being made to extend
the capacity of the coal depot, the pres
ent steel shed holding only 5000 tons
The improvements will include better
appliances for handling coal and larger
storage capacity.
The port of Pago-pago is the most
valuable in the South Pacific. 1t is
rapidly increasing in Importance and
is already a port of call for the regu-
lar line of steamers between Australia
and San Francisco.
The retention of Guam as an Ameri-
can possession after its capture was
for the express purpose of establishing