The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-07-15
SAILORS BREATHE
SIGH OF RELIEF
III Fated BattIeship Texas Has
Been Retired to Charles
ton Navy Yard.
SHE HAD MUCH ILL LUCK
w. A. c. CRAWFORD WRITING TO
PALLADIUM TELLS OF A NEW
STRUGGLE FOR COMMERCIAL
SUPREMACY.
(By w. A. Crawford.)


been retired to finish her days in
safe and dismantled state as a station
ship at Charleston Macy Yard. Thus
passes the first battleship of the new
er navy-a hoodoo all her days
While it is little known that the plans
for her construction were purchased
In England. it is nevertheless fact,
and sailors have always attributed
her unluckiness to the fact that she
was born in a foreign cline. From
the day that the first hammer was
raised in her construction. she was a
hoodoo. 1t took six years to complete
the ship. on account of various mis-
haps. On her dock trial she failed
and sank schooner. She was started
for Brooklyn to put in dock. when the
startling discovery was made that she
could not bear her own weight. and
she was hurriedly returned to Nor
folk to be repaired at no little ex-
pense. In 1896 she quietly sank into
the mud while preparing to dock at
Brooklyn. Result, more expense. La
ter she ran ashore in Norfolk harbor,
gas, and ten months later in the Wal
labout channel In Boston HarbOr,
she blew up boiler injuring six men
Just before the battle of Santiago, in
the dead of the night, she fired by
mistake on the Marblehead. FORUM
ately missing her. At the battle she
was able to develop a speed of only
six knots, although listed at thirteen.
With a record like this. it is no
wonder that sailors fought shy of ser
vice on her. and welcome her retire
ment. Eight years ago the Texas and
the Inflated Maine were counted as
the best ships in the navy.
X X X
Reports from consular agents and
information given out by the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor. indi-
cate that now that Congress has pass.
ed on the Panama Canal. this coun-
try must shortly embark in a tremen-
dous struggle with Europe for the
purpose of repeating the benefit of
the canal and achieving commercial
supremacy in the southern &hemisA
phere That our great interior pro-
ducing regions are failing to supply
fair share of trade to South Ameri-
ca is the statement of the Department
of Commerce and Labor-a condition
which is contributed to poor trans
portation facilities To Indiana. ly-
ing in the heart of the producing re-
gion. the condition. while serious. is
still bright, since with cheap water
transportation at her door. it needs
only the recognition OF the necessity
of waterways Improvements to place
her in a position to transport freight
by water at an average cost of only
one-half of one mill per ton per mile,
instead of S mills per ton per mile
the present average cost by rail. In
| deed, large campaign for larger an.
nual appropriations for the improve
ment of the WATERWAYS of the coun.
| try is being carried on by the Ma.
| tional Rivers and Harbors Congress
| the plan, which has the hearty sup
| port of the President, being one upon
the consummation of which depends
more than anything else the widening
of Indiana's markets, and indeed
those of the whole country, the reap
ing of the benefit of the Panama Ca
nal, and our commercial supremacy in
| South America. While the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor attri
butes the present unsatisfactory stu
alton to poor transportation facilities
| = ole i,,tr hot
cessful in foreign fields. owes her sue
cess chiefly to her finished system OF
waterways.
X X Y
| Forty million dollars is an clever
pound parcel-that tells the story Of
| the interesting package which has
| just been deposited in the Treasury
here. 1t is not. as one might think
filled with priceless Jewels. this
coarsely wrapped foot cube bundle
but with nice new $4,000 bills-400C
in all Whether they are being held in
| the Treasury to prevent bills of Their
denomination becoming a drug on the
market is a matter for conjecture
| but the fact remains that only on foul
! previous occasions in the history Of
the country has such great wealth
! been gathered into so small com
| pass-hardly equal to that of small
hard satchel. Washington statisti
| clans have already become busy con
corning this concentrated bunch Of
money with the following results. II
would buy S00.o00.o0o beers. or five
cent cigars-ten for each person in
| the United States, or 10000 tons OF
candy, enough to sicken every child
| in the land for a week and make nee
essary another $4,000 900 to pay fol
| medicines and doctors. One person
! has even had the temority to assert
! that 1t could purchase a winning
| baseball team for Washington. but
this has been vociferously denied.
Growing special germs wholesale
to be taken into the stomach of the
/ SAILORS BREATHE TOO.
| public by the billion. in spite of its
queer sound is fact. concerning
which the Department of Commerce
and Labor has. Just given out some
surprising Information. Science has
pretty well educated the public to She
! understanding that germs must bel in