The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-12-03
FAR WANDERING BATTLESHIP.
OHIO HERE For THE FIRST TINE
AFTER 1000 MILES OF CRUISING.

Came Through the Tall Seas or the winter
Atlantic with Little Mischief Although
Her Gun Ports Leak-Left Cavtte on
Sept. 3O-PrOpcller damned nj SueZ.
The battleship Ohio, which was the flag
ship Of the late Rea Admiral Train, who
died in Chefoo. and the last of Uncle Sans
big fighters to cave the neighborhood of
the Philippines, arrived at Tompkinsville
early yesterday morning and this morning
at Q O'Clock will go to the navy yard.
The Ohio sailed from Gibraltar on Novem-
Der IS. and in the two weeks that il took her
TO cross the Atlantic she had a pretty hard
time. On Thanksgiving Day she ran into
a gale hat increased to hurricane force.
and one of the big seas that swept over her
decks carried away the starboard gang
way. which had been slowed on deck. She
suffered other small damage to deck fittings,
but her officers declare that barring the
fact that water gets into the superstruCt-
ure through the opening of the gun port
shutters che is about the best battleship
imaginable in a sea way. The leaking Of
the u ports is a defect that may be rem
edied. 1t is certainly disagreeable to those
on board. Water came through in great
volumes while the seas were rolling and
washed about in the superstructure knee
deep.
The Ohio had another mishap on the
trip. Because of her w~idth-she is u
feet beam-she had difficulty in getting
through the Suez Canal and her starboard
propeller was all but put out Of business.
IL got jammed and all the three blades
were badly bent. Because of that she had
a much harder time in Thursdays storm.
The damage to the vessels propeller also
caused her to consume much more coal
than usual.
The Ohio, though she has been in COM
mission since October, 1904, and has cruised
more thar $4,000 miles in the last two
years, has never before been to this port.
She has been in the Far East continuously
since May, 1905.
She is a sister ship to the Maine and the
Missouri and was built by the Union Iron
Works of San Francisco. Her present COM
mander, Capt. l.. c. Logan. tool her when
she was put in commission and sailed for
Cavite, April 1, 1905. On her return voyage
she left Chefoo in September for Cavite,
where she took on supplies and exchanged
a lot of long term men for those whose term
of service was getting short. She left
Cavite on September 30 and went to CO.
lombo, where she coaled. From Colombo
she went through the Suez Canal, stopping
at Port Said for coal.
She had a thorough testing and her COM
mander SAYS she made good.
Thu ship has on board a crew OF "a officers,
1874 men and IS marines. Many of the men
will get shore liberty as soon as the ship
goes into the yard, and about 200 Of them
will be discharged within a few days, as
| their terms of enlistment expire. Most of
them, however, will probably %reenlist. A
remarkable fact about the crew of the Ohio
is that 95 per cent. of the men are native
born Americans. They are great at target
practice.
The officers who returned on the ship,
most OF them having been with her for two
years, were:
Capt. Logan, Lieutenant-C Commander j.
y. Mcdonald, executive officer; Lieutenant
Commanders j.. s. Mexican, X. McAlpl n
T. J. SEEMS; Lieuts. c. Wells. NJ. y. Nc
CorInack, c. r. Miller; Ensigns NJ. II. 81
mons, Jr., /. Z. Bass. p. W. Foote. NJ. Joyce
F. W. Sterling; Pay Inspector, I. S. Jewett
Surgeon f. J. Grow; Major OF Marines, I
C.. Treadwell. First Lieut.. A. II. Owens.
Capt. Logan said yesterday that he
thought that bv all means the Government
should nave officers Of the rank of Vice.
Admiral in the East, because whenever ar
American vessel strikes up with those OF
other nations the ranking American officer
has to take a back seat. IL is the same
thing whether the officers are at a garden
party or "A review. The commanding OFF
GERS Of the other nations represented go ir
front ALWAYS.