The Delta independent., 1906-02-09

lest battleships Of the Navy. it can Lift
ttSef Is we'll In other words, 1t
raises its own bottom out Of the Water
while floating only upon Its great hol-
low side box. and the bottom In turn
lifts up the side box to q suhacient
height to permit Of its being scra2ed,
cleaned and copper painted.
Notwithstanding the apparently in
trtcate problems confronted in the
construction Of such q huge engine. the
Navy Department had . still greater
problem to solve when 1t considered
methods Of sending the Dewey to the
Philippine Islands. The great size Of
the machine meant that it could make
put slow progress through tho water
and the Government had had NO expo
1ience In sending such structures
across the uncertain Atlantic. How.
ever. the inducement Of extra good
salaries enabled the oflicials to obtain
o crew Of experienced men to handle
the dock. The hollow sides Of the enor
nous engine provide abundant living
quarters for the crew of thirty, and
are as good n the best quarters on any
man OF war. There Is on board . COM
plete distilling apparatus for making
fresh water and the ration allowances
are double those received by the men
OF the United States Navy. Since the
dock has left the United States, It has
been in almost continuous communicat
ton with the shore by means Of the
wireless telegraphy apparatus ON board
q we'll as on the three naval vessels
lowing IT. 1t is supposed by the Gov
ornment officials that It will take near
~ four months for the structure tc
make the trip to the Philippines
Games for the Mariners.
The great floor Of the Dewey II oi
ounacient size to allow Of . regulation
game Of base ball. . fact which prob
ably will be taken advantage Of wher
the warmer climates are reached
Should the little feet meet with q hur
ficane such ~ might usually be encoun
| tsred on the Atlantic in winter, thu
towing steams could throw on the TOW
lines and the Dewey could be fllet
With sufhcient water to sink to q deptt
which would assure its safety unit
oSter the storm had passed away. while
tAe towing boats could ind safe refugs
within the dock.
The route taken BY the feet IL .,
follows: After passing out Of Ches
iapeake Bay, 1t takes . course due east
ward across the Atlantic to the Ma
1sira Islands. from whence 1t enter
the Mediterranean through the Strait
lee Gibraltar. until the susz Canal 4
fsaAhsd. The traversing Of the Sue
faced the oficials of the Navy Depart
ment, but after making careful meas
uremeats Il was found that the docl
i ro01l Aaae1Nv ~~Rm %hHnuUh fhA TnnA1
Ths H. that the United States Gov
ernneat = called upon to pay for thu
use e he Canal for this purpose Il
Aftse passing through the Sue,
Canal, ths squadron Of three towing
boats and the dock will sail through
tho Rsd 80 between Arabia and Az
rica md thence on to the Indian
Ocean. Singapore will probably be 9
stopping place for the expedition and
after going through the straits Of Ma
lacca, Il viii pass up the China ses
and thence to the Cavite naval station
reaching there Just about In time fol
the 1astse holidayA
Other Dry Docks.
The Omitted States has = couple Of
other 6oating dry docks, one At Al
giers. La. but recently completed. and
another at Pensacola, Fla. formerly
stationed at Havana Before the Aoat
ing dry dock was considered . success
the stationary dry dock was the only
Kind available This was completed
upon shore, generally Of concrete and
eranite, with sloping sides and . con
cave trough for the hulls OF vessels tc
fit into. The Navy has sixteen ol
thesA, tour being situated at Brooklyn
three at Norfolk. two each at Philadel
phia ard Marc Island. California. and