Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1907-07-16
From Washington
Correspondence of the Alexandria Gazette. ]
Washington, July l6.

| the serious Injury Vi 10 mOte' Lucy
are utterly puzzled as to how the acct
dent could have occurred. They thought
that profting by previous terrible lessons
OF The kind, they had taken every possible
precaution 10 prevent such disasters In
the future. They accept with reserve
the suggestion that a spark from some
other gun or from a smoke stack tiOated
into the gun port of the Georgia, and,
falling upon the big 10O-pound canvas
bag OF powder which WAS about to be in
serted into the 8-iuch gun, caused its
Ignition and explosion. Still, in the
absence OF other theories, they are not
prepared TO say that this was not the
cause. The officials board ofiDquiry will
be hampered by the fact that all those
net rest the bag of powder when it took
fire are dead. Scarcely one of the men
ia the turret will be in condition to give
evidence for several days, and those who
can testify probably can give no definite
account of what happened.
Midshipmsn Kimball tells the follow
ing story: There were just % Of us in
the turret when it happened. Lieuten-
ant Goodrich was in commsn of he
aft turret, aud | was bis subordinate in
charge of the superimposed turret where
The accident occurred. The prcjeclile
had Just been rammed into the port
eight-inch gun, aud the charge OF pow
der had come up from the magazine in
the carriage. 1t was contained in two
blgs, holding 81 pounds each. Sea-
man Thomas hac lifted one bag
from tie carriage and was about to pass
it under the electric ram TO the loader.
The other charge lay on the carriage.
At that moment | WAS facing aft,
close to the wall of the turrei.
There was a sudden Kissing, a puff and
a draft Of air against by back. Instantly
| held my breath, ducked and drew my
cap over my face. Though | suppose
it was but few seconds, it seemed all age
that the flames Kissed around me, and |
felt the heat blistering my body. Il
was awful. could hear the men scream
ing and gasping for breath 10 the snho-
eating gases released by the burnir &
powder. Then | turned and tried to put
out the fire in the clothes of the men
piled around me in heaps. They lay
around four or five on top of one another.
1t was nothing to do, anyone would
have done the same. Oh, my injuries
don't amount to much; just few burns
on my hand. Midshipman Goldthwaite
stood Just aft of the ordnance carriage
and it's probably why he was kille l..
Midshipman Cruise was by the other gun
and escaped with serious burns. Gun
pointer Schlapp was on the port side OF
the port gun. He was able to put bis
head out of the opening for the sighting
telescope and that probably saved his
life."
Is there serious friction between high
officials of the Navy Department? Are
great naval movements planned without
consultation between the heads of the
bureaus through which their execution
must depend? These are some of the
pertinent questions being asked today,
prompted by the astonishing discovery
that no order, verbal or written, refer
RAG 10 the movement OF a fleet of war
ships, great or small, to the Pacific, has
been received by any official of the Navy
Department now in the city. The
records Of the department do not show
that such en- order has been issued to
any official of the department now abb
sent. This anomalous situation is pre-
scented Navy Department officials and
naval officers only know the public an
u0uncement of the President and Secre-
tary of the Navy, that the greatest fleet
OF American wsrships ever before as
mbled is to mobolize in the fall
FIR a journey for the Pacific coast
4 are getting their houses in or
uel" to comply with directions which
they expect will reach them before the
mobilization of the fleet. Naval officers
are wondering whether President RoOse-
welt expressed to Secretary Metcalf per-
sonslly his desire for such naval move
ment, and the latter forgot to inform
acting Secretary Newberry of the fact
before he left for San Francisco to make
his startling announcement on July 4,
or whether there was an intentional
slight administered. Although officials
Of the department decline to discuss the
subject for publication, for obvious
reasons, they make no attempt to concesl
their surprise of recent methods Of ad-
ministering department policies. They
predict split in the department shortly.
Secretary Metcalfs friends, on the other
hand, SCOT at the suggestion that he
could be guilty of any discOurtesies to
his immediate subordinates.
The only thing that stands in the way
of criminal and civil prosecution of E.
Fl. Hartman by the government is
the possibility of President Roosevelt
abandoning his trust policy. If the
railway magnate can find a grain of
comfort IN that remote possibility, says
a high authority here, he is welcome to
it. The fact that the Interstate Com
merce Commissioners have left the city
on their vacations, is of no significance
in this connection. They have complet-
ed report that they say presents an abun-
dant array of facts and figures to show
that Hartman has been for years run
ming counter to the antitrust law. Having |
designated Harrimsn's oilenses in plain |
terms, they have been unable 10 dis
cover any basis for the criticism that
they have not gone out of their
way to add unnecessary denunciation.
The criticism of the commissioners has
been the means OF confirming the belief
that they sent to the department of JUS