New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-07-06
PLANS FOR LONG CRUISE
WORKED OUT WEEKS AGO
Speculation an Washington as to
Routes and Time REQUIRED


theoreticSliy worked out weeks IN advance -,
The naval general board. But these aeto,,. -
ncoessar.ly subject to constant change resul+in,,
from the withdrawal Of bartleshins from, o,.,.'o
commission on account Of having been deo,aroa
antiuuated or IN need OF repairs and tho s,,,
ssitution Of other ships just going into corn,o,o-
son and fresh from the builders hands. There
.is In the Navy department to-day scarcely any
one authorized to afford any information official,
" As 10 the contemplated feet movement Sec
rotary Metcalf is in California Assistant Secra-
gary NewberFy is at Watch Hill. r. l.; Admiral
DFownson. the chief Of the navigation bpreau
who Is next in line, has gone to New Yorl. and
the Acting Secretary of the Navy to-day IS Rear
Admiral Mason. chief Of the bureau of ordnance
who assumes the Office by virtue of seniority
but can scarcely be regarded as an authority In
the raatte- o. disposition of ships, which does
not directly concern his bureau work
The opinion OF the officers on duty TODAY &c
that only one route is feasible for the hig sbins
and that Is by way OF the Straits Of Magellan
The route from New York across the Atlantic
and through the Mediterranean and the Suez
Canal, Is open TO the objection that It would
bring me big ships almost into japanese waters
and the movement might consequently be re-
gart'-d as a menace which Secretary Metcalf
has stated has never been contemplated The
SleL -Oute. 100 Is longer by thousand miles
than the Magellan route. This. according to the
best calculations, and allowing for short visits
70 ports not on the nearest sailing route. is
about thirteen thousand miles in length.
The batteship oregon covered the distance
from San Francisco 10 Jupiter Inlet Fla in
ls9s. in siXty-three days. But she was handi-
capped by the company of the little gunboat
Marietta. which was scarcely able to make more
than eight knots an hour in the heavy seas Of
the South Pacific. and also by the fact that as
ngr~f
the West Indies. sensibly lengthening her route.
So the opinion now is that under ordinary cruis-
inG speed, which for the big battleships means
about ten or twelve knots an hour, and allowing
e. reasonable time for COaing the way, the
Atlantic feet can make the passage from New
York 10 san Francisco in less than sixty days.
It is conceded that Rear Admiral Robley D.
Evans win command the feet in this great
movement. He already has had an extended
period Of sea service in command rank-longer,
perhaps. than any other admiral in recent years
but II is known by his friends that he would
Ike wind UP his active career by safely con-
Quoting around the American continent the
greatest feet Of warships ever gathered together
IN these waters and there is no disposition on
the part of the officials of the department, who
have implicit confidence in his ability, 10 deny
the officer his desire.
II Is believed now that the sailing route OF the
ehips Will be about as follows: Leaving New
York or Hampton Roads. just which point has
not been decided, IN the early fall, the battle
probably
where coal would be taken on The next stop
will be Rio de Jeneiro, and from that port the
vessels would not halt Until they reached SANDY
Point in the Strait Of Magellan. Here again
the coal supply would be replemsheo ioF lhe run
10 Callao Peru. The next stage would be from
Callao 70 Panama and from that point the SHIPS
would proceed without a stop to san FRAN
cisco
Naturally The question Of coaiing the Meet is
q very serious one. Two methods Of doing this
have rner7 provided for in the plans OF the GEN
eral Board, and 4 IS not possible at this mo-
ruent 20 say which will be finally selected. Inc
first IS 10 send with the batteships sufticleh'
number q Golfers 10 enable them to replenlsh
their coal supplies without any dependence upon
foreign coaling stations. In this case heet OF
10 less than twenty Golfers viii be necessary,
because something Ike 1900 tons Of coal VIII
be burned this cruise.
In The second case the plans provide for the
free Of nerchantable coal along the route
which. Of course would diminish The need for
Golfers. Under the latter plan II Is probable
that the FIVE Golfers already attached to the At
la-tir fleet VIII he sent forward 10 Sandy Point
Co.'s ~ that point is not only scarce. but II ls
extremely dear. 1t times selling It %l4 ton, as
against The So coal which the Golfers would
carry.
Admiral Evans will. It IS expected. start out
with sixteen baJtlesnips besides the Golfers,
which viii move more or less independently,
and indeed viii probably precede him consider
ably The arInored cruisers Washington and
tennessee, which are now IN French waters,
are under orders to return TO the United States,
sncs after reHtting, TO proceed to the Pacific
Coast 10 form part OF an ar3nored cruiser squad
ron 10 be assembled there. 1t is possible that
iAey VIII be detained here and accompany the
battleships on the cruise When Admiral Evans
arrives off the Pacific Coast his feet viii be IN
creased by the addition Of the battleship Ne
oraska, newly commissioned, and simply await
liE the rounding out of her skeleton crew. The
"a tlleships Wisconsin and Oregon now at the
=BIenerton Navy Yard, Puget Sound will prob
"'is nave completed their extensive repairs by
mex March, so that they, too, may be added to
the fleet which ggiI then comprise nineteen hat
ueshps, besides the armored ana protected
cruisers OF the Pacific feet
Inc composition Of the feet to-day is as fol-
lows:
BATTLESHIPS.
The Connecticut, Captain Hugo Osterhaus:
tonnage 1900; guns, "a; speed. is knots.
The Maine. Captain Nathan L. Miles; tonnage,
1z,oJJ; guns. 20: speed. is knots.
The Louisiana. Captain Richard Wainwright;
tonnage 5000; guns. "a: speed. IS knots
The Missouri, Captain Greenlief a Merriam:
tonnage 1906 guns. 20: speed, is knots.
= Inc Virginia. Captain Seaton schroederI ton
mage. 1898; guns. "a: speed, 10 knots
The Georgia, Captain Henry McCrea; tonnage
1898; guns "a, speed. 10 knots.
New Jersey, Captain William w KimballI
p tonnage, 14.e4S; guns, d; speed. 10 knots.
The Rhode Island. captain yet TO be assigned:
tonnage, 14.94S; guns "a: speed. 10 knots.
The Alabama, Captain Samuel p. Comfy; ton
mage. 1925; guns 49, speed. IL knots.
The Illinois. Captain Gottfried Blocklinger:
tonnage, 1885; guns. Is; speed. IL knots.
The Kearsarge. Captain Herbert Winslow;
tonnage. i, 525; guns, q; speed. 10 knots
The Kentucky, Captain Edward B. Barry; tom
mage. 11.525: guns, %; speed. 16 knots
The Ohio. Captain Lewis C. Heilner; tonnage,
l2.5O0; guns. 20; speed. 18 knots.
he sasr Tnf,,