New-York tribune., 1908-08-23
BUSY AT THE NAVY YARD
REPAIR WORK ACTIVE.
Grooming the Ne1c hampshire for
Her Final Trial Trip.

While there is a general chorus from officers
and department heads ir the Brooklyn navy
yard that there is very little going on, and
that things pretty dull around here, an
observer will see many signs of activity at the
big naval station which not usual in the
summer season under ordinary conditions. There
is nothing startling about it, however for, while
the big fleet is In Southern Pacific waters, there
stin several fighting craft left the At
lantic seaboard, and il is an axiom OF the ser
vice that there is always something TO do TO
vessel. and 1t is being lived up TO-
The battleship New Hampshire, which is tied
UP in the Whitney Basin is being prepared for
her acceptance trial trip. which is scheduled for
September ). The new skeleton mast which
is to be installed the ship will be similar 10
the which was made the subject of an ex-
perimentai test on the monitor Florida, at
Hampton Roads. recently. This mast will be
115 feet high and it is believed that even the
explosion of a shell within It's lattice work
would fail to wreck it, while its substitution for
the present cumbersome and heavy military
masts with their fighting tops, will greatly
tighten the top hamper OF the ships.
Questions $ what is going to be done with
the Baltimore. now in drydock No. 3, have not
been settled definitely but while they are pend
ing her pumping system and auxiliary engines
and boilers being removed for thorough
overhaung. 1t is expected that her present big
Scotch boilers will be superseded by those OF the
tubular type, and years work is scheduled Tor
the cruiser 1t is regarded as likely that the
original plan of making her over into mine
laver and DESTROYER of derelicts will be aban-
doned and that she will be converted into
cruiser ada pied to carrying large bodies OF men,
In this event she will be placed in the naval
reserve and equipped with 3-inch batteries 10
correspond with other vessels in the reserve
has
under adVisement.
PREPARING FOR THE FLORIDA.
One phase of the yard work in which activity
Is evident is in the preparations for beginning
work on the new battleship Florida j Is ex-
pected that plans for the Florida and the Gtan
will be ready for submission to the PRESIDENT
early next month, and department officials nope
that the plans for the Florida will be IN the
hands of the construction force at the YARD IN
time for actual work to begin not later than
September 20 Already the work of lengthen-
ing and strengthening the launching ways mas
been begun and as about one hundred feet Will
be added tc the ways it will be necessary to
tear down part of Building No. 10, one OF
the construction and repair machine shops ana
No III shipping storehouse-
The Utah which is to be the sister ship OF
the Florida will be built at private yard, ana
it is hoped that bids will be in ready for opening
by the middle of November and work on the
shin begun early in December 1t seems that
DELAY on the plans for these two vessels was
caused by the ReuterdahI Investigations and the
recent conference at Newport, the naval de-
sipners waiting TO see what, if any, changes in
the preliminary plans would be suggested. AS
ststant Secretary Newberry of the Navy De-
partment is quoted as saying that Few changes
could have been made in the plans owing to
the stipulations of the act authorizing the SHIPS
inasmuch as they TO be sister ships or
practically so. of the Delaware. Some recent
suggestions for minor changes are being incor-
porated in the plans, the work being in charge
of Naval Constructor Robinson, who holds fire.
ouent conferences with Assistant Secretary
Newherrv Admiral Pillsbury, OF the bureau of
navigation and Rear Admiral Cowles of the
bureau of equipment.
Drydock No 8, the lame duck OF the yard'
is still flooded and will remain so until the sea
wall between the two big docks is completed
II Is an open secret that the department has
grave doubts as to the stability OF the big basin
even after the present repairs are completed.
and II is said that Rear Admiral Hollyday, head
of the yards and docks bureau, has about de-
cided that the old structure will have to be con-
deu,ned and new one built. This would leave
the station for a long time with only one dock
capa BILE of taking battleship out of water and
prove a serious handicap to the work which
will he necessary when the big ships come home.
The construction bureau is wrestling with the
color problem, among other things, and the
question as 10 what shall be the new peace color
for the warshps is still undecided. So far the
naval officers have failed to win the support OF
merchant captains the point of white being
a bad color TO pick UP at night They say that
in foggv or hazy weather white vessel can be
distinguished long before one Of any other color
is visible
THE VESTAL NEAR COMPLETION
Work on the big collier, the Vestal is
going ahead rapidly and 1t is expected that she
will be placed in commission soon. In the boiler
sbon of the steam engineering bureau her big
sr,okentne Is ready for its base which is under
construction. This pipe which will weigh about
ten tons and is so feet long by 10 feet inches
in diameter is built with outer shell which
connects with the base in such way that the
gases from the freroom will pass between 1t
and the main pipe adding to the life of the big
tube and making possible the carrying of a coat
of paint for a much longer time than would be
possible under the old system OF construction
Naval Constructor Baxter, in charge or the YES
sci believes that the yards record with the
vestal both for time and thoroughness. cannot
be beaten by private builders
The scout cruiser Chester, about which there
has been considerable talk recently in regard
TO her speed is due at Tompkfnsv1He, staten
Island. this morning, from Newport where she
stonned for coal and will take board a draft
of men from the receiving ship Hancock 1t is
now said to be the intention of the department
n have the three flyers the Chester, The Salem
and tho Birmingham make the trip TO the
Azores and back each vessel TO maintain
sn..d o< tventv-two knots an hour the out