Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1912-08-10

= ~ 4 + 4 = - + + $3.50 I

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! sci of her class, with the exception
of the America, which was given te
France before she was launched 4
The Independence was built In Bos
| ton and launched there in 1914, AS
the flagship Of Commodore cambridge
she was the first ship of the line to
carry the American nag to the Medi.
terranean. She cost $421,S10 and car.
ried seyenty.four guns. 1t Is proposed
to make her one of the features of the
Panama Exposition, and it Isl to be
hoped she will in some manner be
preserved rather than sent to the junk
: heap. Navy officers are anxious to
have the stanch old vessel, which has
seen almost century of service, hon
orably taken care of.
Help Small Powers. g.
The system Of selling old war ships
to foreign navies has been help to
many second class Powers Japan,
with a superb navy today, bought her
first armored man of war from the
United States. l.. g.
s This vessel was built by Messrs, Ar
man, of Bordeaux, France, for the
Confederate States in 1855. It was
an ironclad ram, then named the
Sphinx, and carried one 300-pounder
and two 70-pound Armstrong guns. !
The Sphinx was sold under certain
conditions to the Danish government,
but on her way TO Denmark she, was
taken into Swedish port and nomi-
nally sold to Swedish gentleman.
She was then delivered to Confeder-
ate officer in the open sea of the
coast Of France. All this was to avoid
International complications.
United States Secret Service men
knew OF the operation, and federal
cruisers followed the vessel, which
had been renamed the Stonewall, un-
til she was driven into Havana Har-
Dor, where, to avoid capture, her COM
mander disabled her and turned her
over to the Spanish Governor Gen.
erar in May, 1865. The vessel was
later delivered to the United States.
She was then more or less cut of date,
measured by rapidly advancing naval
standards, and was sold to Japan, to-
gether with two sailing vessels, which !
became the nucleus of the Mikado's
new navy.
A number Of United states vessels
of war have been sold to Peru, France,
Hayti and Brazil E.
Recently condemned and soon to be
sold is the Ole. wooden steam sloop of 1
war Nipsic. Not only does the pass
ing of the Nipsic recall interesting his
tory, but it is directly concerned In
the present system of repairing yes
sells and is partly responsible for the
law restricting the amount of money
to be spent on the repair of vessels. !
In the early seventies Congress was
disposed to appropriate much money
for the building of war ships, but was ,,
anxious to have some of the old vessels
repaired. Accordingly the Nipsfe was /
practically RACED and new vessel
built around the old cast iron hawse
pipes, which served as. a base This /
elasticity of the repair clause led Con- |
gress to pass regulations restriAting |
the cost OF repair of wooden vessel |
to twenty per, cent of the original /
cost. Later the figure was reduced !
to ten per cent.
Cost Of Repairing
The present limit for the cost of re-
pairs of steel vessels is liked at TWEEN
ty per cent of the contract price.
The Nipsic, which will soon be sold, I
was at Apia. Samoa, on March Is and I
l6, 1889, with the American war yes
sells Trenton and Vandalia, in COM
pany with the British ship Calliope and
the German vessels Olga, Hber and
Adler. |
- International relations were strain
ed at the time and there were fears
At home that hostilities might break
put between the vessels stationed at
Apia, but on March Is tropical hur-
ricane swept the harbor, and the Cal |,
ioue alone of all the vessels there sue
ceeded in making her way out of the |
larbor into the offing AS she passed
he Trenton the band on the Amer
can vessel played and the men and !,
officers cheered the British, although, i
because of their position. there was
10 chance that they could make their il
'wn way to safety.
The Trenton and the Vandalia were
wrecked and the Nipsic was cast
lshore, many lives being lost, After
he hurricane the Nipsic was fioated
nd made her way to Honolulu, where
he was locked and put into better ,
condition.