Evening journal., 1921-04-06
HOSPITAL ship
ON LAST CRUISE
Solace, Which Saw Service
in Two Wars, Shortly to
Be Dismantled
FIRST OF KIND
IN THE NAVY

has completed her last cruise as
naval ship and this morning Is tied
up in the back channel OF the Navy
Yard. She will shortly be disman-
tied and placed out Of service. Her
commanding officer is Commander
Ralph w. Plummer. Medical Corps.
4. S. n
The Solace was the first hospital
ship commissioned by the navy and
her career embraces more patriotic
and historical significance than al
most any vessel that remains now on
the new navy's rolls.
She was purchased by the govern
ment, shortly before the outbreak Of
/ the Spanish-American War, from
the Cromwell Line. for whom she
operated as the coastwise liner Gre
/ ole, between New York and New
/ Orleans. After being overhauled and
I outhtted, she was, in the spring Of
/ 1898, attached TO Commodore
Schley's famous Flying Squadron"
AT the outbreak Of hostilities and
later TO Admiral SIMPSONS fleet. op-
Grating I'm Cuban waters.
After the terrible carnage suffered
by the crews OF the Spanish cruisers
/ in their flight from Santiago and
/ subsequent destruction. the Solace
+ collected and cared for the enemy
wounded, as well as Americans. She
also brought back the wounded to
I the United States from the battles Of
San Juan. Porto Rico. Cardenas. and
/ the naval casualties attendant on our
/ trying 10 force the Harbor Of Matan-
zas with torpedo boats and the cable
cutting operations off Cienfuegos.
Subsequent TO the Battle Of Santiago.
/ while trying at night TO locate the
fleet, with her cargo OF wounded,
| Tie So,ace was fired upon by Samp-
sons warships, mistaking her for
a Spanish merchantmen attempting
TO slip through the blockade under
cover OF night
At the time she was taken over by
the Government. the Solace was
hailed by the press as 'the first ship
Of her kind to sail the seas in war;
one that was designed to succor the
wounded of friend and foe alike.
that marked a milestone in the
progress Of mankind and humanity"
She was equipped when commission
ed with an emergency bed capacity
for about 500 patients.
In 1893, the Solace established a
record for sustained steaming and
speed. when. in charge Of Comman-
der Dunlop, she left Norfolk, Va
for Manila and traversed the dis
tance, 1870 knots. in forty-threo
D.. \
for a number Of years, even though
challenged by the fast modern liners
plying the Pacific. During her short
career as a passenger liner. she
maintained the fastest schedule on
the Atlantic coast, averaging seven
teen knots on her trips between New
York and New Orleans.
The Solace was designed and built
I'm 1896 at Newport News by Horace
See, later chief engineer Of Cramps
shipyard. in this city. She is a sim
gle-screw vessel, with a normal dis
placement Of 400 tons. $40 feet lonp
and 40 feet beam. Her engines are
p Of the triple-expansion type. de-
signed by Mr.. See. and develop 33OO-
/ horsepower.
She operated during the war with
Spain in conjunction with the old
: Relief also a converted liner, thai
has since been stricken from the
navy list. being displaced by tho
Mercy. The new Relief, the finest
hospital ship in the world. was re-
Gently commissioned, and is now
with the feet
During the world war, in June
1917, a storm Of criticism and inves.
tigation broke upon the Solace. Com.
plants OF poor treatment and neglect
by sailor patients were given wide
publicity and eventually caused q
committee Of investigation 10 be ap'
pointed by Secretary of the Nav
Danenls to go thoroughly into tho
, matter.
The causes were administrative
rather than local, the size Of the YES
sci proving utterly inadequate to th'
demands made upon her capacity
The result was that the command
ing officer and stan of the Solac'
were absolved from all responsi
: bflitv. the conditions. in so far al
= they did exist, being due to the over
taxing Of the vessels hospital ca
, pacity. following a wave of sickness
! that swept through the fleet and tn
naval stations about Hampton
Roads.
Among other things. It was adduc
ed that men suffering from contag
ious diseases were not properly seq
y regated from the other patients IL
/, the sick and convalescent wards. A
p, the inquiry it was shown that tn
isolation ward of the Solace had pro
vision for but thirty patients, Will
there had been under treatment a
one time more than hundred.
The placing in service Of the new
Relief. with an emergency capacit
p of more than $50 beds and the cut
ting down OF naval personnel, ha
1 obviated the need Of the Solace, 81
she will be laid up, and IL is i'm
probable that she will ever again sal
the seas as member Of the nava
| forces.
| Compared to the new hospita
ship. the Solace is the merest hull
but her passing marks the severin
of another link that binds the ne'
navy to history and gloriou
old.
BERNARD POPECK DISMISSED
| Because the prosecuting witnes