The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 21, 1898, Page 2

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1898. AMERICAN PROMPTN ESS IN BEGINNING INVESTIGATION The Court of Inquiry Sails to Havana on the Mangrove. Now No Time Will Be Lost in Of- ficially Determ ining the Cause of the Disaster to the Maine. ighted, by James Gordoh Bennett. KEY WEST, Feb. 20.—Bearing lighthouse tender Mangrove left fc composing the c fon of the wr the vessel. that it would probably meet either the supply ship of the The adr session in Key fty-eight sur rs. Their te: > the lighthous 2rnoon. Fo Maine are quartered. evening. NOOOOOOCOOBO00C000000000200000 Call Office, Riggs House, Washington, Feb. 20. ppointed at Havana to-morrow. to the Navy Depart- beg The ment this morning from Admiral Si- card at Key We! He simply tele- graphed as follo “The court of inquiry sails for Ha- vana the 20th by the lighthouse steamer Mar Marix arrived to-day.” This prompt action is undoubtedly due to the expr direction of Secre- tary Long, sent yesterday, to have the investigation begin at the earliest pos- sible moment. The telegram was dated vesterday, so the board arrived there before nightfall, and will be ready to begin its work to-morrow morning. By an error incident to the haste with which the orders were gotten out, the first account placed Lieutenant-Com- mander Seaton Schroeder on the board as the third member, while, as a mat- ter of fact, Lieutenant-Commander Pollock, the executive officer of the flagship New York, holds that place. The board undoubtedly would have grove. started previously but for the neces- | sity of awaiting the arrival at Key West from Washington of Lieutenant- Commander Marix, a maval officer well | skilled in the intricacles of marine law, who was to be judge advocate of the court. ; Captain Sigsbee was heard from late last night, delivered at the Navy Department un- til this morning. His message goes to confirm the press reports of the events cf yesterday in Havana harbor so far as they relate to the explosion of the wreck. It read as follows: HAVANA, Feb. 18—Only the most ex- perienced wrecking_ divers can do effec- tive work on the Maine. In the upper works I can use service divers. Did some work to-day, but with littie success. Will do better to-morrow. Parts of the Maine, especially the superstructure and connec- tions, are one confused mass of metal. Another brief telegram from Captain Sigsbee -read: “HAVANA, February 19.—Bache,” which means that the coast survey steamer has arrived at Havana, bringing on board all the div- | ing appartus sent from the squadron. The statement referring to experi- enced divers is explained at the Navy Department as no reflection upon the men now engaged in the work, thes being enlisted men belonging to the navy. It is the practice on board of men-of-war to assign a few men, al- ways volunteers, on account of the hazardous nature of the work, to duty as divers, in connection with their reg- ular work. The scope of their work is the exploration of the ship’'s bottom generally, the disentanglement of cables from the propeller's shafts and sometimes the search for a lost tor- pedo or anchor. Such work rarely car- ries them deeper than twenty-five feet in the water, and it.is said for opera- | tions in deeper water, such as would be involved in examination of the Maine's bottom, their training has not fitted them. They are also lacking in that kind of skill necessary to enable a diver to grope his way safely through the internal parts of a mighty ship like the Maine, torn and dismembered as she is, and this work is highly dangerous. Creeping through iron-bound passages and groping for the doors of the water- tight bulkheads which divide the hull | into compartments, on slimy floors and in perfect darkness, requires the high- est expert skill, and that is why Cap- tain Sigsbee, with only his saflor divers at command, has not been able to do much so far toward unravelingthe mys- tery of the Maine’s untimely end. It is to meet just this emergency that the Navy Department is making every effort to hasten the beginning of the work of recovery of the goods and perhaps the raising of the hull by pro- fessionals. To that end Captain Lemley, the Judge Advocate-General of the Depart- | ment, was at work to-day in his office with representatives of wreckingcom- | panies trying to draw up contracts for the immediate prosecution of the work. | He has been at the task now two days, and it has not been easy .to dispose of. This is owing to an apparent disposi- tion on the part of at least one of the concerns to drive a hard bargain, leav- ing the department in the dark as to the amount of money to be paid for their services. But it is believed the obstacles have now been surmounted and the con- tracts can be signed to-morrow. It t and who took passage on the Mangrove are: Cap- tain W. T. Sampson of the battleship Iowa, Captain French E. Chad- wick of the fl v York, Lieutenant-Commander Potter of the New Yo ant-Commander Adolph Marix, judge advocate of the court Upon arrival in Havana the court will make a personal examina- and will then take testimony regarding the When the Mangrove sailed it had not been decided where the board would convene, but Admiral Sicard told me this evening orth Atlantic fleet, which is now at Havana. added that the court would in all probability hold another West before its final conclusions are reached. ivors of the Maine are now here, including thirteen imony will be added to that of the others. flagship New York and battleship Iowa are lying off = eral miles distant from Key West. g brought Admiral Sicard and members of the court £ Directly after the officers constituting the court embarked on the Mangrove that vessel got under way and ed out of port bound for Havana. syth, the admiral visited the h. The Cushing took him back to his ship this but the telegram was not | the Maine court of inquiry, the or Havana this evening. The officers loss of on board the Mangrove or the Fern, At the The tor- Accompanied by Commander pital where the injured of the 000000000000 00000000200000 CO0C000C00000C0C0OC000000000000000Q00 is the purpose of Captain Lemley to hurry this work, and to that end he is arranging to have two of the com- panies combine their forces. They will be paid un the scale of day's work, | with a provision for a bonus if they succeed in raising the vessel, thus in- suring the recovery of as much of the valuable equipment as is possible, | should it not be practicable to float t! Maine again. Great difficulty is ex- pected in recovering the big 10-inch turret guns, each worth $40,000, owing not only to their own weight, fifty | tons apiece without carriages, but to the enormous turrets enclosing them with 100 tons of steel. It is doubt- ful if the tops of these turrets can be removed, as was first supposed, by cutting off the boltheads that fix them to the sides, as these large bolts are probably countersunk and the hoids below the surface of the metal, while the confined space within the turrets wouid make it very difficult to ope- rate there on the inside ends under water. It i{s hoped that it may be feasible to raise the turrets antire with the guns if lifting apparatus of sufficient power can be applied. The newspaper reproductions of pho- tographs taken of %he wreck were studied with much Interest by the naval officers here to-day. Great sur- prise was expressed at the extent of the wreck and the vast mass of steel and iron heaped in the forward part of the ship was a particular object of attention. The experts who had first ventured the theory of a bursting | boiler as the cause of the destruction claim to find strong reinforcements in | the pictures for that belief. The great mass of metal appears to be thrown up over the boller space, and not over the forward magazine, while the forc- ing apart of the forward body of the hull, they say, might have been ac- complished by the enormous expansive power of the high pressure steam car- ried in these boilers with their shells more than an inch thick. As to what caused a boiler to explode; whether a disguised bomb in the coal, low water or faulty construction, they do not now undertake to say. Secretary Long said this afternoon, after looking over his telegraphic and mail correspondence, that it con- tained nothing of importance beyond the dispatches above given. The Sec- | retary referred with satisfaction to the dispatch stating that the court of in- | quiry would assemble at Havana to- morrow. The plan has been for the court to meet first at Key West and after doing such work as was possible | there, to proceed to Havana. But Mr. Long thought it was desirable to have the court proceed at once to Havana, where the inquiry could begin on the actual scene of disaster, and where personal insnection. would aid in the intelligent judgmegt. On this account the Secretary aentiorders yesterday for the court to proceed direct to Havana and the response of Admiral Sicard is in accordance with these orders. — ACTIVITY AT LIME POINT FORTIFICATIONS. Second Consignment of Ammuni- tion to Arrive in a Few Days. SAUSALITO. Feb. 20.—At the Lime Point fortifications which form one of the defenses to the harbor of San Francisco there is a buzz of excitement caused by the strict orders from head- quarters to double the guards at tlLe -guns and exclude all visitors from the fortifications. The great twelve and fafteen inch guns which frown upon the ocean are jealously guarded by armed sentinels whose instructions are to shoot. Besides the regular guards the commander in charge has doubled the patrol, and these blue-coated sol- | diers pace backward and forward all day and night. Not the slightest pre- | caution is being overlooked, and the | soldiers at the barracks say that all this extra precaution is not without | significance. Yesterday the magazines, which were almost empty were refilled, and extra guards put on to_patrol the works. | The Marin County shore is commonly called the Gibraltar of the Pacific Coast and the great importance of protect- ing the fortifications at this point from any possible mishap is clearly seen by the Government. It is said that a sec- ond supply of ammunition will be re- ceived in a few days and stored in the magazines. ———— To Cure a Cold in O . Take Laxative Bromo q.,'x’...':‘ T druggists refund the money if It fails %o The genuine has L. B. Q. on sash tamis L T ONOR CAPTAIN W. T. SAMPSON. Two of the Officers Who Will OFfficially Investigate the Maine Disaster. CAPT. /IN F. P. CHADWICK. A GLIMPSE AT SPAIN'S NATY By No Means Insignifi- cant but Not Our "Class. in Its Strength Lies in Its Arm- ored Cruisers, Torpedo and Gunboats. No Doubt Whatever of the Spanish Marine’s Bravery Afloat or Ashore. Special Dispatch to The Call. Spain early attained a high reputa- tion for naval architecture and ship- building, and nearly a hundred years | before these subjects received attention in France Spanish vessels were built on such scientific principles as existed in those days. But, as Napoleon re- marked when he heard of the battle of Trafalgar: “The Spaniards know how to build ships, but they do not seem to know how to keep them,” and the numerous wrecks and frequent cap- tures seemed to bear out Napoleon's assertion. To-day Spain has by no means an insignificant navy, but mere numbers, even with names as long as a “homeward-bound pendant,” is no as- surance of its utility, especially when coupled with Jack of men properly qualified to handle the ships. Of the bravery of the Spaniard ashore or afloat there is no doubt whatever, but the batties on sea which are hence- forth to be fought are widely different from those of 1780 to 1840. Naval tactics have changed with the substitution of steam for sail, and boarding with the attendant hand-to-hand encounters will be extremely rare, for the gun, ram and torpedo will decide. Other quali- ties besides mere brutal courage and indifference to death will be brought into play, and cool-headedness is not one of the qualities found in the Span- eople. | ml‘npthg appended list of ships of the | navy of Spain all the armored vessels | but one, an old monitor, are enumer- | ated. Of the other vessels four wooden | ones have been omitted as useless in present naval warfare. ARMORED SHIPS. | | | NAMES. ~20RIdsI Almirante Oquedo. Cardinal Cisnerc Cristobal Colon. Emperador Carlo Infanta Maria Pelayo Princess de Asturias. Vizeaya .. Numancia Victoria Cataluna . In the above list only one, the Pe- layo, is a battle-ship, which approxi- mates the Towa, Oregon, Massachusetts and Indiana in the Amgrican navy. She is in the hands of French contractors receiving new bollers and nine 6.5-inch quick firing guns to take the place of other lighter guns. The Pelayo car- ries also two 12%-inch Nontorio rifles which are credited with being able to penetrate 28 inches of iron at the muz- zle. The American guns of from 13 and 12 inches caliber will penetrate 31% and 35 inches respectively. The Emperador Carlos V carries | only two 11-inch guns as armor smash- ers; and the six armored cruisers cf the Vizcaya type carry two 1l-inch, ten 5.5 g. f. and two 2.7 g. f. guns. They are splendid vessels and in protective and offensive power superior to the armored cruisers of our navy, the New York and Brooklyn, which have only 3 and 4 Inch belts and carry six 8-inch and twelve 4-inch r. f. in the New York and eight 8-inch and twelve 6-inch r. £. in the Brooklyn. One Spanish arm- ored cruiser of the Vizcaya class |Is under construction, the others are com- pleted and should be ready for ser- vice. As for the Numancia, built in 1863, and the Vittoria, bullt in 1865, while they can scarcely be classed with modern armored vessels, might be found useful as harbor defenders and they also are being fitted out in France with new machinery and mod- ern batteries. Another armored cruiser of the Cris- tobal Colon type is building, and a bat- tle-ship of 11,000 tons was ordered last year in England, but the completion of these ships is still far off. The Spanish navy fs greatly deficient in cruisers similar to those in our navy. Only five can be classed as stch | when compared with our protected cruisers, and the rest are what we denominate gunboats. In guns and protection they are inferior to Amer- ican cruisers of like tonnage, only two ships, Alfonso XIIT and Lepanto, each carrying four 7.8-inch rifles, and the other three cruisers only 6.2 inch, be- sides, of course, quick firing guns of smaller caliber. i The gunboats ranging" from 1130 to 1030 tons carry four 4.7-inch Honto- rio rifles; the smaller boats carry two of these guns. None of these gun- boats are equal to the Yorktown nor the Annapolis class in our navy, and even the Velasco, with its three 5.9-inch Armstrong guns, would not be a match for the smallest of American gunboats. The following list shows the cruisers so-called built since 1881 and assumed to be efficient: SOBRAL SPOKE [2egre 13133 | 3 NAMES. |25 | 8¢ | o |1:8 > s | : 1 |America Cannot Take e Offense at His Crit- Conde de Venadit, i *Don Antonia de Ulloa | icisms. *Don Juan de Aj Infanta Isabel Isabel II.... ¢Isla de Cuba *Isla de Luzon. Lepanto ... < Marquis_de la Ensenada. Nueva Espana. Quiros *Reina CI Reina Merceds *Velasco .... tri es. *At latest account in East India waters. The strength of the Spanish navy lies in its armored cruisers, its torpedo gunbodts, gunboats, torpedo-boat de- stroyers and torpedo-boats, most of the smaller vessels having been built with- in recent years and credited with great speed. Of these the El Destructor is the pioneer of her type, built in 1887 in Scotland, and has proved herself a highly efficient vessel. Her arma- | ment is necessarily light, being one 3%-inch, four 6-pounder Hotchkiss and four machine guns. She has also three torpedo tubes, while those of 830 tons have four torpedo tubes and an armament of two 4.7 - inch, four 13%-inch rifles and two ma- chine guns. The remainder -carry proportionate armaments. n | @ s? | 'i NAMES. Hid ‘ B 3 ; ! ? General Conch Don Alvaro de | 4800 20 Dona Maria de 830, 4:600| 20 Destructor . 38| 3800| 22.56 *Elcano .. 524 00| 115 Filipinas . 750 4,600 20 Galicia . 571 2,600| 19 *General Les 5241 600 11.5 Magelanes 524/ 600| 11 Marquies de la Vi 30| 4,600 20 Marquis de Molin.. 571 2,600/ 19 Martin Alonzo Pinz 71 2,600 19 Rapido ... 810l 2 Femerario .. 670| 2, i Velos ........ 750\ 4,5001 20 Vincente' Yanez Pinzon 571l 2800| 19 Vilalobos ............ 315 5000 11.5 *At latest account in East Indla waters, TORPEDO BOAT DESTROYERS. 300/ 6,000] 28 3000 6,000( 25 400| 6,500| 30 In addition to the above list come twenty-two torpedo-boats ranging from 108 to 25 tons, built mostly since 1s85. Notably among these is the Ariete, of 97 tons and 26 knots speed, bullt in 1337; four completing in Scotland of 98 tons and 25 knots speed; and two likewise in course of construction of 28 knots speed. A submarine boat, Peral, huiit |in 1889, the advent of which excited | considerable attention, has not been heard of in recent years. Th:s com- pletes the apparently effactive list of the Spanish navy. The vessels are of modern construction, fairly well armed and credited with great speed, a factor | which our own .experience has shown | to be somewhat illusive. - | In addition to its regular navy, Spain | bossesses a merchant steam marine, | from which it can draw a number of | iserviceahle vessels as auxiliary crujsers, | | and will be able to get as many to- | gether as the United States. According | to a recent speed classification, the | relative numbers were above twelve | knots, as follows: Were Made When He Was No Longer Spanish Naval Attache. . News That He Was Retired a Month Ago Has Just Been Made Public. Special Dispatch to The Call Call Office, Riggs House, ‘Washington, Feb. 20. ‘When Secretary’s Long's attention | was called to the reports that he had | taken official cognizance of Captain | Sobral's criticisms of the - American navy, the Secretay said he had called | the subject to the attention of the State Department with a view of having an inquiry made by that branch. The par- ticular expression to which the -Secre- | tary had directed the attention of the | State Department was the following at- | tributed to Captain Sobral: “It was the result of an explosion in- side of the ship, which took place in one | of the forward magazines. The fact of the matter is that the discipline and the watch observed on the ship were very lax. This, as one English news- | paper the other day declared, is the | case on American warships generally. This sort of thing has occurred on pre- | vious occasions on American war ves- | sels.” | The Secretary said he had not called lnnemion to other features of Captain | Sobral’s alleged interview, in which he | referred to the possibilities of war, and | to the information he had gained while !altache of the Spanish legation. As | a whole, Mr. Long did not treat the | Sobral matter as profoundly serious. | Assistant Secretary Day received no | dispatches from Havana during the | early part of the day. He would not | discuss the Sobral matter. It is under- stood, however, the State Department does not attach deep significance to the reported remarks of Sobral, owing to | his minor position. At the same time | it 1s felt that he should not be making such remarks as are attributed to him. As Secretary Long has called official | attention to them the department | would, doubtless, take steps to learn whether the interview. was accurate by | making a request on the Spanish lega- | tion. It can be stated positively, how- ever, that reports that the State De- partment made such a request of the Spanish legation, yesterday are incor- rect. Nothing has been done thus far and .an unexpected development of to- day so changesthe aspectof theSobral case that the State Department may not feet that it is necessary to proceed further. This devwelopment was that Captain Sobral's services as naval attache at Washington were officially terminated by Spain about four weeks ago. It SPEED. v. 8. |spatn. came from Senator Dubosie, Charge 20 knots 4 = d’Afraires of the Spanish Legation, who, 18 koots 2 2 when his attention was called to the Ton nore = 3 | Sobral case, gave to the Assoclated 14 knots 10 3 Press the following authorized state- 13% knots 8 3 ment: lgv, ‘,::g;: = 3 ‘““As regards this reported interview, 12" knots 19 14 I know nothing about it beyond what 3 i = 1 have seen in the papers. I should im- Numerically, the merchant steamers of the United States exceed those of Spain, but while some of our vessels are of wood and many are ripe in years, the Spanish steam fleet is as a whole more modern and efficient. CHRISTIAN YOUNG MEN EXPRESS THEIR SORROW. Resolution of Condolence by the Pennsylvania State Asso- clation. YORK, Pa., Feb. 20.—The thirtieth annual convention of the Pennsylvania State Young Men's Christlan Associa- tion closed to-night with farewell ex-. ercises at Christ Lutheran Church. Among the resolutions adopted before the adjournment was the following: Resolved, That in view of the recent dreadful calamity ‘l‘n the harbor of Ha- vana, by which 250 young men of the nation, while serving their country on the battle-ship Maine at Havana, were cut off in the strength of thelr early manhood, without a moment's wn.rn.lr?. we are moved to profound sorrow, and do resolve that this organization, whose work is by and for young feels it to be its duty in this hour of the nation’s unspeal able loss to give expression of its sym. pathy for the stricken families of the la- mented dead. —_———— Hotel for Corte Madera. CORTE MADERA, Feb. 20.—Ground will be broken to-morrow for & hotel at this tllt:a to be built at a cost of $3000 b: AL LB “to_er costly new depot hi agine Mr. Sobral far too prudent to say anything calculated to offend brothers in arms. At the same time, I should state that on the 24th of January last Captain Sobral ceased to be a member of this legation, according to royal de- crees, which gazetted as his successor Owing to the royal decree relieving Captain Sobral, it is said he now occuples the position merely of a pri- vate citizen. He is at present in New York, meeting his old naval friends on the Vizcaya, but his officlal status as Spain’s naval attache to the legation is sald to have terminated when the decree was gazetted last month. It is usual to notify the department of such a condition, but owing to the exciting events of the past few days this no- tification of the Spanish was not con- veyed to the authorities here at the time it occurred. 2 Mr. Dubosie received no advices of importance from Havana to-day. He expressed satisfaction at the plans by which the divers were operating, and said there was no justification for talk about friction. Perfect harmony ex- isted, he said, and on both sides, so far as he could see, there was every dispo- sition to give the amplest facilities for investigation. Eight Years for Paddy Shea. WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 20.—Paddy Shea has been sentenced to eight years at hard labor in the State Penitentiary for shoot- ing George Dawson with intent to kill, last December. His attorney will ly to the Supreme Court for a new trial. The crime occurred in a saloon tnlc.?lns to Shea while all present were in advanced -ngc of intoxication. Dawson was struck in the back by the bullet and will be al- | most totally paralyzed for life. Lieutenant Ramon Carrazay Guerrae.”" TO BE VINDICATED /TO DEFEND THE HONOR. OF NATION Military and Naval Men Preparing for All Emergencies. If Uncle Sam Goes to War All Branches of the Fighting Forces Will Be Ready for Service. the army at the present time is an i tillery arm of the service. for an increase of the army, is now gramme for expediting the passage listed men to the artillery arm of B R RS S PR PR PR R P NEW YORK, Feb. 20.—A Washington specfal to the Heral® says: In the opinion of all military authorities the most pressing need of Although the work of fortifying coasts pro- gressed slowly it is so far advanced that there are not men enough in the heavy artillery to man the guns already in place. have at last forced the Republicans in the House to appreciate this. I understand that Represéntative Cannon, chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, who has hitherto bitterly opposed any proposition favorably, and that he will have a conference with Chairman Hull of the Committtee on Military Affairs immediately upon the return of that gentleman to Washington for the purpose of arranging a pro- provide two additional regiments of artillery. sufficient number to man all the guns at present mounted. ncrease in the personnel of the ar- Recent events disposed to conmsider the matter of the pending bill proposing to This will add 1050 en- the service on a peace footing, a 4ttt ettt bttt R O O O R 2 b R R B b S S S S S R S o NEW YORK, Feb. 20..—A Washington special to the Herald says: As a pre- cautionary measure it is evident in many directions that the military and naval authorities are actively engaged | in making legitimdte preparations for | emergencies with the resources at their | command. While the number of am-“! cials of the War Department who were 4in their offices to-day is no larger than is usual on Sundays, their prolonged | consultations regarding the work of | their departments is an evidence of the energy that is being exerted to put the coast defenses and the army generally in the best possible shape as rapidly as practicable. Major Charles Shaler, Captain Charles S. Smith and Captain C. H. Clark of the Ordnance Department spent several hours at the department this morning | discussing the progress of the delivery | of ammunition and the ordnance now being manufactured under contract. The subject of purchasing shells-and other necessary ordnance supplies in case of emergency was discussed and | negotiations looking toward the pur- | chase of such supplies will be begun | immediately. The present available supply of powder, both brown and | smokeless, is considerable, and the visi- | ble supply of 30-caliber cartridges for | the Krag-Jorgensen rifles in use in the | regular service is such as to give no | occasion for apprehension. | The plant for small arms and ammu- nition at Frankford arsenal, Philadel- phia, has been increased by the addi- tion of new machinery, and has a pres- ent capacity of about 40,000 ball cart- ridges, calibers 30, and 20,000 miscel- laneous cartridges per day. This out- put could be doubled by working night | and day. | For some time, by orders of Brig-' adier-General Flagler, Chief of Ord- | nance, work at Frankford arsenal, | Rock Island, Watervllet and other army ordnance factories has been pushed as much as possible. As a con- sequence the reserve supply of ammu- nition is accumulating, and encourag- ing progress is being made on guns and carriages, both for seacoast and | field artillery. The capacity of the Springfield armory, where both Krag- Jorgensen and Springfield rifles of 45- caliber are manufactured, is very much greater than is at present utilized. A liberal appropriation by Congress, how- ever, is necessary in order to increase the output of the armory. There are now understood to be about 50,000 stand of Krag-Jorgensen rifles for the use of the regular army. Considerably more than half of the organized militla is now supplied with Springfield rifies, caliber 45, lately dis- carded by the army, and about half of the remainder is supplied with service- able small arms. Abundant supplies of ammunition for Springfield rifles are obtainable from the large private am- munition factories of the Eastern States. Deliveries of guns and car- riages for seacoast fortifications are be- ing made rather slowly, and efforts are, being directed by the ordnance au- thorities to expedite matters. The Engineer Department has the past year been pushing its work on em- placements, particularly on the South- ern Coast, and as much as possible, considering the difficulties experienced by weather, is now being done on the Northern seaboard. 2 In accordance with Major-General Miles’ order of a few days ago to interior departments to the Atlantic Coast posts is not confirmed by officials of the department, but such a move- ment of troops is precisely what has been contemplated by the Secretary of War and Major-General Miles in the event of an emergency. Such troops would have to be drawn from infantry regiments, as there are no artillery regiments in the interior. The employ- ment of trained infantry as artillery- men will not be inaugurated unless it should become absolutely necessary. Rather will efforts be redoubled to se- cure favorable consideration by Con- gress for the pendihg bill to increase the regular artillery by two regiments. While the fate of this bill in the pres- ent Congress is problematical, ordnance officials are confident that the Senate appropriations of nearly $10,000,000 for these departments is to be concurred in by the House. While even this ap- propriation is considered inadequate by the department, it will enabie.the work of arming the coast to proceed without interruption and substantially on the same line as last year. In event of an emergency requiring a larger body of troops than could be supplied by the regular army, th President is prepared to make requis! tion on the first line of reserve, com- posed of the entire National Guard of Connecticut, three regiments of the Massachusetts National Guard and four regiments from the New York and Pennsylvania National Guards. These constitute the regiments pronounced the most efficient and best equipped by the regular army officers who inspect | them during their yearly encampments. An elaborate statement of the relative efficiency of each regiment of the militia of these States and much de- tail regarding the personnel of their officers is on file at the War Depart- ment, and would greatly aid the au- thorities in instructing the Governors of the States regarding the men most desirable to be first enlisted into serv- ice of the United States. That Secretary Long is hopeful that the peace relations between the United States and Spain will continue is evi- denced by the fact that he has given no orders to Chief Naval Constructor Hichborn to expedite work on vessels undergoing repairs or now under con- struction. Although the department received some days ago reports of the boards of survey on the cruiser Phila- delphia and gunboat Yorktown, which were recently placed out of commission at Mare Island, the only bureau which has taken steps to improve their condi- tion is the Bureau of Ordnance. Cap- tain Charles O’Neill, chief of that bu- rean, is anxious to supply these vessels with modern guns, and immediately af- ter the ships were put out of commis- sion at Mare Island he directed that the six six-inch guns of the Yorktown and twelve six-inch guns of the Phila- delphia be at once sent to the Washing- ton gun foundry. I learned to-night that the boards of !ux:vey estimated that construction re- pairs on the cruiser would cost $150,000, and that those on the gunboat would cost $100,000. Neither of these ships will be ready for service under a year. Notwithstanding this fact, Secretary Long has not given instructions to has- ten the completion of their repairs. The only ships which Secretary Long desires to be put in condition for ac- tive service are those on the North At- lantic Coast. As has been stated, the Major-General Merritt, commanding the Department of the East, troops will continue to be detailed this week in small detachments to each of the fin- ished garrisons. The details are solely in the hands of General Merritt, who will arrange the redistribution of the artillery troops on the Atlantic Coast. A like duty devolves upon Brigadier- General Shafter, commanding the De- partment of California, and Brigadier- General Merriam, commanding the De- partment of the Columbia. The artil- lery board, of which Colonel Johd L Rogers, Fifth Artillery, is president, ‘appointed to investigate the cost and select the sites of new barracks and the necessary buildings at seacoast gar- risons, adjourned last week and the re- port i8 now in the hands of the Acting Secretary of War, Meiklejohn. Upon the basis of this report the Quarter- master’s Department will proceed to Secretary directed during the past week that the monitors Puritan and Terror be kept in commission, and that repairs to the former vessel be hastened as rapidly as possible. 2 ‘ The torpedo boats Winslow and Foote, which are at Norfolk, and the torpedo boats Porter and Dupont are to be re- paired as rapidly as possible, but the department has especially stated that there shall be no overtime work per- formed. 1 was told to-day that work is being pushed on the cruiser Newark, which is being repaired at the Norfolk navy-yard, but it was explained to me to-night that Chief Naval Constructor Hichborn had not directed such action. At the Norfolk navy-yard work is being expedited on the Lancaster, which is to be turned into a gunnery training ship. The Dolphin will be placed in commission next month. N instructions have been sent to the N& York navy-yard with reference to the prepare plans for the erection of new artillery quarters and barracks. The report that Major-General Mer- ritt has requested the War Department to move at least 2000 troops from the hastening of work on the Chicago or Atlanta, nor will there be unless there be additional developments of a grave character. Work on vessels under construction has been’ proceeding with usual speed. 2 -