The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 28, 1898, Page 4

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1898. IN TIME OF PEACE PREPARE FOR WA FACILITIES FOR BUILDING BATTLE-SHIPS Sixteen Plants Which the Navy Department Could Call Upon. Five Men-of-War Are Now Under Construction, but the Work on Them Has Been Delayed. The strained relations with Spain, ‘Mwhich may or may not culminate in mwar, will naturally direct public atten- tion to the size and condition of our navy, and also to the resources we possess for further expansion and making good the losses which a naval | war will necessitate. Owing to the de- cline of our foreign shipping and the islow growth of the coasting trade fthere has been but a slight incentive kfor organized capital or individuals to.| ze in ship-building, and but for | the building of the new navy there| would have been no shipyards nor ma- | ‘rine engine establishments at the pre: ent time at which war vessels of mod- | ern design could be built. The one hundred and odd millions of dollars expended in the construction of | the pew navy during the last twelve years have created two armor plants, a pational naval gun foundry, encour- aged the establishment of smpyams,l‘ loped and increased the facllities | iron and steel plants in the manu- cture of plates and other material | quired In ship-building and kept anufacturers of projectiles and small dnance bus When bids were invited in December, for the construction of the cruis- Charleston and Baltimore o firms responded; namely, Hollingsworth, Cramps and n Iron Works. For the gun- orktown and Petrel two other . Columbian Iron Works at Baltimore, and Reeders, also in Balti- more, responded. These five ship- building firms represented practically the private resources of the country for turning out ships-of-war. Not one of the navy had the facilities to build a cru 1uch less an armored vessel; but r the Brooklyn yard, orfolk and Mare nd yards are ded with tools and other appli- s -for ship and engine building, | at Brooklyn and Norfolk two bat- ips and two 3200-ton cruisers have been built. e That "~ the ms which undertook building the f er s and gunboats made much money out of the transac- tion is not On the contrary, ¢ they.paid for the experience, and the Government got good vessels at a cost which would have been doubled in the navy yards. Meanwhile more ships were to be contracted for and other firms came to the front, lured by the @pparently liberal compensation and the credit and standing it would give as builders of hips. | T: Two after the first batch of | contracts four more firms appeared in | the field, namely, Palmer’s, successors | to John Roach, Bath Iron Works, | Moore of Elizabethport and Loring & | Harrison of South Boston. And so with the business created by the Govern- ment and the consequent competition of builders the private establishments have multiplied until there are now six- teen firms to which the Government can give contracts for vessels with a reascnable assurance of non-failure. During this period of twelve years two firms have gone to the wall unable to | fulfill their contracts except at losses | which swamped the concerns. The following list shows the ships and engine building establishments on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Those marked with a star have facilities for building armored vessels, cruisers and torpedo boats; those indicated by a dagger have facilities for cruisers and torpedo boats; the others are as yet only on the torpedo-boat list. None of those who have made bids without hav- | ing the means of carrying out a con- tract are included in the Ilist. PRIVATE. SHIPBUILDING ESTABLISH- MENTS! Yame of Firm— Location— ewport News Co.....|Newport News, Va. | Government officials is that contr: | specifications, the experienced builders would now be on time were it not for the interference of officia recommendations, sugge: ders of changes in plans. fair to state that the bureaus of con- struction and steam engineering have but a small share in this delay, but the vernment inspector at the works, whether he be a contractor, engineer or line officer, does, as a rule, feel it incumbent to burden the bureaus and the builders with suggested changes, and time and money are thus lost with- out any appreciable increase of effi- eiency to the ship, but certainly a great loss to the builders. This everlasting time-killingand money-eating business, without resulting in the production as yet of a perfect ship-of-war, does not | cease with the delivery of the ship at | the yara, for the alterations frequently consume four or five months before the ship goes on her first cruise, and with the assignment of each new command- ing officer changes are made involving the expenditure of many thousands of dollars and less of time. An incident which occurred during one of the spasmodic efforts in the French navy some years ago points the way out of the difficulty. An offi- cer was assigned to the command of an armor-clad lying at Toulon ready for sea, but notwithstanding orders to proceed with as little delay as possi- ble the captain dallied, urging various ¢hanges in the ship. At last the Min- ister of Marine solved the trouble by detaching the officious captain and | turned the ship over to another officer, who sagaciously took went to sea at once, The result of these delays caused by tors consider this factor as an addi®onal expense, which is included in the sum total, but yet for all that Cramps, the Union Iron Works and others have been badly caught, and are seeking remun- eration by claims on the Navy Depart- ment. In the case of the Indiana the Cramps claim $480,231 90; for the Mass- achusetts, $48; 7 49; for the Iowa, $185,662 Brooklyn, $183,246 52; New the -hint and York, $211,018 31, and the Columbia, $192,235 79, making a total _claim of $1,736,153 29 on account of losses in- curred through, changes and delays by the navy officials. The Union Iron ‘Works have equally good claims for extra compensation for delays on the Olympia and Oregon, where the Ord- nance Bureau failed to deliver the re- quisite armor and guns until a year after the builders should -have deliv- ered the ships. The appended tables show the con- tract time in months and the actual time before the ships were turned over to the navy yards. The most conspic- uous cases of delay attributable to builders’ inexperience are the Mont- gomery, Petrel, Concord, Princeton and Ericsson. The others may be fairly di- vided between the builders’ lack of facilities and Government delay and interference. The fact that this coast draws*its supply of ship-building ma- terials from points 2500 to 3000 miles distant greatly hampers- expeditious work, and Cramps and other Eastern builders have a decided advantage over the Union Iron Works in this re- gard: NAMES. SyIuow Indiana 36 | 60 || *Maine Oregon 36 | 67 || *Texas .. Massach New_ Yorl Towa 2 || Brookiyn Monterey Katahdin . *Built in nav; "CRUISERS, Wm. Cramp & -So *Union Iron Works *Bath_.Iron Works.... tColumbian Iron Works/ Philadelphia, Pa. San_Francisco, Cal. Bath, Me. Baltimore, Md. tHarlan &- Hollings- worth ....... -..|Wilmington, Del. tNeaflo & Levi Philadeiphia, Pa. tLewis Nixon... {N._F. Palmer {11 H. Dialogue & - |Chester, Camden, N. J Chas. Millman Co...... Philadelphla, Pa. Herreghoff Co........... Bristol, R. I, Fulton Iron Works.... |San” Francisco, Cal. Moran Bros Seattle, Wash. Wolff .& Zwicker Portland, Or. Seabury Co....... New York, N. Y. Sparrows Point, Baltimore, has re- cently, closed down for want of work. The establishment has turned out good | work, and has excellent facilities for | cruisers and small craft. In case of | necessity this yard would undoubtedly | be re-opened and prove of great value | to the Governmnent. | ‘While the above list indicates a pret- ty fair resource for the supply of war ships, their ability to turn out work | with the rapidity demanded during war yet remains to be tested. Only about one-half of the establishments enu- merated have furnished vessels. The others still carry unfllled contracts. At the start of our navy butlding con- tractors took work for terms and time limits which not even the experienced builders in Great Britain would have attempted, with the result that the | time limit has always been extended, | and, although the contracts stipulated | penalties for non-delivery on time and shortage in power and speed, the Goyv- ernment -very wisely refrained from collecting ‘the penalties which would have swamped the builders. As to the causes of delay in delivering ships-on time, these may be summarized as fol- | lows: Lack of experience and facilitles | on the part of the builders, failure of rolling mills to supply material and the | p, multitude of changes and alterations | made by officials of the Navy Depart- | = ment. The latter cause, with that of non- delivery of ordnance, has been the greatest factor in causing long delays, and still remains. Left -to carry out | » Elizabethport, N. J. | NAMES. 9| 318 iz Columbia_. | Minneapolts | Olympia Philadelphia..| 24 | 33 || *Cincinnat San Frincisco| 24 | 35 || *Ralelzh NAMES. | NaMEs. |33 z2 s 127 Detrolt .. | 44 Mo . Marblehea 3 53 || untgomen{ 30. - GUNBOATS. al > Q| > i E5|32( - B[22 : HEH R NAMES, (22(3% NAMES. |28 32 LrodRS HadH Bancroft 24 | 33 || Nashville .....[ 24 | 41 Petrel .. 12 | 36| 2439 Yorktown 127 15|18 Concord .....| 18 | 39 15 | 20 Bennington ..| 18 | 43 15|22 Castine 54 2 Machias 9 |\ 'Vicksburg .....| 16 | 27 Helena 40 || Wheeling . *One year overdue, and only 92 - e v only 92 per cent com. TORPEDO BOATS. af.>f] (el gs5l82 22 : EHEH g ~ames. - (33138 wames. (25 3 % 2 As to vessels not yet launched—the battle-ships Kearsdrge and Xentucky. the contract according to plans and contracted for January 2, 189, to be feg=Feg=gsFugeicFegaFeReFegeFeFryeyagugegugeyaya] N carrying out the campaign. nothing to fear. the Havana correspondents’ pet theory of a mine. authorized to speak on the matter, thus thinly disguising General Weyler himself as the speaker. is absolutely false that General Weyler took away any documents or plans necessary to the Government in His defenses of the ports of the island were confined to theé mounting of many cannon of as large a caliber as possible, their positions being a professional secret. The problem of defense has been thoroughly studied, and the defense of the pcrts of Havana, Matanzas, Clenfuegos and Santiago have It would be difficult for a hostile squadron to lay in front of the bay of Havana, for the bat- teries established there would stop it. “The attack on General Lee as having nightly left Havana for a conference with Colonel Aranguren or other rebel chiefs is an edifying sight.” . The feeling here is very bitter against Lee, whose rebel and Jingo sentiments are constantly referred to. Spaniards look upon him as a most mischievous element in the prevention of a peaceful solution. % Copyright, 1898, by James Gordon Bennett. ] T MADRID, Feb. 27.—The Nacional, General Weyler's special organ, takes the entire wind out of the sails of It says it has consulted one of the chiefs of the army most The article ends up: 08 08 106 06 06 10 10 106 0% 00 100 200 00 08 500 10 0% KOO S0 108 30 30K 8 106 30K 0¥ 08 10 0¥ 308 08 18 10k 206 08 8 5030 10k 08 08 £0¢ 30k 50¢ 0f 08 10K 30K 308 0 ¢ Mkt DEFENSE OF WEYLER, HATRED OF LEE. He says it SOOI O NN N 000 000 O 00 00K 08300308 308 108 100 0 308 300 108 100 08 108 108 10K 00 S0HI0H K06 X0 0108 308 108 308 K00 60 0N N MK 0H 0N 3 delivered January 2, 1899—they are only one-half completed, and the Ala- | bama, Illinois and Wisconsin range from 25 to 20 per cent in state of com- | Dleteness, with a good chance of being two years,behind time and fair claims for delays owing to the Government's | failure in providing the armor. of Rogers Ma the unfinished torpedo-boats the and Winslow, contracted for | were to be delivered Auz-| Rowan contract October 19, | 19, 1897. | 3, 18! 3, 1896. , to be delivered January The Dahlgren, Craven and Farragut | contracts of October 6, , to be filled | April 8, 1898, will likely be six months | behind time. As for the seven boats, | Davis, and including McKee, only one, Gwin, is mnear completion, although they were to have been delivered CeZ | tober 7 last year. The submarine torpedo-boat Plunger | w contracted for March 13, 1895, to| be detivered one y: from that date. | She is now nearly two years overdue, | and was only 66 per cent completed last Januar The fore ng record shows however excellent the ships may be when completed the vast difference be- tween contract time and actual time proves that there is wanted more dis- patch. Allowing one-half of “the over- time as due to official mismanagement, there still remain many months for the contractor to account for, and, as they are men of business, desirous of | turning. over their money as rapidly as possible, the inevitable conclusion forces itself upon the public that the establishments lack the requisite fa-| cilities for expeditious work. Comparing our navy building with that of Great Britain in its dockyards | and private yards, it will at once be seen how much guicker our builders should stir themselves. The British battleship Magnificent, 14,900 tons, was begun at Chatham | dockyard December 13, 1893, and com- pleted December 7, 1895, in less than | two years. " A sister ship, Majestic, built at Portsmouth, was begun Feb- ruary 5, 1894, completed December 10, 1895, or in twenty-two months. Prince George of the same tonnage, from September 10, 1894, to October, 1896. The 14,200-ton cruisers Powerful and Terrible were built and ready for cruising in thirty months.. The list of names might be lengthened to a great extent, but it suffices to conclude with that all the torpedo-boat destroy- ers ranging from 265 to 300 tons have occupied only from ten to fifteen months. § It should be noted in this connection that the -building time of the Ameri- can ships is that during which -they were in the builder’s hands, and that from three to.four months at the navy yard must be added before the vessels were ready for sea. In the instances quoted of British navy building the period is up to the time of being-ready for sea. 'This rapidity in ship building in England has shown itself only dur- ing the past five years, prior to which the Admiralty and other _officials greatly hampered the work. With the removal of these causes the private contractor-has been able to make rec< ords, and the dockyards to competé with outside establishments. The foregoing record of pastand pres- ent shipbuilding presents the query as to what our shipyards could do in an emergency. They are hampered with the uncertainty of prompt delivery of material, including plates, angles, shapes and castings. The armor de- livery is another uncertainty. It is, however, fair to estimate on the pres- ent known facilities of the several yards and their capacity for expansion that nine battleships could be built simultaneously in the four principal yards, and which with all conditions favorable could be completed, includ- ing the time at the nayy yard, in three years. Cruisers and gunboats would require from two years to one year ac- cording to size and general character, while torpedo boats would consume at that, least nine to ten months, under the most favorable conditions. The navy vards, would, of course, be fully occupied with repairing and fitting out. The public will realize that different conditions exist now than obtained in 1860-64. “Ninety-day gunboats” are a thing of the past, so are cast iron chunks, once denominated as guns, and while preparations are going for- ward and devices made for defense, so inadequately provided for, the war may be over with its terrible conse- quences to be remedied. CONVENIENT SUPPLY DEPOT AT ST. LOUIS. NEW YORK, Feb. 27.—A St. Louis special to the Herald says: The Gov- ernment has in stock in the supply de- pot in St. Louls equipment for 5000 men. Within twenty-four hours 2000 infantry, 2000 cavalrymen and 1000 ar- tillerymen could be fully equipped for service. St. Louis is the base of sup- plies for the West and Middle West, and arms, clothing, saddles, ammuni- tion and tents are kept here. Major Booth, commanding the arse- nal, received a few days ago flve car- loads of clothing, blankets, shoes, hav- ersacks and every other kind of equip- ment for soldiers. The only short sup- ply is overcoats. There are only 1000 of these on hand at the arsenal, but it is said that no difficulty would be ex- perienced in filling up the stock of these if it should become necessary. The supply of rubber ponchos—coembi- nation caps and helmess and extending over the head and shoulders, back and breast--is large, and these are of more importance in the Florida peninsula and Cuba than woolen overcoats. The various Western forts are full and are in a position to move at once. The majority of thein have been com- pletely stocked recently, so that the vast amount of supplies now at the ar- senal would be used for new companies. Frantz Gets His Trophy. SAN BERNARDINO, Feb. 27.—Private A. D. Frantz of Company K of this city has recelved the General Last trophy, which he won at the recent State shoot. Three men tied his score of 65, made at the last of the three shoots, so Frantz helds the medal only until some_time in March, when the four will shoot off the tie nfi Los Angeles to see who retains the trophy. ton special to the Herald says: ARE HINTING AT NEEDLESS DELAY Americans in Havana Disposed to Criticzie the Government. Many Hold to the Belief That It Purposely Blocks Full Inquiry. This View Not Shared by the More Conservative Members of the American Colony. Specfal Dispatch to The Call. and some Spaniards here the investigation into the Maine disas- ter has thus far been superficial and barren :of vital results. They claim that, though nearly two weeks have passed, no knowledge has been gained as to the condition of the forward part of the hull or as to whether the six or ten-inch ammunition magazines for- ward to the starboard explode with enough experience to make draw- ings of the condition of things subma- rine, might have been at work a week ago and might have settled the ques- tion' as to the magazines, at least, ere | this. Those who hold these views demand that the hull forward should be raised without further loss of time and before it hassunk too deep in forty feet of soft mud. There are some who go so far as to charge the United States Govern- ment with adopting the Spanish policy of delay until the disaster shall be par- tially forgotten. Many of the Spanish officials are said to entertain the opinion that this is the case, and to be very well pleased with the notion. On the other hand, however, good judges say that all criticism in this vein is made without a knowledge of the facts and that none save the mem- bers of the court of inquiry and their superiors are aware of all the testi- mony developed or of which submarine plans have been made. Those also urge that there is no use trying to raise the hull until the wreckage of armor, superstructure, engine, decks, guns and masts have been taken out. To do this will take time, and the apparatus for the work can be found only in the North. The court of inquiry is as quiet as the statue of Memton, as dignified and as stern. 1ts members are courteous, but they feel the deep responsibility resting upon them. They were not ex- clusive when on shore, and they dined with the consul-general now and again, but the wreck was always a prohibited topic. If memory did not have a tinge of tragedy, Havana's harbor would have appeared commonplace enough to-day. Sail boats, tugs and launches plied to and fro all day. Steamers large and small arrived and departed, and the bustle of a busy and not specially pic- turesque harbor came and went in the usual fashion. It is generally expected that the court of inquiry will return here after taking testimony at Key West, and it is likely that efforts would be made by agents during their absence to secure other testimony. The arrival of a battalion of more than 2000 regular troops from Barcelo- na, as was cabled, excited public inter- est for the day. Guns were fired, “vivas” shouted and decorations which the rain spoiled were displayed. The men, so it is alleged, are the advance guard of a division of 11,000 Spanish regulars, sent to take the place of the sick and wounded who have returned to Spain within the last few months. The Spaniards know that Senator Proctor is a close friend of President McKinley, and despite his disclaimer of a political mission they continue to attach considerable importance to his visit at this juncture. Some think that he has been sent by the President to make a report upon the situation as Mr. Blount was sent to Hawali by President Cleveland. The Spanish, who in the main are ignorant of American customs and political methods, eannot understand why a former Secretary of ‘War should come to Havana, and there are many expressions of surprise that Senator Proctor {s not in"uniform in- stead of In clvilian dress. Great preparations are being made to welcome the cruiser Vizcaya. Senor Rivera, editor of La Discusion, says: “The general impression here is that the United States court of inquiry has already decided that the disaster to the Maine was the result of an acci- dent.” The vana. TEST OF BIG COAST .DEFENSE GUN. General Flagler Entertains States- men With an Interesting Ex- hibition on the Potomac. NEW YORK, Feb.. 27.—A Washing- Gen- eral Flagler, Chief of the Ordnance Bureau of the War Department, treat- ed a number of Senators and Repre- p is very prevalent in Ha- 'sentatives yesterday to a practical il- lustration of what can be done with the new coast defense guns. At his invi- | tation Senators Hawley, Carter, Petti- grew and Mitchell and Representatives Huil, Hemenway, Pitacy and McClel- | | mounted in them. ¢ ey | the craft In the river. - | insist, moreover, that expert divers, | lan went down to the foot of Washing- ton, on the Potomac River, where they Inspected the new fortifications and the two ten-inch guns which have been One of these guns mounted nearest the water front com- mands the approach up the river. The other gun on the crest of an elevation | behind the old stone fort has a range not only down the river but up stream as well as far as Alexandria. A test was made with the upper gun. The gun was first raised and lowered sev- eral times in order that the delegation might see the working of it, and then all the men were called into their pit and the actual test begap. Twenty men were required to work it, and ev- ery one of them knew just what to do and when to do it. They worked with the smoothness of veterans, and the officer in charge informed the visitors that they would fire the gun up the ver. He chose a spot about one mile below Alexandria and about six from the fort where he said the shot would fall. It was not fired straight up the river, owing to a number of sailing ves- sels which were in the vicinity and the officer was compelled to have the shot drop in shallow water. After the gun had been properly loaded and the ele- vation had been figured to a nicety one of the officers touched an electric but- | ton, and the ponderous gun slowly be- HAVANA, Feb. 27.—Many Americans | insist that | half-way up it began to-go faster until gan to rise and after getting about it reached the top, where by the pres- sure of arother button it was fired. The gun was flred three times, and each time the elevation was so changed as to send the shell in a different local- ity. Those who did not know of the nicety with which the course of the projectiles could be computed feared that one of them would strike some of In fact, when the first shot was fired it looked as though it was going directly through a large three-masted schooner vhich was sailing majestically up the river under full canvas. After the.shot was fired the officers could plainly see, with the aid of fleld glasses the consternation caused by the screaming .and hissing of the shell as it passed over the boat. The crew all ran to the bow and watched carefully to see if they could discover what was causing the unusual noise on the usually silent river. They gave it up in disgust apparently, but when a second shot was fired the men went below. The gun while being de- pressed fall§ so lightly that one of the men placed his finger under it to show that it would not even bruise it. The recoil is lessened by numerous oil chambers. Chairman Hull of the House Commit- tee on Military Affairs stated that the test yesterday was sufficient to demon- strate the need of materially increasing the artillery branch of the army. These high power guns require twenty men to work, and all have to know exactly their positions. STORY OF A PLOT TO BLOW UP THE MAINE. In a Letter a Cuban Agent Says Divers Were Sent Out With a Torpedo. KEY WEST, Feb. 27.—The latest story as to the way the Maine was blown up Is contained in a letter for- warded by a secret Cuban club in Ha- vana to J. M. Govin, a Cuban insur- gent agent. The club received it in the ordinary course of the mail. Tt was written in English, but was signed “Maquinista” (Machinist). After a long preamble, saying that the writer knew that the Maine's fate was due to a Spanish plot, the letter goes on to say that in an old warehouse at Santa Catalina, 200 yards from where the Maine was moored, some diving ap- paratus had been hidden and that from this base two divers had worked by night and filled the torpedo holes of the Maine with the dynamite cart- ridges connecting with wire to the bat- tery on the land, from which the cart- ridges were exploded. According to the letter the divers were to have been paid a large sum, which has not been forthcoming. The Cubans in Key West say that the investigation in Havana has tend- ed to confirm the statements of the letter, which will go before the court of iquiry. An officer of the Maine, whose attention was called to the story to-day, asserted positively to the cor- respondent that the torpedo holes of the Maine had not been opened during their stay in the harbor. HOW PARISIAN PAPERS VIEW THE SITUATION. Believe War on the Point of Break- ing Out—Uncle Sam Advised to Think Twice. NEW YORK, Feb. 27.—A Paris cable says: Le Temps says of the Maine disaster: Not only do the facts which have leaked out so far point to a sub- marine mine as the cause of the dis- aster, but there is also argument in support of its being due to design. If such is the case McKinley will have g{e:it difficulty in preventing a con- ct. Patrie thinks war on the point of breaking out between Spain and the United States, but advises the latter to think twice before engaging in the con- flict. Spaln’s army and navy, it says, are composed of seasoned and tried men, whereas this quality is absent in the forces at the disposal of the United States. The American fleet is organized only for a defensive war. As for the American army, it is still to be brought into existence. NEW HAMPSHIRE WILL NOT BE FOUND WANTING. BOSTON, Feb, 27.—The Journal to- morrow will publish the following: NASHUA, N. H., Feb. 2I.—War is al- ways a terrible calimity.” T do not bejicue it will come out of the present complica- tions. I It must come New Hampshire wi ound reas and wi 3 1 past, to do her tufi share lnn‘ ot the honor of the rgubll GEORGE A. SDELL, Governor of New Hampshire. LB WS GO OO O U UL maintaining" DEPARTMENT | MEN AT WORK / ON SUNDAY Secretary Long and His Assistants Labor Constantly. Spain’s Representative at Washing- ton Gives Out Assurances That the Public in General Is Not Inclined to Share. Call Office, Riggs House, Washington, Feb. 27. The usual Sunday quiet was not broken to-day by any important de- velopments in connection with the Maine disaster. Captain Crowin- shield, chief of the Navigation Bureau, came to his office in the Navy De- partment to open the department mail and a few unimportant telegrams. A dispatch from Havana confirmed the press reports that the court of inquiry. left there on the Mangrove for Key West. The State Department received nothing from Consul-General Lee dur- ing the day, and the only dispatches of consequence reaching that department was from Minister Rockhill at Athens, briefly stating that an attempt - had been made on the life of King George, but without serious results. Five shots were fired by the would-be assassins, none of them taking effect. Up to 6 o'clock the dispatches of the Navy Department were taken to the off«cers of the department, and were not regarded as of sufficient conse- quence to send to the Secretary. Mr. Long said the court of inquiry would now proceed with its work at Key West, examining the witnesses there, in accordance with its original plans. No definite information has been received as to how much time would be taken with the inquiry there, or what the next step would be. M:. Long stated that the department was to-day in possession of no more -infor- mation on the cause of the disaster ‘than it was immediately after the oc- currence, and that no evidence had been received up to the present time showing that the disaster was caused by design. During the afterncon the Secretary received a call from Assist- ant Secretary Roosevelt, who assured him that an examination of the map said to show mines in Havana harbor disclosed that no such mines were on the map. Senor Dubosc, the Spanish Charge d’Affaires, to-day received a cablegram from the Minister of State saying that the new Minister to the United States, Senor Polo y Bernabe, will start to- morrow from Gibraltar. This will bring him to Washington in about ten days. At Gibraltar he will take one of the German line of trans-Atlantic steamers touching at that point. The credentials of the new Minister will be presented soon after his arrival, and it is expected his first attention will be given to the commercial treaty be- tween the United States and Spain with particular reference to Cuba. His service as chief of the Commercial Bu- reau of the Foreign Office has given him charge of the details leading up to the negotiation of this treatey, and he will come sharing the earnest desire of the Sagasta administration to put through this matter with the least de- lay possible. Minister Woodford has been carrying on the negotiations with the authorities at Madrid, and they are well along toward completion. Beyond the foregoing dispatch, Sener Dubosc received no news to-day from Havana or Madrid. He expressed sat- isfaction at the more conservative tone of the public sentiment within the last few days. Press reports from Madrid stated that the authorities were jubilant over the receipt of important favorable in- formation from Havana. Mr. Dubosc could shed no light on the nature of this information. In other quarters, however, the im- pression prevailed that this informa- tion could not refer to the Maine in- quiry, but concerned the general con- duct of the insurrection in Cuba. There have been strong indications of late that the autonomist Cabinet, under the leadership of Govin, who is the recog- nized force of that body, would en- deavor to make terms with the sepa- ratist wing, and in turn secure the co- operation of the insurgents in a move- ment,to conclude the war. How far this is possible is not known here, al- though it has been expected that Go- vin would succeed in effecting a rec- onciliation. There has been added rea- son for this belief within the last few days, owing to the fierce attacks made on Govin by some of the irreconcila- ble elements. He repelled these and repudiated an alleged letter in which he was reported to have attacked Premier Sagasta. .COLLECTING DATA IN THE PACIFIC STATES. ‘War Department Figuring on Trans- fer of Troops Should It Become Necessary. TACOMA, Wash., Feb. 27.—It is an- nounced here that the War Department is collecting data which will show how and in whdt time troops can be moved through and ou! of the Pacific Coast States and probe.bly all Western States. Telegrams asking for this information have been received by Governor Rog- ers, and reports forwarded by mail Though hundreds of men are going to Alaska, there are thousands left in ‘Washington who, according to specials from every county printed.to-day, will guick!y enlist if volunteers be called or. The greatest interest is manifested throughout the State, and news dealers report their sales of papers, particular- ly San Francisco papers containing complete reports from Washington and _— Havana, to have doubled and trebled. Several men,, including Colonel Wil liam Fife, have given up going to Alas- ka that they may be ready for service if war comes. Colonel Fife has asked the War Department to per- mit him to offer the first volunteer regi- ment, already partly organized, if troops are called for. Officers of the National Guard believe that northwest- ern troops will pass through California en route to Florida if hostilities are commenced; otherwise they could be rapidly sent East over two trunk lines which traverse the State. The State National Guard is being recruited to its full strength. WOULD RATHER FIGHT THAN DIG GOLD. BOSTON, Feb. 27.—Some folks would rather fight than dig gold. A Klondike party, made up of residents of Rhode Island headed by Quincy Andrews, has delayed departure, owing to the Span- ish trouble. There are about fifteen solid men in the organization. Each has a rifle and a first-class outfit for camp. They have just voted not to leave next week for Alaska, as con- templated, but to offer their services to the Government if occasion demands. The members of several other similar expeditions slated for an early depart- ure signify thelr intention of follo; ing the example of the nrembers of this party. T Shipment of Big Guns. WASHINGTON, Feb. 27. — There were a number of alarming stories as - to heavy shipments of ordnance from the Washington Navy Yard to New York for arming the auxiliary of the new navy. It is said that the depart- ment that so far none of these guns have been shipped to-day, but that a few for the Chicago, - probably four- teen 5-inch rapid-fire guns, will be dispatched Monday or Tuesday. With these guns in place the Chicago would be pretty well modernized in the mat- ter of armament. She will carry still her four big 8-inch guns in sponsons on the spar deck, while on the gun duck these fourteen 5-inch rapid-fire guns will replace eight 6-inch guns of old pattern. Falls Dead After an Installation. CHICAGO, Feb. 2.—Charles A. Thie- man, grand president of the Arbiter Stet- zung Verein (Workingmen's Mutual Aid Society), dropped dead on the platform of the lodge hall to-day. He had just finished the work of installing officers. More than 300 persons were present. Several women fainted and a panic was narrowly averted, Thieman was 52 years old and well known among German workingmen. He could jump 6 feet and over. Yet he was weak. The cause. An athlete who can jump six feet is not met every day in the week’ yet this is just what George Seaman could do, and with no apparent effort. Yet the man was weak in some way. One is in- clined to believe that with muscles well developed each man is a tower of strength. It is not so. Some apparent- ly healthy men are weaklings in the. true sense of that term, and Seaman was one of them. The muscles of his legs were in splendid condition, but in constitution generally he was weak. Some accused him of . dissipation and others of follies in’ different ways. It was not till he had been carefully examined at the Hudson- ian Institute that it was clearly discovered what afflicted him. It seems ihat like many youths he had been reckless, and nature had refused to supply him with that strength which is essential to per- fect manhood. He was much depressed before his examination, but when assured that with a few weeks' treatment by «Hudyan" he would be in the very best of health again he became a trifle more buoyant. After a week's experience at the Institute he was like a different man, and he prqposes to go now to the land of snow to teach the people how to jump. A foul breath was one of this man's symptoms, and now it is as clean and sweet as possible. The Hudson. Medical Institute, that alone supplies “Hudyan," is at the corner of Stockton, Market and Ellis streets, from where all people can get quite free circulars and testimonials telling all about “Hudyan.” “3-day Blood cure” circulars are also free to those who have blood taint or poison in their sys- tems in any way. No matter stage, the cure is as certain u"::ttxrltr:. Doctors’ Advice is free, too. Ask for ft.