The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 13, 1901, Page 1

Eall, IS apor = ,I to be taken from the Library.*+**+* il em——— VOLUME XC—NO. 13. SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1901 BATTLESHIP OREGON IS AT ANCHOR - PRICE FIVE CENTS. ONCE MORE IN HAVEN FROM WHICH & = | { ot . THE TRIP AROUND THE HORN- 14700 MILR S \, IN 79 DayJ 3 - TR own Oregon returns to her home port with no blush for her career since she passed out through the Golden Gate and started on her long world rec- ord-beating trip around the Horn to the scene of impending battle in Cuban waters. This voyage of 14,000 miles, made in six- ty-six days, reflected the highest credit on the men who designed her, on those who built her and on the officers and men who handled her. For speed and endur- ance she proved herself a genuine thor- oughbred and won the praises and plaud- its of the world, which was absolutely emazed at her wonderful performance. “The Bulldog of the American Navy"” was the title bestowed upon her for the daring vigor and tenacity with which she pursued the ships of Cervera's fleet at Santiago on the ever memorable July 3, 1598, P tual performance she stands first among the warships of the world. San Francisco, whose mechanics built ber, n well be proud of her; also our neighbor State to the north, in whose honor she w 5 The Orego: the Indiana and Mas- sachusetis was bullt under the act of Congress of 189 authorizing the construc- battleships. . The contracts for the two last named were given 1o the Cramps of Philadelphia and the contract for the Oregon to the Union Iron Works of this city. Her keel was jaid in 1891 and on October 26, 1883, she s put into the water. When finished t£he had a displacement of 11,000 tons. The contract speed was fifteen knots per tlon Of three first cl TINKS THE COLON* orp _/ANTIAGOL‘CU | BA . oLy >"= 1893 \fg hour and the estimated horsepower of her engines 900. On her trial trip she earned a handsome bonus for her bullders amounting to $25,000 per quarter knot in excess of contract speed by maintaining for four hours a speed of 16.79 knots, while her engines indicated 11,111 horsepower, or 2111 above the contract requirement. Her cost was $3,222 810, ¥or armament she had in her main bat- tery which she used so effectually on “Cervera's fleet four 13-inch breech-loading rified guns, eight S-inch B. L. R. and four 6-inch rapid-fire guns; while in her sec- ondary battery were twenty 6-pounder R. F., the ones that sunk the Terror; two i-pounder R. F., two Colts, one 3-Inch rapid-fire field gun and two torpedo tubes, The Oregon went into commisison July 15, 15984, Captain C. E. Clark in command. AT PONTASS ~ARENAS THE Vo 1 TRIGMPHIAL ENTRY, INTQ NBw Yor < HARBOR | ik J I THE BATTLESHIP OREGON AND SCME OF THE SCENES IN WHICH l SHE HAS FIGURED SINCE HER DEPARTURE FROM SAN FRAN- CISCO THIRTY-EIGHT MONTHS AGO. S + In the spring of 1897 she went on the dock at Port Orchard, Puget Sound, and was fitted with bilge keels to prevent rolling. In July, while at Seattle, she was pre- sented with a handsome silver service by the citizens cf the State of Oregon. On August 13 she was ordered to Honolulu, where she remained two or three months, returning to San Francisco by way of 8an. Diego. - ‘When the destruction ot the Maine in Havana harbor on the night of February 15, 1898, made the prospect of war with Spain imminent, Uncle Sam took an in- ventory of his military equipment. The Oregon was ready when _called upon. .She came down from Mare Island on March 14, and lay at anchor off this city until the 19th, when she was ordered to Callao, Peru. She salled the same day. THE WERJITAR HEMISPHERE, Bcc:o FoR MAHILA | HE battleship Oregon was sighted yesterday afternoon about 3 o’clock, and at 4 o’clock she had dropped anchor in the harbor from which she sailed thirty-eight months ago, when Span- sh fleets were menacing th siren-voiced chorus of welcome. idity, and thousands of peopie crowded down to-the wharves to catch a glimpse of the majestic e Atlantic ports and squadrons. . Though the “bulldog of the American navy” was not expected to arrive before this morn- ing, the impromptu reception given her was most sincere and noisy and demonstrative. The whistle of every steamship in the harbor and every factory adjacent to the water front joined in a mighty The news of the battleship’s arrival fighting machine as she plowed. past on her way to anchorage. After a salute to Rear Admiral Casey’s flagship the Oregon came to anchor off the Steuart street wharf. Her officers report T on Miaa Tao Rocror= a pleasant homeward voyage. SHE SAILED TO GLORIOUS CAREER spread with surprising rap- HE Oregon is home again. After an absence of more than three years, into which has been crowded achievements that will insure her lasting fame and an honorable place in the history of navies, she returns to the haven from which she set forth spick and span and untried. She sailed away to face perhaps an entire Spanish fleet single handed, and San Franciscans, proud and fond of the great ship, waited with unfaltering faith in her prowess. She returns, and now it is the nation that is fond and proud and happy to welcome her home to her native port. With 2 consistency in keeping with the nickname of the ‘“Bulldeg of the Navy she added another to her list of surpris- ing feats and appeared off the Golden Gate most unexpectedly, while a com- mittee of public officials was in meeting, cagerly planning a reception worthy of the greatest of battleships. Her arrival vesterday afternoon was a surprise, but the deep-voiced chorus of a thousand whistles bade her welcome, and many a fervent “God bless her!” arose from the multitudes who, along the water front and on hilltops, watched her stately prog- ress into the harbor. The news, received by telephone from the Merchants’ Exchange, that the Ore- gon hLad been sighted seven miles out, tock Mayor Phelan's committee com- pletely by surprise. This was about 3 o'clock. All plans were at once dropped and Mayor Phelan and the committee prepared to 2o out on the State tug Gov- ernor Markbam and welcome back the battleship and her crew. It did not take long for the news that thio Oregon was “passing In” to spread, and as she passed along the front every whart was black with a cheering crowd, * while every steamship in port and every factory in the vicinity of the bay had its whistle goirg. When the warship was within half a mile of the battleship Iowa, Rear Admiral Casey’s flagship, a salute was fired. The Oregon then made a circle around the Iowa and Philadelphia and came to anchor off Steuart-street wharf. Her homeward bound pennant streamed twice the length of the ship astern. A magnificent silk flag, the gift of the citi- zens of Nagasaki, Japan, floated over the stern and a sflk jack in the bow. Travel stained and looking considerably the worse for wear, she still impressed every- body with her massive appearance and the easy, noiseless manner in which she movéll through the water. s = OTHER Ny TiP I | — Her destinatlon was at the time known only to her commander and to the au- thorities in Washington, but the quickly transpiring events of the next two weeks served to give the public an idea. The Oregon arrived at Callao on April 4, and after coaling sailed again on the 8th, destination still unannounced. Her little consort, the Marietta, stopped in at Valparaiso, Chile, on the way down, for news, and caught the big ship again while “she was coaling at Punta Arenas, the Chilean port in the Straits of Magellan, the most southern in either hemisphere. It was known that about the time the Oregon left San Francisco the Spanish “torpedo-boat Temerario, the swiftest in Spain’s navy, had sailed for Montevideo, - Continued on Second Page. 3 It was known Tuesday that the Oregon sailed from Honolulu on June 4, but, ac- cording to the news brought by the mail boat Ventura, she was to have come along at a nine-knot gait. This would have brought her here about to-morrow morn- ing, butsas she averaged better than ten knots during the run, she was “seven miles out” at 3:40 p. m. yesterday. The report of the Oregon’s run from Yokohama is as follows: Laft Yokohama afternoon of May 16. Had stormy weather with strong head winds for first ten days. Obliged to slow down for sev- eral hours on two occasions; remainder of voyage quite pleasant. Arrived off Honolulu morning of 30th of Ma: anchored outside off entrance to harbor. R mained off Honolulu five days and a half. Took aboard 700 tons of coal from lighters which were towed out from the naval sta- tion. Left Honolulu at 4:45 p. m., Junme 4, and encountered light northeasterly winds and moderate to smooth sea. Nearly all officers and men are ‘'short tim- ers,” and expect to be discharged or ordered to other duty. Have no definite news as to the final dis- position of the ship. ‘While in' Honolulu quite a large number of visitors came on board on Sunday, *and on Monday evening, after the coaling was fin- fshed, by the courtesy of the acting Governor, the Government band, under the leadership of Professor Berger, came on board and rem- dered a very fine concert. OFFICERS OF THE BATTLESHIP. But Two of the Crew That Left Here Are Now Aboard. The following is a list of the Oregon’s officers, their rate, duty aboard ship, and the date of reporting for duty: Captain Charles M. Thomas, commanding, April 7, 1901 Lieutenant Commander C. A. Adams, execu- tive officer, April 12, 190 Lieutenant- Commander A. F. Dixon, chief engineer, March 20, 1901. Lieutenant Commander F. M. Bostwick, navi- gator. March 24, 1901 Lieuterant H. Gage, assistant engineer, May 12, 1961 Lientenant John H. Gibbons, senior watch officer, April 21, 190L 0 \ Lieutenant Waldo Evans, second ‘watch offi- cer, March 29, 1900 Lieutenant R. H. Leigh, third watch officer, April 7, 1901 Lieutenant L. McNamee, fourth watch offi- cer, April 29, 1901 Ensign C. L. Poor, fifth watch officer, April 21, 1901 Prsign Duncan M. Wood, 1, 1900, sixth watch offl- cer, June Ensign M. St. C. Ellis, assistant division of- ficer, May, 1901 Naval Cadet Willlam McEntee, navigator, April 29, 190L Naval Cadet Willam B. Ferguson, assistant to executive officer, May 11, 1§01 Surgeon P. Leach, senior me*ll officer, September 15, 1900. Passed Assistant Surgeon A. Farenmholt, junior medical officer, April 12, 1901 Paymaster S. L. Heap, pay officer, April 21, 1560, assistant First Lieutenant L. Feland, commanding marine guard, March 30, 1901 Boatswain J. E. Murphy, boatswain in charge, April 3, 1900. E2 2 Acting Boatswain H. Feehan, assistant boatswatn, August 6, 1900. Gunner S. Jacobs, gunner in charge, Septem- ber 5, 188, Gunner S, Chiles, assistant gunner, Apeil 29, 1901 Carpenter J, P. Yates, carpenter in charge, September 21, 1898, Warrant Machinist J. F. Green, engine-room watch, Jure 23, 1900. ‘Warrant Machinist C. B. Wood, engine-reom ‘watch, October 6, 1399, Warrant Machinist C. Hammond, engine- room watch, December 6, 1809, Warrant Machinist A. G. Bates, engine-room ‘watch, December 1, 1399, Pay Clerk H. D. Lazeilo, pay clerk, April 21, 1900, Of all the men who left hers on the Ore- gon three vears ago only two are still aboard. They are Carpenter J. P. Yates and Gunner Simon Jacobs. Boatswain Murphy, one of Hobson’s heroes, who was tnjured at Honolulu, s rapidly improving and is now able to move about with the aid of a walking stick. The battleship carries the crack base- ball team of the fleet. While the ship was lying in Hongkong every nine in the China squadron was met and beaten. Finally one morning a signal was sent to the flagship, asking her to pick a team from the ertire fleet and pit it against the Oregon’s team. This was done and the Oregon boys were again victorious. At every port touched at the Oregon was given an enthusiastic reception, but still there Is not a man aboard but that is klad to be home again. CONDUCTOR IS KILLED BY A WRECKED TRAIN SAN RAFAEL, June 1%—Thomas Gra- ham, an extra conductor in the employ of the North Pacific Coast Rallroad, was killed at Shafters Siding, near Point Reyes, to-day. A car of a freight train at that place jumped the track and Gra- ham was thrown to the ground. No par- ticulars of the accident are obtainable to- night. Graham was aa old and popular employe of the company.