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1900. MARINE REVIEW. 17 QUESTION OF SHEATHING. Admiral Dewey came unexpectedly to the support of Rear Admiral ‘Hichborn on the subject of sheathing the new cruisers before the house naval committee a few days ago. Some time ago a majority of the naval board of construction decided to recommend to congress a repeal of the law which authorized the sheathing of ships. Incidentally the ques- tion came up in connection with the proposed change of the act which requires the latest vessels, three battleships and the three armored , cruisers, to be sheathed and coppered. The change would result in cut- ting down the appropriation for these vessels about $1,000,000. The naval committee has been more or less impressed with the arguments of the majority of the board of construction who are now opposed to sheath- ing. Rear Admiral Hichborn submitted a long reply to the opponents of sheathing, which included tables and other matter showing that his position is sustained by foreign practice and results. The committee asked Admiral Dewey for his views on sheathing and he gave them in emphatic terms in favor of the system. He was able to furnish specific instances of the advantage of sheathing from among the ships of the Asiatic station. He said that aside from the possibilities of galvanization—which is denied in Hichborn’s report—there was much to commend the idea. He noticed that sheathed ships newly docked had vastly greater speed than ships which were not sheathed and had not been docked every few months This meant a great deal, he added, when - : 2 o - jIAT THE WORKS OF THE HARLAN & HOLLINGSWORTH CO. The steamer Chesapeake, launched by the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. at'Wilmington, Del., on Saturday last, is one of the two vessels which this company is building for the New York & Baltimore Transportation Co. of Philadelphia, of which Mr. iF. S. Groves is the general manager. These vessels are intended to run between New York and Baltimore on what is familiarly known as the ‘Shriver Line. Dimensions of the Ches- apeake are as follows: Length over’ all, 219 feet; length between per- pendiculars, 205 feet; beam, molded, 82 feet; depth to upper deck at cen- ter, 23 feet 38 inches. The motive power consists of one triple expansion, three crank, surface condensing engine of the open. front typé, with cylinders of 18, 28 and 45 inches diameter and 30 inches stroke, supplied with steam by two Scotch boilers of 11 feet diameter and 10 feet length. The vessel is of steel throughout and has two decks with three side ports on each side. She is designed to carry about 900 net tons of cargo, and will develop a speed when fully loaded of about 12 knots. The steamer is built for freight entirely but has the best of accommodations for officers and crew. Her sister ship, the Manna-Hata, will be launched in a few weeks. In addition to these two vessels, the Harlan & Hollingsworth Co. has under construction a 280-foot steamer for the Metropolitan Steamship Co. of New York; the Grecian for the Boston & Philadelphia Steamship Co., which will leave in about a month; three tugs for the Pennsylvania Co., A SHIP OF THE BRITISH FLEET. vessels were on a foreign station in time of war. He said he was sur- prised that experts could be found who were opposed to sheathing. Admiral Dewey’s views were listened to with close attention and made a profound impression upon the committee. It is more than likely that the provision for sheathing will stand and that the ships authorized this year will also be sheathed. As a result of the hearing before the naval committee, Secretary Long has recommitted the entire question of sheathing to the board of construction. A FLURRY OVER DRY TORTUGAS. Just at present there is a little flurry in Washington between the navy department and the Marine Hospital service. The navy department_has recently spent about $50,000 in establishing a coaling station at Dry Tor- tugas and in equipping what it considers, upon the island, the most im- portant strategic base between the Chesapeake and Central America. A few days ago Secretary Long was surprised to receive a notification from the treasury department to stop work at Dry Tortugas by April 1, as Surgeon General Wyman needed the place to care for yellow fever and bubonic plague patients. The navy department thinks that there are several other adjacent spots available for hospital purposes and will de- cline to surrender Dry Tortugas unless specifically ordered to do so by the president himself. -Rear Admiral Watson has been relieved from the command of the Asiatic squadron, on account of ill health. He will transfer his flag to the Baltimore, which is to be detached from the squadron, and come home by the way of the Suez canal, stopping at European ports. Rear Admiral Geo. C. Remey will be ordered to command the Asiatic squadron. and two torpedo boat destroyers, Hopkins and Hull, for the government. The torpedo boat destroyer Stringham, which is almost completed, will be taken out for her final trial in a few days. The company hhas also just signed a contract for three 200-foot barges for the Rockland-Rockport Lime Co. of Boston. Repair work under way includes a thorough over- hauling for the steamer Foxhall of the United Fruit Co., and a contract has also been signed for adding 46 feet to the length of the steamer Indian of the Boston & Philadelphia Steamship Co.’s fleet. In its car department this company has orders on hand for fifty-one vestibule coaches for the New York Central company, twenty-two coaches for the Philadelphia & Reading company and three for the Pittsburg & Lake Erie company, as well as a large number of cars for export. Reports of a recent trial of the torpedo boat destroyer Viper, built for the British government by the Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Co., are to the effect that when the vessel was steaming at her maximum speed of 35.5 knots the motors were using steam equivalent to 11,000 indicated horse power. The motors are arranged to drive four shafts, each carrying two screw propellers, or eight in all, running at about 1,800 revolutions a minute. Notwithstanding the enormous power, it is. said that there is ample space in the engine room and that when running at her highest speed the Viper was as free from vibration as a sailing ship. It is also claimed that a gunner could have trained a gun on the boat with as great ease as would have been possible on a first-class battleship. Mileage tickets of the Central Passenger Association are good on the Nickel Plate road between Buffalo, Chicago or intermediate stations. fi ee Se Mar, - 16.