Democratic Sentinel, Volume 9, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 July 1885 — The Dolphin Doomed. [ARTICLE]

The Dolphin Doomed.

New York World: The report of the examining board condemns the Dolohin as an unseaworthf vessel, structurally weak, without the capacity to make the required fifteen knots even in smooth waters, and so badly constructed that a slight addition to her load or a slight shifting of it throws her machinery out of line. This report proves the prudenceand sagacity of Secretary Whitney’s action in requiring a thoro’ t st of the vessel’s qualities before accepting her for the government and paying the balance of the constructor’s b'll.

The late Secretary Chandler cast an anchor to windward by allowing Mr. Roach to receive nearly the full contract price for the Dolphin before he retired from office. But it is evident that the vessel was built in the full confidence of Mr. Blaine’s election and Chandler’s re-appointment. The Dolphin would have been immediately accepted, paid for and sent into dock for repairs. She would have been a placer in the Brooklyn navyyard for years. Of course, the government will refuse to accept the useless Dolphin, and will require the immediate refunding of the money which was hurriedly paid to the contractor by the late secretary of the navy. It will be hard cn Mr. Roach if any of this money has b6en paid out as “commission,” for it is not likely he will be able to get any of it back again.