The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-11-18
A GALLANT SHIP TO DEFEND OUR PORTS.
She marks an Advance Step In the
Building of the Navy.
The Cruiser Maine Which Will Be
Launched at Brooklyn Today.
What She Is Like and What She Is
Expected To DO.


the ceremoney of launching the big war
ship are completed, and that, barring mis-
haps, she will slide into the water next
Tuesday, Nov. 18th, at 11.5T a. m. The ship
Is visited every day by hundreds Of persons.
A grand stand has been erected for the
sightseers on the day Of the launching. Rear
Admiral Braine has Issued great number
of personal invitations; members of the
cabinet and Of Congress and many naval
officers from Washington are TO be present
and, in short, the ceremony Of launching the
largest and strongest war ship Of the new
navy promises to be quite in keeping with
the character of the ship itself.
AS the ship begins to slide Qhis she does
by virtue of gravitation. the pitch being
of an inch to the foot,) Miss
Wilmerding, the granddaughter of Secretary
Tracy, will christen the vessel the Maine.
She and number of invited guests will oe-
cupy raised decorated platform over the
forecastle, and at the first move toward the
water, smashing bottle of champagne over
the bow, she will say: I'm the name Of
Father Neptune and Queen Amphitrite
christen thee Maine."
When the ship floats in the outer channel
she will draw but u feet, and those who see
conception of what she will be when COM
pleted. Merely the she'll will be launched
Tuesday; the armor plate, coming tower,
deck houses, engines, boilers and armament
must all be put into place subsequently, in
creasing her dTaught to something over 20
feet and her displacement to 6,64S tons.
The launching of the Maine marks the be-
ginning of the second line of our feet. The
swift protected cruisers like the Philadel-
phia, Baltimore, Charleston, Chicago, Bos-
ton and others that have been made so
familiar to us through their various trials,
triumphs and mishaps are the first. These
last are more like the cavalry Of an army,
ready to be sent to find the enemy, discover
his intentions, ascertain his strength and
hasten back to the mainstay of the heet, cor
by the armored cruisers and battle ships.
The Maine comes into prominence as the
first war vessel of the modern navy upon
which actual reliance could be placed in the
event of war. The greater portion of the
American fighting feet has not yet reached
the keel laying stage, but the steel ship
building industry is now an assured success,
and the facilities for steel making and armor
plate rolling are now so well advanced that
we are assured Of being able to build of
domestic material any type of vessel that the
Navy Department decides upon.
The two general types of armor clads are
those that are intended for cruising and
those for coast defence. The former Is the
one to which the Maize belongs, and in her
construction various qualifications must be
considered. She must be adequately ar
mored, satisfactorily engined, carry as heavy
guns as possible, and her ammunition rooms
must be capable of containing large sup
ply of powder, prOjectiles and torpedoes. In
other words, what all this means Is a battle
ship or armOred cruiser as compromise.
She cannot be perfect, and a vulnerable place
will be found somewhere in her mail cover
ing as has ever been the case since the
knights of old rode to battle armed cap-a-pie
and mailed from head to foot.
III the armOr is heavy enough to keep out
the heavies. shells that will be fired against
it-which II probably would not be, as In the
great race between armor and projectiles
the latter are just point ahead--the speed or
manHuveriDg qualities may not be sufficient
to prevent being rammed, torpedo may
ruin Every calculation, or some one OF the
unexpecteds may happen. In the lombard
ment Of Alexandria the most powerful En-
glish vessels could not have continued the
combat second day, simply because all Of
their ammunition was expended.
And so, in considering what was best for
the American service, 1t was found that II
the highest speed possible with the largest
cruising radius was arrived at and the heav-
lest guns there would resul the most fn-
ished specimens of naval architecture, per-
feet in every particular but one, and that the
most important of all, their qualities as
fighter. About the time the Maine was pro-
posed there was launched in England an ar
mored cruiser built by Samuda for the Bra
zllians. Taking her for their model the Bu-
reau of Naval Construction enlarged and i'm
proved upon her, until today it would be
rather hard to see much similarity between
the two. Two millions end half of dollars
we're appropriated, and it was decided to
build the vessel in the ship house at the navy
yard. This necessitated the building of a
number Of shops for slowing, bending and
picking the plates and frames as they ar
rived from the contractors, and the installa-
tlon of large amount of new machinery for
the proper handling and working of the
metal.
Renewed life and vigor has been apparent
in the navy yard ever since this work was
begun. All day long the clang of the rivet-
er's hammer, the roar OF forges and the buzz
of machinery contribute their share toward
informing all that the days Of the wooden
vessel are gone, and that newer and more
astiDg material has come to replace 1t. Load
after load Of plates and frames, angle irons,
beams, shafting, and 50 forth, have been
brought to the navy yard and deposited in
some one Of the buildings surrounding the
mammoth ship-house. Immense piles Of
lumber and RATS of logs have been utilized
for building the scaffolding which. tier by
tier, has risen to height that enables the
visitor to step on the upper deck of the huge
red leviathan.
launching ways and the constant digg ng Of
the steam dredges, hard at work deepening
the channel in which she Is to be launched,
are some of the auxiliary features,
which, however, are by no means
Insignificant for consideration when
puted. Anchors and chains, hawsers and
tackles, portable electric lights for working
on dark days and between deck, and scores
of other neeessaries would seem to induce
the belief that the hoisting of the various
parts of the ship in place and riveting them
was not the only Important feature of the
programme.
1t may possibly be noticed in the above
that arlnor does not appear in the description
of preparations for launching. Well, it is
not there, at all events, and for the very good
reason that, even were 1t at hand, II would
not be in place, for 1t has been the intention,
ever since the ship was begun, to launch her
without the armor. The contract, however,
has been made with the Bethlehem Iron
Company at S538 70 per ton, the delivery to
begin two and one-half years from date OF
contract. Just here. however, comes tne
hitch. as the exact kind of armOr required Is
not vet decided upon and will not be until
further tests have been made with nlcsel
steel, and possibly other alloys made Dy 90
meStic concerns. q -
The contract for the machinery OF the
Maine was awarded to Messrs ~ r1 SllheI
all Il. M
This citv. for the sum of S735,OOO. The pro-
nelling engines are Of the twin screw, Vertl-
cal triple expansion type, in separate water
tiaht commitments. The cylinders are 351,
~ and az inches in diameter, by SO inches
o,roLe and are to work at 132 revolutions
nar minute. The collective indicated horse
Power of the main, the air and circulating
pnmp engines at full power Is TO oe sOOO,
eaeh circulating pump Is centrifugal, mas a
canacity of 5000 gallons per minute, and Is
ftted with a bilge connection, Tor use as a
Wreeking pump. A.,,.
ordinary return tubular type, IA Ieet lncnes
in diameter and 10 feet long, designed for a
,uorkine pressure of 135 pounds. Each
boiler has three corrugated steel furnaces
and SIC steel tubes The total CRATE
snrface Is 553 square feet, and the
total heating surface about 1S,SOC
.onare .O1a, feet. The boilers are in two c sepa.
rate water-tight compartments, with fore
and Aft firerOoms. The forced draft Is on
the closed ash-pit system, he air being led
into the ash pits by ducts under the fireroom
Hoors. The blowers are driven by inclosed
sngines. and arranged to draw the air from
the engine and frerOOms so as to give thor
oueh ventilation.
The principal dimensions OF the Maine are
Length between perpendiculars, $40 feet
heam. 81 feet, displacement at a NEAR
draueht of 2ls feet, s,64S tons. There are
three military masts, having armOred tons.
are hollow, and are trapped at various place,
between decks so as to act as ventilators
The estimated speed with forced draft Is n
knots. 1t will be noticed how great an i'm
nrovement has been made in the matter N
sneed nv the Naval Bureau of Steam Enuin