The state capital., 1891-10-31
sHE TOOK WATER.

She TOOK WATER.
Launch of the Two-Tii6hsand Ton Steel
Cruiser Detroit at Baltimore, Md:-Ds"
scription of the Vessel and Her Mates I'M
GsHrss af Construction-Practica an
Unsinkabfe ship. -.--4
BALTIMORE, Md, Oct. e9.--The steel
cruiser Detroit, the largest vessel ever
constructed in a Baltimore shipyard,
was launched from the Columbian iron
works at $40 O'Clock yesterday after
noon. She slid into the water grace
fully and without hitch
The vessel presented beautiful APP
pearance lying on the ways, gaily be-
decl1ed with bunting. From her bow
flew the union jack, and at the stern
the American colors were proudly un-
furled to- the bre eze. A rope was
stretched 30 feet above the deck from
bow to stern and the colors making up
the international code of signals were
floating from it, reaching the entire
length of the rope.
At the bow of Uncle Sans new YES
sci a stand was erected for the use OF
the little sponsor, Florence N. Malster,
the 4-year-old.daughter of the president
of the Columbian iron works, and her
attendants. The sides of the stand
were hid from view by the flags of vari-
Gus nations, gracefully draped
Until the last minute it was expected
that Secretary Tracy of the navy and
other heads of departments would ar
rive from Washington to witness the
launch. They did not, however, put in
| an appearance. There was a great
crowd present nevertheless, who
| cheered the handsome vessel as she
| left the ways.
The Detroit is one of three sister
| ships of 2,OO0-tons each, for which bids
were accepted in November, 1SS9 1t
| is point of interest that this 2,000-ton
| vessel is almost identical in displace-
ment with the two Chilian cruisers
| Presidente Errazuriz and Presidente
! Pinto, built in France, of which SO
much has lately been heard. The
ChiIiau craft are, however, rather
longer and narrower, having length
of 26S feet and breadth of 354 feet,
whereas the Detroit and her mates are
| 257 feet on the load water line and have
an extreme beam of 81, with mean
normal draught of 141a feet The lat
ter also are only guaranteed to make
| seventeen knots an hour, whereas the
| Chilian vessels are nineteen-knot ships.
The chief interest of scientific peo-
| pie is centered in the outcome of the
speed trials in which the new cruisers
| l,o 6,,.l {n
the handsome premium of S150,000.
Congress limited the cost of each of
these three vessels to $500, 900 for a
guaranteed speed of seventeen knots.
| Certain allowances will, however, per-
nit the contractor to receive an addi-
tional $50, 900 on each vessel if nine
| teen knots should be made.
\ failure to reach sixteen knots &c
jects the vessel The Detroit and No.
o, which will be LAUGHED in a few
weeks, are what are termed twin
screws coal-protected cruisers. Both
have a watertight deck extending the
entire length of the vessel. They have
an extra long forecastle and poop deck.
under the ends of which are spaces al
lottcd for working the broadside
gans and torpedo apparatus. The
Detroit has what is termed an open
gun deck, the poop and forecastle decks
being connected by a bridge extending
fore and aft There is extended
through the principal part of the yes
sci centerline vertical bulkhead,
which not only helps to support the
water-tight deck. but adds great
strength or backbone to the vessel.
It also divides the vessel into water
tight compartments.
Especially interesting is the Golfer
dam protection along the entire ma
chinery space, to be filled with cellulose.
The Detroit will be the first vessel in
our navy to carry this water-excluding
belt. whose efficiency has been practi-
cally tried in several navies, and
notably of late in the Danish vessel
IIel1la. Cellulose is manufactured from
the fibers of cocoanut husks, and has
the property of absorbing eight times
it's weight of water. The French gov
ernment proved by tests that ships
built with n lining of cellulose would
be practically unsinkable. There will
be 500 cubic feet of cellulOse in the cof-
fer-dams in the Detroit. Her sister
cruisers, Q and IL will be similarly
| fitted