The record-union., 1891-12-03
Special to the REcoRD-UNIoH.

/
| PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 2.-The United
! States armored cruiser New York was
| launched this afternoon from the yard of
the Cramp Shipbuilding Company in the
! presence of Il, people, included among
whom were the Secretaries of the Navy,
Treasury and Interior Departments,
United States Senators, Congressman,
| high naval officials and representative
| business and professional men from all
| parts of the country. Miss Helen Page, a
daughter of Seaver Page, Secretary of the
Union League Club of New York, broke
the traditional bottle of wine upon the
great steel ram of the cruiser as she slid
from her wooden cradle into the Delaware
| River and christened her the New
! York"
| For weeks past preparations have been
making by the Messrs. Cramp for to-day's
launch, and unusual interest was excited
! in the construction Of the cruiser by rea-
| son of the vessel marking an era in the
annals of American shipbuilding.
Through Secretary Tracy about 5000
invitations We're sent out. President Har-
| rison, Secretary Blaine, Secretary Rusk,
! Governor Hill, Governor Flower
and Governor Pattison were forced to de-
cline the invitation, owing to the pressure
of business.
been made to-day, when two special
/ trains, one from Washington and the
other from New York, having on board a
| distinguished company from those cities,
rolled into the shipyard. The guests, as
they alighted from the two trains, were
welcomed by Charles Cramp, President
of the Cramp Shipbuilding Company.
| Two nlatf0rnS had bppD nractad-Ono
directly beneath the bows of the cruiser
| and the other on an adjoining wharf.
! The christening party, headed by Cramp
and Secretary Tracy and about $50 spe-
cially invited guests, made their way to-
ward the stand beneath the bows Of the
cruiser. The other stand was crowded
with about 5000 people, and after those
| with cards had been admitted, the gates
| of the yard were thrown open and about
! $4,000 people in all collected to see the
| New York go off.
! After Secretary Tracy, Miss Page and
the balance OF the party had taken their
! places, the snoring that held the cruiser
in place was knocked away, the con-
| structor gave the warning call to Miss
! Page, the great steel hull trembled from
stem to stern and then began to move
! down the tallowed ways.
| just as the cruiser started Miss Page
/ struck the bottle she held in her hands
against the keel that was slipping by her
| close above her head, and as wine flowed
! from the broken bottle she cried out: 81
christen thee New York"
a shout went up from the crowd when
it saw the cruiser begin to move, steam
whistles shrieked and handkerchiefs.
the vessel rushed down the smoking
ways, until with plunge that sent wave
surging over the neighboring wharves,
the future pride of the navy slid into the
water. The impetus shot the cruiser half
way across the river when two anchors
from her bow were let go and she swung
slowly around with the tide.
After the launching a collation. was
served in the moldroom of the yard
Secretary Tracy before returning to
Washington expressed himself greatly
pleased at the success attending the
launch.
DESCRIPTION OF THE VESSEL.
When the New York is finished she
will be the most formidable cruising YES
sci that has ever flown the stars and
stripes, and in addition she will be the
| largest and most powerfully engined
steamship ever built outside of European
| shipyards. If the design Of her builders
is fulfilled there is nothing afoat to-day
of her class that will be able to steam
from her or to engage with her with any
great hopes of victory. The New York
! will carry battery of six S-inch breech-
! loading rifles, twelve 4-Inch raping firing
guns, eight 6-pounders. four gatlings and
six torpedo tubes.
| Following are the principal dimen-
sions, etc., of the New York: Length on
| the water line, $50 feet SO inches; breadth
OF beam, GA feet; mean draught, % feet 3.5
| inches; displacement, $3.50 tons: maxi
mum speed, 20 knots; sustained sea
speed, 1875 knots: complement of officers
and men, 475; coal endurance for a total
/ 80
| VIII be tWln-ScreW vessel, propelled by
four separate engines, each having the
power of 4 800 horses. The electric light
plant will have capacity of 10000
amperes and will include 1000 ihcandes-
cent lights. In addition there also will
be four search lights. The vessel will be
| 1,500 tons heavier than the Maine and
], $50 tons heavier than the Texas Com
pared with the English ships of the
| Agamemnon, Ajax and Warspite class.
| the New York will be faster by three
knots than the swiftest of these vessels,
| and her radius action 5000 miles greater
She has the advantage. also, in a broad
| side and turret armor, which, being
nickel steel, will offer greater resistance.
! Though the English guns may be trifle
! longer than those of the New York, the
! lattel's superior maneuvering qualities
will enable the vessel to select its own
| fighting range and the S-inch American
|
effective as the 9.2 inch gun of the Eng
| lish with range of $500 yards. On the
/ broadside the New York will be pro-
| tected by one partial belt of armor another
| of water-excluding material and a COM
| plete protective deck in the wake of the
! machinery spaces. A belt of thin armor
is worked between the protective and
| berth decks. The total thickness of
the metal on the sides throughout the
space is five inches. IN addition to this
protection large supply of coal can be
slowed on the arInor-deck, forming an
additional safeguard against serious dam
age near the water line. The barbettes.
on which the eight-inch guns will be
mounted, are ten inches thick, and the
conical revolving shields on the guns are
! seven inches. The sleeping armor, be-
| tween the upper and gun decks beneath
| the barbettes, is five inches and the am
munition tubes below are of the same
| thickness. On the broadsdes the three
incn gun will be also protected by partial
! barbettes two inches thick. In the sec
ondary battery the four-inch rapid-firi
guns will be mounted in armored spon-
| sors four inches thick, with protective
shields closely covering the ports. One
| torpedo tube viii be fixed in the stern
and two on each broadside, all above the
water line. The eight-inch and four-inch
guns are twenty-five and sixteen and
| half feet respectively above the water
! line. In addition to the protective deck
| the New York will have three other COM