New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-06-26
THE BATTLE.SHIP TEXAS.

THE BATTL
To tell the story OF the Of the DELAY In the
construction of the Texas detail would take more
space than there is In Issue of The Tribune mat
she should have been long In hand before launch
ing Is due to the methods practced under the CeVe
land Administration. After the act Ut authorization
was passed, August 3, 1856. Secretary "htney
prepared circular embodying in general the plans
and specifications and the conditions of construction
which were issued IA advertisements in the English
and American newspapers under date OF August IL
1856 Offering to pay $4,000 for the best design
This following out the idea OF Mr. whitney as OUT
lined In his annual report. that he considered Eneahh
the principal market for vessels and that ne was
pckng up plans designs and ideas wherever he could
get them. And when the plans for the hun ana
engines were obtained from Englnnd's designers at
cost of 500 500 the Democratic Administration sue
ceeded compromising the reputation OF the country
and In dsparacing American designers
Tho naval attaches at the American legations IN
London and Paris were designated as the agents OF
the NAVY Departmcnt TO receive the plans ana lot
ward them 10 the Department. when they were SUB
rittcd 10 mixed board OF officers and civilians, de-
tailed by the Department for their examinations ana
recommendation. in May, 1887, the plans submitted
by william John. chief designer OF the Barrow snip
building Company of England as suggested by the
naval attaches above referred To. purchased Mt
a cost OF $4,000. These plans were subsequently
found TO be defective by Mr.. Bryce Douglas. who sue
ceedci Mr.. John IN the Barrow Shipbunding 0om-
pany having previously been employed by the Cunnru
steamship Company the designer OF the engines ana
other machinery OF the Etrur1a and other vessels Mr..
Bryce Douglas represented TO the Navy Department
that the Texas would not be able 10 float II she was
luIlt upon the plans furnished by Mr. John In behalf
of his company. He employed to revise Inc
plans for which he was paid an addlaonai sum Oh
81 800 lie advised among other things That Ten
feet more be added her hun md If the Texas had
met ~ NJ steel
not have been a difficult task TO Jump in' ten feet
more TO add to her baoyancy. but with an iron or
steel ship the change is necessarily costly one In
that IL involves an entire revision Of the specifications
and q waste OF material.
Even after the various inaccuracies and incon
stcncies Of detail In plans had been considered and
reconciled. there other vexatious delays. which
even such expert Naval architects as Chief Naval
Constructor T. d. Wilson and his able assistant Con-
sryctor Philip lIichborn. could not avert. inasmuch
as the prime trouble lay in the original designs. On
January $780, less than two months before the close
OF the Democratic Administration, Secretary Whitney
ordered that the work on tile Texas be pushed When
General Tracy became Secretary OF the Navy, March
a. 1885, lie found that the work had not been pushed
TO any satisfactory degree, and he applied little OF
his wellknown personal energy and force. The actual
work OF construction begun on June l. 1889. when
the first keel plate laid. and since then the work
has been pushed with considerably more vgor although
there has been delay through the Dondclvcry OF
the plates for the hull fast they could be
utilized. But the question will 50 n be decided whether
her displacement Will be the $500 tons, as conten-
plated, or much greater than that. II Will result III a
general degree Of satisfaction among those officers OF the
Navy who have had to do with her construction when
she Is turned over TO Neptune's dominion.
Tho original plans contemplated the following d.
mansions for the Texas: Length between pcrpendcu
lars 900 feet extreme breadth, "a feet inch dis
placement $500 tons. But II the vessel had been
built upon her original plans she would have had
a displacement Of nearly 400 tons greater. The d.
mansions of the vessel she will be when equipped
for sea, are: Length 3Ol feet Inches breadth.
GA feet z inches; draught, 90 feet G Inches :;
displacement 6oO0 tons indicated horsepower 5000
maximum speed, IL knots. Her complement OF
officers and men will be 300. The normal coal
allowance is 500 tons. but $50 tons be carried.
giving radius of efficiency Of 3l37 nautical miles
nj a speed OF 1872 knots at the maximum natural
draught, $500 knots at 1913 knots with two-thrds
natural draught S,032 nautical miles at speed
Of 10 knots
The vessel is built of steel throughout. with
double bottom arranged that the compartment may
be used for water ballast. For defence, the vessel
has water-line belt Of 1o-inch steel armor In the
wake Of the magazines. engines and boilers. The
feature OF the armor plating is Its being distributed
rs to protect chiefly the waterline and the guns on
the upper deck, MS In some OF the italian
ironclads The ends OF the watcr-l!ne armor
belt connected Win athWaftnsflp Olnch
steel bukheads. An armocd redoubt runs dlagonally
across on the main deck. ncoSins and protecting the
bases OF the turrets and the machinery and this. AS
we'll as the turret armor. Is of 12inch steel. This
armor. plating is backed with wood six inches thick.
behind which are thicknesses OF % pound plating
There Is an arnored coming tower Of steel plates. l:
inches thick placed forward level with the bridge
with an armorcd tube leading from II TO the pro
tectye deck three inches thick. An armoed pro
tectve deck is worked the armor belt, sloplng
down from the ends Of the belt to the bow and
stern This deck OF 3-nch steel plating throughout
The main battery will consist of two 1c-lnch brech
loading rifles mounted in turrets and six 6inch bccch
loading fnes protected by shields. The turrets for
the l2nch guns will be placed 4" en- echelon'-one on
the port side Just forward amidships, and the other
on the starboard, Just abaft amidshps. to give
each a fore and aft fire. Each OF tho l2-nch guns
jt,l have a complete broadsIde fire side and
train on the opposite side OF forty degrees for the for
vard gun and seventeen degrees for the after gun
one OF the 6inch guns win DO mounted Just forward
OF the line Of the l2nch gun the port side, and
another Will DO mounted Just abaft the line Of tho big
,,n on tho starboavd side. But both Of these Gnch
guns will be set the limo Of the keel. along the
middle line Of the ship The other 6-inch guns win
be mounted In sponsors the main deck. extending
out from either side Of the ship two having train
from directly forward TO twenty-five degrees aba the
BEAM and from directly aft to twenty degrees
lorward OF the beam.
The secondary battery, which will be mounted