Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-06-17
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e.<Ax~ for themselves in IN
$500 Gle Sans great build
ing, and there they
49, make themselves COM
Portable and receive the
best Of treatment. The
truth is that the District of Columbia being left
out in the cold. Washingtonians have come to
look upon the government building as their
proper place Of meeting.
Following this theory up they have not only
building. but the finest ship that has ever
been shown to the public. She lies by the side
OF a long pier that runs out into Lake
Michigan, and there is no danger of her break
ing loose from her moorings and floating away,
for the very good reason that she is built there
and that she couldn't float at all il she were
moved. Her name is the Illinois and she
is the naval exhibit at the fair. She is the
largest inan-of-war In the navy. but when the
big battle ships Indiana. Massachusetts and
Oregon are completed there will be three others
as large as she.
NOVEL SNIP.
She is decidedly a novel ship, for she is built
Of brick upon piles and heavy timbers. Any
one who sees the big ship at a distance Of 100
yards might easily be fooled into the belief
that she Is a genuine modern ran-o!-war valt-
! ing for her orders TO proceed TO sorne far dir
tsnt shore 10 protect American interests"
| But q close inspec uon shows lie. in her true
character-a perfect model. AID that
enables any one TO learn all that Is to be learned
about the fighting ship Of the present day.
| Along the water line she measures Sfs feet;
| her extreme breadth is sixty-n!ne and one
quarter feet; her displacement is 10,231 tons:
| If she could move she would So at tine rate OF
fifteen knots an hour, propelled by two sets Of
| triple-expanson engines, with horse power Of
Az Il, og aha has
as the berth deck rests Oh the timbers and piles
which are the ships foundation. On the berth
| deck, however, is a very extensive exhibit not
only OF the fittings and fixings which would
| belong there as to a man-of-war. but Of other
things also which illustrate the functions of
| the Navy Department
THE DECKS.
This berth deck is built Of Georgia pine. and
at those places where there should be matches
and seuttles leading down TO the lower deck
| there are very excellent dummies. SO as to make
| it all look real Above the berth deck is the
main deck. which is also constructed OF Georgia
| pine, and here there arc thirteen-inch turrets.
places for rapid-tre guns and the usual fittings
| for working ship" There are genuine matches
and skvlights for the greater convenience of the
use OF the berth deck. There is large military
mast constructed of steel plating. stiffened with
iron, and on top of this is q signal mast. The
larger mast Is hollow and person can climb up
inside OF 1T by means of n Jacobs ladder. Tho
turrets on the deck, in which are the big guns
are a very good imitation of steel armor plate,
being made out Of wood framing covered with
| cement
FOR THE roRPsDoEs.
On the berth deck are two rooms, one In the
| bow, the other in the stern, for torpedoes
| They inclose tubes from which the torpedoes
| may be fired There is also q captains cabin
| fitted up very handsomely, ward room. store
rooms, paymaster's room, q dispensary. &c.
| Then come wind.asses, boat davits, pumps,
water-tigAt sliding doors, water-tight swinging
doors, ''chocks. ;" 'winches" and the thousand
and one details OF ship. novelty among
these details is
THE FRANKLIN LIFE BUOY
| 1t comprises four water tight air chambers of
sheet copper. One man can be easily supported
| by it and three men can hang on to it in the
water 1t is unique in that it has automatic
| lighting apparatus and torches for night sig
nails. The illumination is effected by phos-
phide of calcium in two small tin cases. II
wreck occurred at night and the life buoy fol-
lowed directions closely. anybody fortunate
enough to get hold of it would find himself the
center Of the most brilliant kind Of stage light
| 1t is hardly necessary to say that the franklin
life buoy is thus far simply a brilliant expert
ment.
NO RIaGING AND SAILS.
There is one thing. of course. in which the
Illinois is lacking There are no rigging and
sails for these are bits of antiquity that are no
longer used by the most fashionable ships.
There are some Columbus caravels coming
such sailed the ocean 400 years ago. and they
are covered with sails. and there is fine old
| whaling vessel alongside of the Krupp gun
building at the extreme southern end Of the
worlds fair park. which has sails and ropes
and ladders enough to confuse anybody, but
| the Illinois is free from all these things and
just the old-fashioned ships are helpless
| when there is no wind, so is the modern battle
| ship helpless when the steam gives out. but ii is
presumed some effort could be made to use the
military masts to held a few square yards of
| canvas.
| MODELS OF OTHER SHIPS.
| The Illinois is not deemed in herself a suf-
| fcient exhibit Of what a model battle ship
should be, so there are shown upon her decks
models in miniature Of the other great shirs of
| the new navy. There is the Oregon. the keel of
| which was laid in 1891; the old monitor MAN.
'tonomoh. which has often laid off the navy
yard in Washington; the coast defense vessel
| Monterey. now attached to the Pacific squadron;
| The nrnored cruiser Maine. now being built at
| the Brooklyn navy yard; the nrmored cruiser
| New York. being built at Philadelphia. beside
| the Baltimore, Charleston. Newark aud ten
other models. There are also sixteen water
color paintings of American ships.
| FLAGS AND SIGNALS
Another very interesting part of the exhibit
is that devoted TO flags and signals. Here YOU
can see the Presidents flag. tho flag Of the Sec
Rotary of the Navy and those that belong to
| admiralS, rear adrlrals, commodores, &c: also
| the flags of all nations. of which there are no
less than forty three. including such powers rs
| Korea, Madagascar. Tunis and Liberia The
last named. by the way. is the same ss the
American flag. except that the blue field con-
! tains only single star.
| There is n library. too. such rs ships are
allowed to have b. the Navy Department 1t
begins with a Holy Bible includes a copy of
the Constitution Of the United States. laws re-
| lating to the navy, Webster's Dictionary books
on electricity. seamanship. histories of many
kinds. biographies and books Of travel, but
there is not a single novel,
ILLUMINATED AT NIGHT.
When tho Illinois was illuminated the other
night for the first time the great crowd in the
grounds fairly taken aback at the splendid
appearance she presented. She has full sup.
ply of electricity. and she applies il according
TO the most approved methods of the prese al
day. Among other lights the marvellous elec.
trio search light was put into operation. In