The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1894-03-30
TWIN CITY SHIPS.
St. Paul and Minneapolis Will Be
Represented by Two Of the
Finest Boats AfiOat.
The Protected Cruiser Minneapolis Is
Attracting Particular Attention
at the Yards,
And It Is Predicted She Will Be the
Fastest AfiOat-AbOut Other
Ships.

PHILADELPHIA, March 23.-There are
three government ships now undergoing
the finishing process at Cramps ship
yards which the company hope to turn
over to the navy department by Oct. 1.
They are the battleships Indiana and
Massachusetts, and the fast protected
cruiser Minneapolis, the latter being a
sister ship of the Columbia. The Mas
sachusetts has been placed in the gov
eminent drydock at the League Island
navy yard, in order that her screws may
be placed in position. While on the
docks the ships bottom will be scraped
and painted. In about three weeks the
Massachusetts, will be given her dock
her unofficial trial trip will take place.
The Massachusetts, is a sister ship to the
Indiana, which was tested 80 success
fully two weeks & The latter ship
goes into the drydock on Friday next,
and will be sent on her official trial trip
off the coast of Massachusetts May l.
These battleships are built for stability
and steadiness rather than speed. There
is no doubt, hawever, that both will ex-
Cotu tuo guarantee l IL NhoSo a hSNA'
The Minneapolis Excites Interest.
The ship that excites more interest
than others now in course of construc-
ton at Cramps yard is the cruiser Min
neapolis. This vessel is almost an exact
counterpart of the Columbia, the differ
ence being in the arrangement of the
fire room, which gives the former more
,,oto aud N a1tohflu inrrooaad
boiler power. The difference gives the
Minneapolis but two smokestacks,
whereas the Columbia has four. AL
though the first trial trip of tie Mime
apolis will not take place until June Is,
the men employed in her construction
have already begun to speak of her as
Tho "Twenty-four Knotter."
Almost everybody connected with the
firm believes that the Minneapolis will
be a world beaten, and that she will ex-
coed the Columbia's unprecedented
record of 90 $40 knots by more than a
knot. They argue that if the Colum-
bias boilers had not ''foamed," thus
necessitating a partial slow down at
a critical moment she would have
exceeded 90 knots. Such an. accident is
not likely to happen to the Minneapolis,
and her additional boiler power ought
to mean additional speed. Altogether,
there seems to be good reason to believe
that the new cruiser will establish a
record of nearly, if not quite, "a knots
an hour. Orders having been issued by
the navy department placing the Co.
lumbia in commission on April 8, her
builders have increased the already
large force of workmen, who are put
ting the finishing touches on her. All
of her berth deck guns are in position,
and the larger guns are expected here
from Washington shortly. The scrub
bers began cleaning her sides of the ac-
cumulation of grease and dirt. The
painters will soon commence painting
the ship, everything in sight to be the
regulation white. When all is finished
tho Columbia will present a beautiful!
appearance.
The st. Louis aud st. Paul.
The next ship to be launched at
Cramps is the American liner st. Louis.
She will be followed by the st. Paul. i
her sister ship. The big battleships
Iowa and Brooklyn will not be launctd
until later in the fall, and uhen tNse
are finished the firm will nave no 'Aore
government work at ios yard. An im-
provement contemplated in the near
future is the enlargement of the dry
dock. 1t is not large enough for the
enormous vessels now being constructed
at the yards and for this reason the firm
finds it necessary to use the big govern.
ment drydock at League island.