The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-10-03
.I1UNCH oF rHE BRoOKLrN.

The New Cruiser successfully Launched at
 Cramps shipyard Nesterday-A Great
 Throng Present--A Few Words About
 Uncle SaIh's New Boat-outolasses tho
 New York-Most Perfect Vessel of Her
 Class.
 Philadelphia, Oct, 2,-The United States armored cruiser Brooklyn was successfully launched at Cramps ship yard at l:OS o'clock this afternoon. A great crowd was present. The stand was filled with invited guests, The Washington party was as follows: Post master General and Miss Wilson, Rear Admiral Ramsey and Mrs. and Miss Ramsey, Captain and Mrs. Sampson, Paymaster General and Mrs. Stewart, Engineer-in-Chief Melville, Chief Naval Constructor Hichborn, Captain R. D. Evans, Commodore and Mrs. McNan, Commodore and Mrs. Howell, Lieut. Singer Lieut.. and Mrs, Knapp, Lieut. and Mrs. Reamey, Lieut. Laird, Mr. Benjamin Micou, chief clerk of the navy department, and Mrs. Micou and MT. IL c. Snyders.
 The Brooklyn is thought by naval eX- perts to be the most perfect vessel of her class in existence. She exceeds all other ships of her class in the world in steaming radius, fighting efficiency and the weight of the projectiles discharged from her batteries
 The Brooklyn will outclass the New York, whose sister ship she is, as all the most valuable features of the lat ter have been adopted and wherever possible, improved upon, while many new ones have been added where expe- rience has shownt them to be advisable.
 The construction of the Brooklyn was authorized by an act of congress of July 19, 1892, calling for an armored cruiser whose cost should not exceed $9,500,000. Not including her armor and guns she will have cost when finished about $50000O less than this amount. Her main dimensions are: Length on load water line, 400 feet inches; beam, GA feet inches; draught, "A feet
 Her displacement is 9,150 tons and her engines are designed for 16,OO0 indicated horsepower, which will give a speed of twenty knots, although a greater horse power can be developed when neces- sary. In fact the contract calls for a speed of twenty-one knots on a four hours run, and it is the belief of the builders, the Cramps of Philadelphia, that this will be exceeded
 The coal bunkers provide space for
 
 able the ship to run 1,792 knots at twen- ty-one knots an hour. At the ordinary cruising speed of ten knots an hour she can cross the Atlantic and return without coaling, or even steam around the Horn from New York to San Fran cisco.
 The engines of the Brooklyn are the New York. They are four in num- Der, of the triple expansion type, and are so arranged that two are coupled in- dependently to each of the ships two shafts. When cruising at a moderate speed the forward engines will be un- copuled and only the aft ones used. The tunnels are unusually tall, and are expected to afford a natural draught greater than that of any othen vessel in the navy. thus doing away in a great measure with the discomforts of forced draught and compressed air in the fire room.
 The hull of the Brooklyn is of steel with double bottoms. There is no sheat- ing and the sides are built with a slope inward, known as the ftumble-home lean." for the purpose of defecting shot. She has tall military masts, with fight ing tops equipped with machine guns
 A steel protective deck extends from stem to stern, the lower edges of which extend five or six feet below the water line, while the center is level with it. This deck is six nches thick at the stopes over the machinery, and three inches at the horizontal section in the center. Forward and aft of the ma chinery and boilers it is two and one half inches in thickness. A three inch belt of armor extends along the hull for the length of the machinery and boiler space and and four feet above the 24foot water line to feet inches be- low
 band of cellulose 31s feet wide runs along the whole length of the vessel from the protective deck to the berth deck. The coal bunkers are above the protective deck, the space being divided into water tight compartments by bulk heads.
 The armament of the Brooklyn will consist of eight S-inch guns, twelve D. inch rapid fire guns, twelve 6-pounder and one 4-pounder rapid fire guns, four machine guns and two field guns. The S-inch rifles will be mounted in four barbette turrets protected with eight inches of armor. Besides the guns there are five torpedo tubes, one at the bow and two at each side of the hull.