The San Francisco call., 1897-10-22
A Great Many Vessels Are on
the Docks in the Yards
Awaiting Repairs.
III IMPORTANT COAST INDUSTRY.
The Excellent Record of the War
Vessels Built in This Harbor.
Speedier Than Others.

There is great activity in the shipyards
of the Union Iron Works at present,
owing to the number of vessels that are
at the docks for repairs. The mills are
running night and day and the work
is going on briskly. The vessels that
are now being repaired are the steam
ships Barracuda, Newport, CIaudine San
Juan, the barkentine Archer, the tug Mil
len Griffith and the yacht EI Primerc.
There are being built the steamships Sen
ator, Alaska, st. Paul and Fannie Irwin,
also a new ferry-boat with a screw at each
end for the run between San Francisco
and Oakland Besides these there are in
course of construction for the United
States Government the battle-ship Wis
consin and the torpedo boat Farragut. A
new cruiser, the Chitose is being con-
structed for the japanese Government.
The Wisconsin is the laraest battle-ship
in Uncle Sans navy. Its length is 368
feet and it has a width of nodded beam
OF 72 feet. Its mean draft in normal dis
placement will be % feet 6 inches. 1t is a
5000 ton vessel and will be capable of
making 16 knots an hour, with engines of
1900 horsepower. The coal capacity will
be 1900 tons.
As fighter the Wisconsin will be
among the best of the class OF heavy bat
tle-ships. The batteries will con ist of the
following guns: -Four 13-inch breech-
loading rifles, fourteen 6-inch rapid firing
guns, sixteen 6-pound RAPID hrlng guns,
four 1.pound rapid firing guns, four
Gatling guns, 1 field gun, four lS-inch tor
pedo tubes.
She will be provided with four search
lights so that it will be difficult for an
emy's vessels 10 slip by her.
The new man-of-war will not only be
able 10 fight, but she will be heavily
armored against the attack OF an enemy.
Her belt armor Will be 16h irc1es thick
and III deepand there will be transverse
thickness oi II inches The barbette will
be covered with 15-inch pate, and the
armor on the turrets will be IL inches IN
thickness. The tops OF the turrets Will
be protected by 513 inches of Steel plate.
The protected oeck under which are the
boilers, engines. &C., slopes from the.
sides ana ends, the better to turn the
shots OF the enemy. A missile from an
opponents gun, even though 1t should
penetrate the armor OF the vessel, would
not ln]ure the machinery, for the engines
ana boiler-rooms are below the water line
and protec,ed by plates five inches in
thickness on the slopes of the deck and
"a inches on the tat part. The protected
Deck slopes 10 a formidable ram at the
bow.
90 e Ine contract price OIL the Vessel is
S290O, 600. 1t will he com pleted sometime
near the end OF next wear.
Inc torpedo-boat Farragut Will cost the
Government $225.0 .000 1t will be q 240-ton
poat and will be ready for launching next
January, as he work is being pnshei for
ward rapidly. The Farragut is being built
on sharp lines for speed and will make at
least 80 knots an hour
Work on the Chitose is advancing
bris kly and the builders expect to have il
ready to slide into the water in December
The cruiser will be equipped with the fol-
lowing armament: Two 8-inch rapid
firing guns, ten 4.inch rapid firing guns.