The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-01-01

months from this date the rapidly
growing Japanese navy will be in
creased by the addition of two swift
cruisers of American build. The con-
tracts were signed today at the Japa-
nese legation by Minister Heshi. rep
resenting the Japanese government.
and by Messrs. Henry Scott of San
Francisco, and Charles H. Cramp of
| Philadelphia, representing the Union
Iron Works and the Cramps shipyards
respectively.
Shortly after the termination of the
Chino-Japanese war, when it became
/ known that Japan proposed building a
large navy the two American firms
| sent agents to Toxic to secure a part
! of the work. Their efforts were for
/ time unsuccessful. but they were ably
| seconded by the legation at Washing
! ton particularly by its naval attaches,
and by the further fact that after a
careful investigation of the great Euro
! pean and American naVleS, the Japd-
nese government satisfied itself that
Americans had reached the perfection
of naval machinery, and that our en-
gines and boilers were superior to
those of other nations. These favor
ing influences resulted today in the
cOnsigning Of the contracts for the
one to be built at San Francisco and
the other at Philadelphia, both to be
completed in two years.
THREE MILLION DOLLARS.
The two vessels will cost 100000 in
round numbers and represent the lat
est and best type of marine archi-
lecture. Each will have displace-
ment of 4760 tons, or $50 tons more
than the Chicago, which was one of
the original quartette of steam vessels
that marked the Renaissance of the
new navy. Their length over all will
be 374 feet, with a breath of AZ feet,
an extreme depth of 80 feet, and a
draft of II feet inches.
In point of speed they will Outstrip
any vessel in the American navy ex-
cept the Minneapolis, which SteamS a
trifie more than 23 knots an hour. The
new vessels will make 2212 knots un-
der forced draught, which is a frac-
ton faster than the Columbia, the sis
ter ship TO the Minneapolis.
THEIR CONSTRUCTION.
They will be constructed with Ion
gitudinal and transverse bulkheads, di- !
vided into compartments. an armored
coming tower. and the engine and boi- /
Ter rooms will be protected under /
Meath by a double bottom. Their |
inch suns, one in the forecastle and the /
other in the poop, with d secondary |
battery of ten 12-centimetre guns; i |
12-pounders and six 2i2 Founders. The !
12-centimetre guns and the 12-pOund |
ers will have a broadside fire. Their |
offensive qualities will be completed by |
the addition of five torpedo tubes. The |
vessels will be built of the best quail /
ity of American steel and represent the |
newer types of American construction. |
The engines will be triple expansion !
with cylindrical boilers. In the ar
rangement of the screws, quarters and !
the galleys they will differ somewhat |
from American built ships and made /
to conform to the Japanese idea of util- |
ity and comfort. Some of the guns
will be manufactured in England, and |
the remainder in the imperial yards of |
Japan. The steering gear can be |
worked by electricity or by hand as
desired.
THE ENGLISH CONTRACT.
A similar contract will be given to !
an English ship building firm with a
view to testing the relative merits of |
American and English skill. If the |
two vessels in question prove satisfac
tory they will, it is believed, point /!
the way to future contracts for Ameri !
can builders. 1t was stated this af- |
ternoon by Commander Marta of the |
japanese legation, that the vessels
composing the American fleet in east
ern waters during the past year had |
proved an instructive object lesson to
the Japanese government, as showing |
the capabilities of the Americans in the |
art of ship building. The Olympia, the
superb protected cruiser of nearly 5000 |
tons displacement, and carrying a bat
terry of four eight-inch and ten five
inch rapid-fire guns, was sent to the |
China station year ago, where her
fine sea-going qualities won for her
self and, incidentally for her builders,
unstinted praise and aided materially
in satisfying the Japanese that the
are building today the best
ships in the world.
INTERESTING CIRCUMSTANCE.
1t is an interesting circumstance
that the contracts made today are the
first that Japan has given to any out
side nation since the Chinese war.
Prior to this event contracts were
placed in England for several small
cruisers, but none has since been made
there, although. as previously stated,
a sister ship to the two American YES
sells will now be built in that country.
G