The San Francisco call., 1897-01-01
CONTRACTS FOR
TWO CRUISERS
They Will Be Constructed
in This Country for
Japan.
One of the Modern Warships to
Be Built by the SCOTS, the
Other by the Cramps.
Great Speed and Power Must Be Shown
by the Vessels to Fill
Require ments

WASHINGTON, D. c., Dec. 3t.-Twen-
ty-four months from this date the rapidly
growing Japanese navy will be increased
by the addition of two swift cruisers of
American build.
The contracts were signed to-day at the
| japanese legation by Minister Hoshi, rep
resen ting the Japanese Government, and
by Henry Scott of San Francisco and
Charles II. Cramp of Philadelphia, repre-
senting the Union Iron Works and the
| Cramps shipyards respectively.
| Shortly after the the termination of the
Chino-Japanese war, when it became
known that Japan purposed building a
| large navy, the two American firms sent
agents to Toxic to secure a part of the
work. Their efforts were for time un-
successful, but they were ably seconded
! by the legation at Washing on, particu-
larly by its naval attaches, and by the fur
| ther fact that after careful investigation
of the great European and American
navies the japanese Government satisfied
itself that the Americans had reached the
| perfection of naval machinery and that
our engines and boilers were superior TO
! those of other nations.
These favoring influences eliminated
| to-day in the signing OF contracts for two
second-class protected cruisers, one to be
built at San Francisco and the other at
| Philadelphia, both to be compile led with
in two years.
The two vessels will cost So, 900, 900 in
round numbers and represent the latest
and best type of architecture. Each will
have displacement of AGO tons, or 260
tons more than the Chicago, which was
one OF the original quartet of steam vessels
that marked the renaissance of the
navy. Their length over all will be 374
feet with a breadth of 4S feet, an extreme
depth of 80 feet and a draft of II feet 8
inches.
In point of speed they will outstrip any
ssel in the American navy except the
Minneapolis, which steams trifle more
than % knots an hour. The new vessels
will make 221I knots under forced draught,
which is a fraction faster than the Column
bia, the sister ship TO the Minneapolis.
They will be- constructed with longi-
tudinal and transverse bulks, divided into
com partments, an armored coming tower
and the engine and boiler rooms will be
protected underneath by double bottom.
Their main battery viii consist of two
eight-inch guns, one il the forecastie and
the other in the poop, with a secondary
battery of 10-centimeter guns, twelve
IL FOUNDERS and six half-pounders. The
12-centimeter guns and the 12.pounders
Will have broadside fire. Their offensive
qualities will be completed by the addition
of five torpedo tubes. The vessels will be
built of the best quality of American steel
and represent the newer types of American
construction. The engines will be triple
expansion with cylindrical boilers. In
the arrangement of the crews quarters
and the galleys, they will differ somewhat
from American built ships and made to
conform to the Japanese idea OF utility
and comfort.
Some of the guns will be manufactured
in England and the remainder in the
imperial yards of Japan. A similar con-
tract will be given to an English ship
building firm, with view to testing the
relative merits of American and English
skill. II the two vessels in question prove
satisfactory, they will point the way to
future contracts for American builders.
1t was stated this afternoon by Com
mander Marta OF the japanese legation
that the vessels composing the American
feet in Eastern waters during the past
year have proved an instructive object
lesson to the japanese Government as
showing the capabilities of the Americans
IN The art of shlp-buildiug. The Olympia,
the superb protected cruiser of nearly 6000
tons displacement and carrying battery
of four 8-inch and ten 5-inch rapid fire
guns, was sent to the China station year
ago, where her fire sea-eoing qualities
won for Herself and incidentally for her
builders unstinted praise, and aided mate
rally in satisfying the Japanese that the
Americans are building to-day the best
ships in the world. 1t is an interesting
circumstance that the contracts made to-
day are the first Japan has given to any
outside nation since the late war. Prior
to that contracts were placed in England
for several small cruisers, but none has
since been made there, although, as pre-
viousIy stated, sister ship to the two
American vessels will now be built in that
country.