The evening times., 1897-03-13
SHIPS ALMOST COMPLETED
Twelve Naval Vessels Will Seen Re
Ready for Service.
The BemarkabIe Records Made by
the Cruisers san Francisco
ard New York.

Twelve naval ships OF three types viii
De completed and ready for active work ia
;he next three months, al of which win be
assigned TO the iiome station for awhile
and four later sent 10 the ASiatic aud South
A,lsHtiC fleets.
one al the first OF these will be the An
napolis. under construction at Elizabeth
port. which goes out for her TRIAL trip next
week. aad by May l viii be ready for as
k5gI,l;teul The Newport IF the same class,
Is now being converted into naval cadet
prac.ica ship, and viii take thrhe classes
u Sea ul their annual cruise. Three torpedo
boats building in Baltipore are reported
ready lUr triaI, and viii Dc sent over the
new course in The Chesapeake Bay as soon
as is laid or by the coaSl survey steamer
Bake. DOW employed on tins work.
The cruisers Wilmingto Nashville and
Helena, budding ut Newport News, are fast
approaching readiness for sea, and two of
tacn will have their official trials ia
Long Island Sound some time this month
Al fhrre OF these ships should be ia active
caluniSisun by the middle OF May. On
April ] the Iowa, the largest OF tie bat
tieshifS. goes outside the Delaware for a
6mn preliminary TO being docked at NelT
York Ter 0VCriauling. Later on she will
proceed 10 the naval course between Cape
Cod aud the Maine coast FOR four-hours'
t1al Py Iunc she viii Join the home
fleet. with Capt sampson, present naval
ordnance chief, in command.
Five Of the old vessels are now prepar-
iag for service, all OF which are on the West
coast. They are the Baltimore, Charleston,
Riohican, Ranger and Concord The Con
cord viii he ready for hcI Officers and men
On April ] ;. She will he commissioned at
Mare Island. The present probabilities are
that she viii he attached 10 the Pacific sta
ton The Baltimore VIII be ready early in
June, and then becomes ndEship OF the
Pacific station. The Charleston is mol ex-
y,ected to be in commissioa until month
later TIE Ranger wilt be ready about the
saffe time. She will probably be attached
10 tie Pacific station.
Gratifying reports have been received
at the Navy Department of the speed or
twe ef the finest flaesmps OF the navy
under ordinary service conditions-the
New York. Of the home station, and the
san Francisco, OF the European squadron.
The san Francisco, after her recent
10 q report transmitted by Admiral Sci
fridge. had a run in the Mediterranean.
maintaining a speed slightly in excess CT
eighteen knots for the unusually longpcriod
az ten hours, the record speed of the vessel
for a four-hour burst having been Is 1-2
EnotS-this with picked coal and crew
and extreme forced draft
The performance of the San Francisco
IN covering $50 knots in ten iOuls under
service, condition, with only Slight air
pressure, is most gratifying TO Engineer
IA Chief Melville, as is the report from
Capt Schley, OF the New York, which re-
citesthat the New York on herrecentvoyage
from Hampton Roads to New York harbor
kept up an eiglteen-knOt gait for four hours
Between points off tie Jersey coast.
This was accomplished wholly under nat
ural draught and with foul hull, a shown
by the number of revolutions of the pro-
pelieTs and the fact that the vessel had
Eeen 50 long out of dock
Capt Sclley was very proud Of the run
and expresses conviction that the New York
ran make twenty-oue kncts over long dis
tances whenever haste in required.