davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-16
FARiBAULT.
{. PAIL Glnha

Special to The st. Paul Globe.
FARIBAUIT, Mimi, Feb. 15-The bookx
of the auditor and treasurer of Rice county
show that the tax receipts for 1897 were S17S.-
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-16
MYSTERIOUS SUICIDE.
Chief Douglas, of the Estimating
Corps, Takes His Life.

THIEF RIVER FALLS, Mimi, Feb. IS
Chief Douglas, Of the last estimating corps,
committed suicide near his home here last
night. Pending an investigation of the cor
oner, no cause can be given for the deed.
The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1898-02-16

Unity Of Action I'm the Coming Cam
paign the Theme of the Addresses
--Tone of All Alike and the Sub
ject Matter the S:nc-The Demo
cratic Plea.
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

i. much less for the armored cruisers. The harveyized plates have a harden ed surface of but a few inches, while with the Krupp system of treating the plates the process penetrates entirely through, hardening them from one side ito the other. The armor along the sides of the ships will not be of equal thick ness. It will be graduated at the bow and stern, while in the center and over the vitals 1t will reach its maximum thickness. The thinner plates will be thick enough to keep out projectiles from the rapid fire guns, while those over the vitals will be capable of with standing the larger shells.
 The armament of all classes of ves- sels will be distributed differently. The heavy turrets on the beams of the ships will be dispensed with, and the weight thus saved will be utilized in placing armor on the upper works of sufficient thickness to keep out the fire of small projectiles and give the men behind the guns extra protection. The armament uM thus really be increased rather
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

the present ships of the service. The style of hull adopted by the government will not be materially changed. The new vessels will be considerably larger than either the old ones or those now under construction or provided for. Many new devices which will add to efficiency and fighting ability will be in- stalled. Two of the more essential fea- lures of the new battleships will be the space allotted for coal bunkers, engines and magazines. They will be considera- bly, larger than those of the ships now in use. The necessity for a large steam- ing radius has been emphasized by the war; notably by the demand made upon the battleship Oregon, in her unprece- dented run from the Pacific to the At lantic. This alone has shown the need of large coal carrying capacity and in- creased speed. The days of the 16 knot battleship are over. Nothing less than IS knots will do for the modern heavy armored ships of the line, and even greater speed will be striven for.
 Armor and armament will be diftes-
The age-herald., 1898-09-11
A POWERFUL NAVY
 FOR UNCLE SAI

than diminished and will be so placed as to give the vessels greater broadside action. TurretS will be used on the for ward and after decks, in which the heavier guns will be mounted. The guns on the sides of the vessels will be of smaller caliber than some now in use, but there will be more of them and with the new devices for discharging them rapidly they will be capable of throwing more pounds of metal in a given time than those on the ships now on the active list.
 The foreign navies are not only being increased in the number of ships, but their batteries are being arranged diff ferently and their speed materially in- creased. The large transatlantic com panies are building larger and faster vessels for their service. They are con- structed under the supervision of their respective governments and in accord ance with their admiralty laws with a view to having them up to the standard so they may be used as auxiliary cruis- CTS. Vessels of this class during the Hispano American war gave a good ac- count of themselves. It is for the pur- pose of coping with such craft and the high speed cruisers that are being add GU u lue HdNleS Ol IHe WOTlu ltlGt our government is looking to the construc- tion of fast armored, protected and un- protected cruisers.
 In no particular have the teachings of the war been more striking than in the demonstration of the value of ar mored cruisers. We have but two of this class, the New York and the Brook lyn. They performed most valuable service, not off the coast of Cuba only, but in bringing some of the faster ships to stop when they undertook to run the blockade. As moderate fighting machines they are unsurpassed. They showed their worth at the battle with the swift Spanish fleet off Santiago. For all round service the armored and pro- tected cruisers are the best type for naval service, and the government will do well to add many of them to the list. Russia has a large number of this type, and other European countries are rapidly building them.
 The new armored cruisers for the United States navy will be larger and more powerful than any we now have. The type will be similar to the Brook lyn, but many improvements will be made. The war has shown the danger of using wood on fighting ships. This material will be dispensed with in every department possible, and where it is employed it will be subjected to fire proofing. All the fire mains will be placed below the protective deck The ships will have a greater steaming
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

mounting guns. There are none of our ships now in the service which are fit- ted with underwater tubes, while many of those in the foreign navies are equip ped only with them.
 The danger of torpedo tubes above the water line of a fighting ship was startlingly illustrated during the battle near Santiago harbor on July 8. On that occasion a shell from an American ship struck a torpedo which was in one of the Vizcayas tubes, and a dozen men were blown into eternity by the result | ant explosion.
 Another matter that will be taken into l consideration by the board of construc-
 tion in the plans for the new vessels will be the location of the coal bunkers
 and magazines. Some trouble has re-
 suited from having the bunkers and
 magazines close to each other. Some of the accidents that have occurred by
 spontaneous combustion of coal have not only caused anxiety, but consider able damage. In most of the ships the l coal bunkers and magazines are close | together. This is especially so in the l case of the cruiser New York and the | batteships of the Oregon class Fires have been discovered in the bunkers, l and in some cases the boxes in which the fixed ammunition is kept in the magazines adjoining them have been charred. Of the more serious fires that have occurred, although no damage was done to the ammunition were those on the cruisers New York, Minneapolis. Cincinnati and the battleship Indiana. These brought to the notice of the de- partment the danger of placing the magazines and bunkers too near to each other. With the increase of coal space the magazines will have to be distrib- uted, and great care will be taken to correct the old fault.
 Still another matter that will be considered by the board will be that of increasing the magazine space to permit the vessels to carry a larger supply of ammunition and projectiles. The ships at present in the service in a hard fight could fire all the ammuni- tion they can now stow away in less than six hours and some of them in much less time. To increase the maga- zine space means to give the vessels more fighting ability, and 1t will be just as necessary as increasing the engine and boiler capacity.
 The new ships which will be added to the service from time to time will be of the battleship, armored, protected and unprotected class. We are now strong in the protected class, but before the government steps adding to the list 1t should have at least 30 battleships of the first class, large number of ar-
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

proved their quality and have shown where the weaknesses lie and where Improvements may be made. The type of vessels that have demonstrated their worth to the government are the bat t1eships and the armored, protected and unprotected cruisers.
 Several powerful battleships are on the ways under construction, while sev- eral more have been authorized. Ap- propriations amounting to many mill lions of dollars have been made by con- gress for the purpose of building more vessels. These, however, are not suffi- cient to put the navy on an equal foot ing with the more powerful ones of Eu- rope. The officers of the construction board have worked out several plans by which the increase of the naval force may be made, and it is stated that Sec- retary of the Navy Long will request congress to add 32.00O.O0O to the amount already appropriated. This will be used for the construction of nine vessels oth- CT than those now building or author ized. There is little doubt that the rec
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

ommendation will be favorably acted upon.
 The new vessels that it is proposed to add to the navy will be of from 1000 to 5000 tons greater displacement than those now on the active list or provided for-that is to say, the armored cruisers will have a displacement of 12,000 and the battleships of about 13,00O tons each. The cruiser Brooklyn is the largest ves- sel of her class now on the active list. Her displacement is g, 153 tons. The bat tleship Iowa has a tonnage of Il, ,296 and Is the largest of that class of vessel on the active list, while those now under construction have a tonnage of Il 500 The battleships Illinois, Wisconsin, Ala bama, Kearsarge and Kentucky, which are rapidly nearing completion, will each be of about Il, 500 tons.
 The plans and specifications for the new vessels will show a decided ad- vance over those that were used for
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

radius and will be able to keep up a higher rate of speed than the vessels of this class now in the service. The record made by the Brooklyn on her trial trip will be made the basis for the computation of increase of speed that will be required in the new vessels. The Brooklyn made trifle less than 22 knots, and the new ships will be re- quired to do from two to three knots more. They will also have coal carry ing capacity which will give them 0 steaming radius some thousands of miles greater than our present ships. This will be necessary to insure having enough fuel to steam from one of our new possessions to another without having to purchase at high prices from other countries while cruising.
 It has been suggested that the larger vessels be fitted with torpedo tubes of the submerged type. if they carry any. This in itself Is very important prob- lem, as the tubes as now arranged are not only dangerous, but take up valu- able space that might be used for
The age-herald., 1898-09-11
Supports the Departments Plans After Explaining
 What They Are.

they are worthy of all the respect and honor the United States can bestow up- on them.
 Since 1t has become one of the policies of the government to increase it's naval force and place it on a footing with the more powerful ones of Europe our naval experts have been at work devising plans for the construction of the new vessels which are to be added from time to time. Many interesting problems have been brought out in the matter of the best methods to be employed and the most valuable type of ship for the service. These subjects have been ex- haustively discussed by the experts, but the result of their findings, so far as the practicability of the plans is concerned, will not be known until the ships have left the ways. The theory of the steel warship has been thoroughly tested, and the constructors will no longer have to work in the dark. These ships have
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

has jumped to a place that puts her far in advance of some of the nations which were looked upon as all powerful. Some of these now look upon this country not only anxiously, but with fear, for she has risen to the dignity of factor in the management of the affairs of the world if she cares to exercise her pre- rogative.
 The policy of the government hereto fore has seemingly been to maintain as small an army and navy as possible. and while our population is large and our area of territory is great our fight ing forces have been smaller than some of the powers which are not rated even as third class. It is now the intention of the government to increase both the land and naval forces and to have the latter always in a condition that will command respect. Our ships have al- ready shown the material they are made of, and the officers and men who fought them their abilities as seamen and gunners. They have opened the eyes of the world and have proved that
The age-herald., 1898-09-11
Plea of a Retired Naval Officer For a
 Marked Increase In Our Fighting Strength on the Water.

ently arranged. It is not unlikely that the battleships and armored cruisers will have armor plates extending the entire length of the sides instead of as heretofore, only over the vitals. It was shown during the war that, while mono of our ships was seriously damaged, armor placed all along their sides would have added greatly to their protection. With the new Krupp process of harden ing the plates it will not be necessary to have the belts of as great thickness as at present. This will be a great ad- vantage in the construction of the heav- fer ships, as the saving in weight can
 be utilized in the engine and boiler space and to add to the coal carrying capacity. The plates now in use on the
 battleshps and armored cruisers are harveyized and are from 10 to IS inches in thickness, while the new Krupp plates will not be more than 10 inches in thickness for the battleships and
The age-herald., 1898-09-11

mored cruisers of high speed and number of protected and unprotected cruisers of about 500 tons greater dis placement than the largest of their class now on the active list. It will be neces- sary to maintain a large and powerful navy if the government intends to keep the possessions taken from Spain and hold the position she has gained.
 The list of ships has begun to grow. There are several battleships now on the ways or nearly ready to be put into active service. Added to these will be 2S boats of the torpedo and destroyer class besides the number that are rap- idly nearing completion. As yet none of the new armored cruiser class has been provided for, but there is no doubt that when congress convenes appropriations will be made for number of them. When these shall have been completed, the stars and stripes will be carried to the ends of the earth on as fine ships as were ever built, and Uncle Sam will have a navy of which he may be justly proud.
The age-herald., 1898-09-11
Copyright, 1S9S.l


 With expansion of territory, and es- pecially when the lands acquired are as far from the home station as are the possessions which have recently come under the control of the United States, 1t is necessary to maintain large navy to retain the hold upon them. Before the Hispano-American war the United States possessions were limited to the home country, and the navy was con- sidered to be ample for the protection of the lands over which the stars and
 stripes flies. With new territory to be looked after, it is different and an in crease of our naval forces both in ships and men is necessary. Previous to the war the United States, so far as her navy was concerned, was considered a small factor among the nations of the world. The change that the war made was marvellous. and the United States
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26

that he had not made up his mind
whether to accept the invitation or not.
II is possible that the foregoing excerpt
from the News Dealer, which Is un-
derstood to be- under its new manage
ment, his official organ, was meant to
indicate to the people Of Lackawanna
that MIR. Lcisenring had decided to go
into an anti-Connell pool. If so, 1t is
in the nature Of news and therefore
worth reprintng.
While on this subject 1t may not he
amss 20 extend TO Mr. Leisenring,
Colonel stone " anybody else who may
desire TO contest for the delegates in
this county cordial welcome. They
are welcome singly or in conjunctlon;
IN fact. the more the merrier. To de-
feat a man who has never declared his
candidacy for governor, who thus far
is a candidate wholly by grace of pop
ular rumor and newspaper gossip, ought
not To be difficult. And then, too,
what n famous victory it would be.
How proud it would make the friends
of Mr.. I.cisenring or Colonel Stone or
both 10 know that their raid cham
riOns. in-arms had succeeded in putting
to rout an enemy which had existed
wholly in their own imaginations!
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26
The Wrong End First,

An interesting publication has been
issued by a committee of the national
conference recently held in New York
city To consider the subject of purify
ing primary elections. 1t is in the form
Of a pamphlet of $50 pages containing
a stenographic report of the proceed
ingS of the conference, with the COM
plete text Of the papers read and the
addresses made before it. The confer
once numbered among its attendants a
majority Of the more prominent Ameri-
can advocates of cleaner municipal and
state government. and its minutes
therefore crystalline the best thought of
the day upon this great problem.
1t is evident from the contents Of
this pamphlet that there is little hope
of an early agreement among primary
refOrmers upon a specific plan of ac-
ton, All agree that the primaries
should he honest and representative,
but there are almost as many ways
proposed to reach this condition as
there are primary reformers. This fact,
so often true Of professional reformers,
whose hold upon public attention large
ly depends upon their ability TO keep
public opinion divided, simply rein
forces our belief that entirely too much
stress has been placed heretofore upon
methods of reform and too little upon
the reform of the man. That present
systems of primary elections are open
to abuse and fruitful in scandal may
readily he admitted without il follow
ing as a necessary cOrollary that a
change in systems, with no change in
the character of the men back thereof,
would bring perceptible and permanent
relief on the contrary, human ex-
perience no less than physical law
teaches that the fountain cannot rise
higher than its source.
In other words, there is no cross-cut
to cleanliness in politics. 1t is a goal
TO he reached only by a proper en-
forcement in political activities of the
best character and conscience of the
community. Given, in any election dis
trict, under any primary system, a
majority of men OF voting age who are
| brave and honest, you may be sure
| that you will have clean primaries and
good government. Given. under the
best primary system known to man. an
| election district in which the majority
is indifferent or corrupt, you may just
as certainly expect crooked primaries
| and bad government Changing the
system without bettering the senti-
| ment Is like clothing the pig in satin.
At the first mud-puddle the pig will
| wallow.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26
Come One; Come All.

The assertions quoted below are made
by the Wilkes Barre News Dealer. a
paper reputedly conducted I'm the po-
litical interest of eX-Congressman
Leisenrlng:
A determined effort will be made TO de-
feat Congressman Connell for the dele
gates in the Lackawanna districts. W.
A. Stones followers are there now
They are setting up the local delegates
and raising the A, u. A. and secret So
ciety cries. His Lackawanna opponents
will have every Assistance from outside
sources. number of candidates being
likely 10 pool with Stone to divide the
deleEation. Men viii be put up for Con-
nell hut IN reality they win be for Stone.
81, II was stated some months ago in
one OF the papers--at present We forget
which one--that Mr.. Leisenring had
received assurances that he could car
ry Lackawanna county in the delegate
elections against MIR. Connell The
gentleman from Upper Lehigh. in fact.
s-Ss quoted TO this effect. he adding
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26
Keep Cool.

1t were futile to attempt to deny so
palpabe a fact as that the war spirit
in the United States is rising. Such
a denial would meet with Contradic-
tion on every hand and therefore fall
unheeded But it requires to be under
stood that it will take more than mere
excitement to plunge a sensible people
into war; and at bottom Americans
are a sensible people.
Exasperation at Spain undoubtedly
prevails. 1t is the outgrowth of much
provocation and it will demand salts
faction before it shall subside. But
this by no means necessitates nor inn
plies war Spain must get out of Cuba.
That is certain. American opinion,
goaded by prolonged and steadily en-
phasizcd annoyances arising from the
rottonncss of Spanish rule in Cuba, has
determined upon this as it's ultimatum.
Still, Spain's exit from Cuba need not
starving herself OUT little time and
the Cuban insurgents will do the rest.
The loss of the Maine, too, must be
accounted for: but neither does this
| require a war. The jury is still out
and Americans are not going to inter-
rupt their deliberations. But if pre-
valent suspicious are confirmed by its
verdict, Spain will promptly indemnify
us and there will be no war.
Let everybody, then, keep his
| thought-bunker cool and avoid spon-
| taneous mental combustion. 1t will be
time to explode when ali milder meth
| DDS have failed.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26

treasury and the banks during the
past eighteen months that it is becom-
ing a burden and the officials are en-
deavoring to get rid of a portion by
placing it in circulation whenever an
opportunity is offered. This seems to
be an advance spike in Billy Bryan's
1900 gun.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26

1t is rc-assuring TO know that should
the worst come to the worst, we would
have little to lose in the way of trade
with Spain. Our imports from that
country have during the past few
years averaged only about S4,o0O,OO0
ard our exports 10 her only about '!"~
.0Oh @ year. There isn't Il :ouu,"T Uf
any consequence in Europe that we
have had less to do with in a COM
mcrCial way.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26
TWELVE PAGES.
SCRANTON. FEBRUARY &c, 1898.

In another place in this issue appears
a clear and comprehensive review OF
the Maine disaster, reproduced from
that enterprisingan and well-edited society
journal, Town Topics. 1t surrounds the
subject in manner worthy of high
Animation.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26

The Binghamton Leader after a long
search makes the announcement that a
hat factory at Reading has been
obliged to suspend operations on ac-
count of hard times brought on by
the Mckinley administration. The
Democratic organs fnd it very diff
cult just now to secure material nee
essary to make any kind of a showing
in keeping up the calamity howl.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26

Some OF the New York banks have
recently been rendering gold in pay
ment for checks presented at their
counters. The explanation given for
this proceeding is the fact that gold has
been accommodating so rapidly in the
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26

II Cuba is to he purchased at this
stage Of the game, the buyers should
insist that all the discounts be al
lowed
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26
t9s Scranton tribune
Publishing Company, at Fifty cents Month.

The Tribune's telegraphic news
is from three to five hours fresher
than that of any Philadelphia or
New York paper circulated in its
field. Those papers go TO press at
midnight; The Tribune receives
news up to 3 a. III. and sometimes
later. All the news in The Trib-
une while it is new.
The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-26

rkTEREp Ar THE PosroFFIcE Al SCRANTON,
PA, AS sECoSD-CLAss MAIL MATTER.