The Holly chieftain., 1898-10-07

pronounced a success. Then every one
in the throng proceeded to enjoy the
day to the utmost in anticipation of
the banquet in the afternoon and the
ball at Old Point Comfort in the even
ing.
From many points of view the
launching of the Illinois was the most
important of the kind in the history
OF our country. The vessel is the larg-
est fighting ship ever foated under
the stars and stripes, it is the costliest
ever built by the navy and experts be-
lieve will be the most formida BILE war
ship ever put in commis sion by any
power.
Long before the hour of the launch
ing throngs began to gather about the
spot and by II o'clock standing room
was worth its araa in nickels every
where within block of the Illinois.
Enthusiastic cheers greeted the arrival
of the distinguished guests. In short
time the work Of releasing the great
mass of iron and steel was complete,
and as the first thrill of life was i'm
parted tte shae .shae & great ship Miss Mamie
Letter, the eldest daughter of Mr.. l..
Il. Letter, the well-known Chicago
capitalist, seized the gayly decorated
bottle of champsg ne which hung pend
ant from the deck above by sillsen
cord and broke 81 over the side bow.
As the hrightl sparkling wine ran
down the vessels side, Miss Letter ex-
claimed: n chrtten thee Illinois"
Few in the vtst crowd could hear
the words spokeA by Miss Letter, but
nearly all werct BILE to see her, and
when she raisedthe bottle of wine in
her hand and dashed it against the
steel of the bateeship the action was
a signal for thetr enthusiasm to break
forth with full force. There was
groaning from {he timbers, the ground
trembled as thelthousapds of tons of
steel shot dow1ward and the spray
that was sent aloft rose higher than
the platform on which stood the little
woman who had named the new craft.
An interesting incident, not on the
official programme, was the presenta-
tion by one OF the workmen employed
on the huge freiKhter of a souvenir to
Miss Letter. Al small piece of steel
had been cut from one of the plates by
the workmen, one side of which had
been polished and looked like silver,
and the other stle painted red, the
color of the Illin6s A silver chain is
riveted to the souvenir, which is in
scribed as follows; "This piece of plate
was gu. from the hull of the United
States battleship Illinois, and pre-
sented to Miss Letter, sponsor, by the
men employed in its construction.
Newport News. Va, Oct 4, 1898"
The length of the new vessel is 3Gs
feet; extreme width, 72 feet ~ iches;
mean draught with 500 tons of coal,
two-thirds stores and two-thirds am
munition, % feet inches; displace-
ment, 1i,255 tons; speed per hour,
.6 knots; indicated horse power, 10, 900.
In the character and arrangement of
the battery decided changes have
been made from the designs of former
ships of this type. The s-iDeh bat
terry has been abandoned and the
main battery will consist Of four lS-
inch guns. Between the !3-inch gun
smplacements and within ar.nored
easements are eight 6-inch rapid fire
guns in broadsde. Four more s-inch
rapid fire guns are mounted on the
upper deck. Or the gun deck forward
is another pair Of 6-inch guns The
auxiliary battery consists of l6 G.
Founders, four 1-pound guns, tive
Colt guns and two field guns.