The record-union., 1898-10-14

NEW YORK, Oct ia dispatch to
the Tribune from Washington says:
The remarkable rapidity with which
the naval power of the United States is
being increased at the present time
may be realized when it is stated that
ffty-tive war vessels are now under
contract for the Government and that
their aggregate tonnage far exceeds
that of the vessels building at any one
time in the civil war. This vast con-
struction program, which has excited
more attention abroad than at home,
has been authorized gradually by Con-
gress until the vessels soon to be COM
pleted will place the United States third
in rank among the sea Powers. In
addition to the enormous fleet, includ-
ing auxiliaries, actually in commission
at the present time, twenty vessels are
in various stages of readiness and the
shipbuilderS are hurriedly gathering the
material for thirty-five others. OF the
tifty-tive vessels, eight are frst-class
heavily armored sea going battIeships,
thirty Eight are torpedo boats, four are
monitors and one is a powerful cruiser.
Chief Constructor Hichborn has COM
pleted a tabulated statement showing
the degree of completion of the twenty
vessels now nearly rea&y for commits
sion or rapidly approaching that con-
dltion, from which it appears that sew
enteen of these vessels have already
been launched and that the others will
be afloat before the end of this year.
OF the five battleships, the Kear-
sarge, the Kentucky and the Illinois,
building at Newport News, Va, are re-
spectvely Us, 66 and 10 per cent. COM
pleted. The Alabama. at the Cramp
yard, Philadelphia, has advanced to 63
per cent, and the Wisconsin, which is
to be launched at the Union Iron Works
at San Francisco, next month, is ex-
actly half finished. OF the ten tor
pedo boats, the twenty-six- Row
an (No. y at Seattle is rated at %
per cent. and will have her trial trip
| before the end of this week The
thirty-knot Farragut (No. I'D, the first
of the destroyers to be finished by the
Government, has already been tried by
the SCOTS at San Francisco, and, al
though really making her guaranteed
speed, has had the misfortune to sus-
tain minor injuries, which may be cas-
lily remedied. The Dahlgren CNo. %
and the T. A. NJ. Craven (No. 3), thir-
ty knots, building at Bath, Me, are
listed at 80 and 81 per cent. complete,
but will not be delivered to the Gov
eminent before spring. The twenty
two and one-half knots, the Davis (No.
I'D and the Fox (No. 49, at Portland
Or, are practically ready for trial and
the Davis may have her speed run
next week. The Mackenzie CNo. ID has
just been completed by Hillman & Co
of Philadelphia and her trial has been
| ord for - Of
little vessel is almost year behind
contract. The status of the remaining
three thirty knot destroyers is as fol-
lows: The Stringham (No. 19 at Wilm-
ington Del, As per cent; the Goldsbor-
ough (No. 2O at Portland, Or, % per
cent. and the Bailey (No. 2D at the
works of the Gas Engine and Power
Company of New York, 81 per cent.
The submarine torpedo boat Plunger
at Baltimore is within 10 per cent of
completion and will probably be out in
service next month. Two twelve-knot
tugboats which are now being built at
navy yards have made rapid progress
in the last month. The Penacock at
New York is rated at 90 per cent, and
the Pawtucket al Mare Island at 90
per cent. The sailing ship Chesapeake,
building at the Bath Iron Works for
use as a training vessel at the Naval
Academy, is 30 per cent. ready. She
has the distinction of being the first
sheathed vessel designed for the
American navy and the first sailing
vessel laid down for naval purposes in
over twenty years. The last ship
under construction, except those whose
keels have not been laid. is the cruiser
Albany, building at Armstrong;, Els
wick, England. She was only 40 per
cent completed when purchased to-
gether with the cruiser New Orleans
from the Brazilian Government just
before the war was declared and work
was only begun on her two weeks ago.
The contractors have all their material
ready and have promised to complete
her within six months