The San Francisco call., 1898-01-17
POWERFUL NEW " WARSHIP
 FOR JAPAN Launching of the Big Kasagi Occurs
 Thursday. Most Important Vessel Built Here for Foreign
 Account. Sisters Being Constructed in Various Parts of the
 World. WILL RULE THE PACIFIC. Charles Cran1p Speaks of the Signif- canoe of the Increase in JaPan's
 Naval Power.
Sisters Being Constructed in Various Parts of the
 World.
WILL RULE THE PACIFIC.
Charles Cranap Speaks of the Signifi- canoe of the Increase in JaPan's
 Naval Power.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

PHILADELPHIA. January 16.-The | launching of the Japanese warship ! Kasagi, which was built at Cramps | shipyard, will take place on Thursday | at noon. The Kasagi is the most inn l portant ship ever built in the United l States for foreign account and is the | first foreign warship launched in this l country since the Zobiaca, in 1S7S In i compliance with requests for informa- ton from all over the country, Charles | H. Cramp to-day gave the following interview: "The Kasagi is a protected twin screw cruiser or commerce destroyer of the latest and most improved type and design in her class. She is built throughout of mild steel of the United States navy standard. Her model is calculated primarily for high speed, the contract guarantees being 221a knots as the mean of six runs back and forth over a measured course of ten nautical miles. She is powered with two four cylinder vertical inverted direct acting triple expansion engines, driving twin screws. Steam is supplied by twelve single-ended cylindrical boilers. pro- vided with a St. John grate and bearer bar, and the machinery calculations contemplate a maximum collective in dicated horse power of about r, 900. The Kasagi is among the large number of ships of various types and classes em- braced in the new naval programme of Japan.
 A sister ship to her is building on the Pacific Coast and others of various classes up to 14 800 ton batteship either in England, France, Germany or in Japans own dockyard at Yokosuka It worth IArhi fn at fn ha fact that she is a representative of the most marvellous and formidable naval development of this age; a develop ment that is rapidly bringing into front rank among civilized naval powers a nation, the ports of which were first opened to commerce through the in- strumentality of an American naval ex- petition clearly within the memory of men not yet past middle age. From this point of view alone her launching is an event worth remembering in the his tory of American ship building.
 When the fleet of which the Kasagi is an important factor shall be com pleted, an event not more than two years off at the farthest, Japan will rank as the foremost naval power in the Pacific Ocean and generally speak ing nearly, if not quite, third in rank among the naval powers of the world She will certainly outrank in the all around sense all but England, France and Russia, and so far as the Pacific Ocean is concerned, will be far superior to all except England perhaps, and il is doubtful if even England could, Witf due regard to her requirements in hel own waters or in the Mediterranean and the defense of her commerce spare naval force enough for concentration or the Pacific to equal in that ocean tn, new Japanese navy of which the Ka sagi Is a factor.
 This superiority is due not so muci to the mere number of the vessels Japan is building, as to the fact tha they are of carefully selected types perfectly elaborated designs and wisel. distributed classes, all of the most ap proved construction and highest at tainable efficiency. The men who oper ate the material of this force hav demonstrated by their behavior in tn late war and as evinced by the pro fessional skill and ability they dis played in the work of supervising yes sels under construction that they hay no odds to ask in that respect of tn naval officers of any power.
 Tn short. the whole naval policy o Japan as represented to Americans b the object lesson of the Kasagi is on which nations far older in the. arts o western civilization would do well { emulate. Failure to emulate or kee up with it may in the not distant flu ture bring some of them to humiliatio and defeat.
 "The principal dimensions, qualitie and armament of the Kasagi are a follows: Length on water line, 374 fec inches; breadth, 4S feet inches depth, 30 feet inches; draft, IS feet inches; displacement, 4900 tons; spec 22k knots. Armament: Two Sine breech-loading rifles; ten 4.7-inc rapid-fire guns; twelve 12-poundt rapid-f1re guns; six Hotchkiss rapit fire guns"
 The ceremonial attendant upon tr launching of the ship will be excil sively in the hands of the Japane: Minister, and the affair will be COT ducted in accordance with the custom of the Japanese in such matters. C the part of the Cramp Company the will be no special provision for guest but the shipyard will be open to u public at the time of the launching