The Red Cloud chief., 1898-10-07
THE ILLINOIS Is AFl0AT.
Mise Letter Christcned the second Of the
Sister ships.

Mise letter Christcned the Second of he
sister Ships.
NEWPORT News, Va, Oct. s.-The
battleship Illinois was launched from
the Newport News company's docks at
1888 p m. Miss Nancy Letter OF Chi
cago broke a bottle of wine over the
ships prov and christened her. Tho
crowd Of visitors IL estimated at fully
20, 900, and It Is believed that fully
30, 900 persons witnessed the launch
Ing.
The Illinois Is the second Of tho
three great sister ships to be launched
this year. The first. the Alabama, was
ioated from Cramps yards May 10.
The Wisconsin will leave the ways In
the yards Of the Union Iron works in
the latter part Of November. These
three ships will b. the most powerful
In the navy until the still finer trio,
the Maine, Missouri and Ohio, shall be
launched.
The layman who doesn't know n
mizzen mast from q bilge keel will at
once notice five pcculiarities OF the
Illinois type:
The forward deck Is considerably
higher than the decks of the Oregon.
The after deck, with its heavy tur-
ret, is eight feet lower than the for
ward deck.
The smohestacks are side by side
Instead of one in front of the other.
Tho ships fairly bristlc with 6-inch
guns.
The turrets arc elliptical. not circu-
lar.
The added height OF tho forward
deck, which gives twenty feet free
board" against twelve feet in the Orc
gon, will enable the Illinois TO fight
her guns from their great elevation
above the water In seas SO heavy that
the guns of the lower vessel would be
submerged and useless. Splendid sea
going powers are expected to result
from this increased freeboard, by
which is meant the height Of the hull
above the water line.
guns and heavier armor fora given
displacement and speed than any ship
in the world. The Majestic, of the
British navy, has n displacement of
1900 tons, $500 moro than the ILL
nois. Yet the Illinois will carry four
l3-inch guns to four Finch of the
British ship, and fourteen C-inch to
twelve 6-inch of the Majestic. Her
side armor will be ~ inches thicker
than tho Majestic's, and her turret
nrmor eleven inches thicker. A
smaller ship, she offers n smaller tar
get, and, drawing four feet less water,
she car navigate harborsU and channels
where her bulky antagonist dare not
enter.
In the Illinois tho s-inch guns are
abandoned and q battery Of fourteen
G-inch rapid fire guns arc substituted
for them. These will be more efrec-
tive than the eight s-inch guns OF the
Oregon. Each of these guns will I've
capable Of firing 10o-pound shells, PEN
ctrating 1876 inches Of plate. Eight of
these guns will be enclosed within q
central battery on the main deck, pro-
tected by q wall of steel 81 inches
thick. Forward, In tho bows Of the
same deck will be two nor G-inch
guns, similarly protected, and four
other 6-inch guns will be mounted,
two OIL each side, On the ''spar" or
upper deck. These will have G-inch
steel protection and may be fired dead
ahead or dead astern.
Larger by 1000 tons than the Ore
gon, larger than tho Iowa, now the
biggest b~attleship in service, the I'LL
nois is still SO designed that she will
be able to enter any harbor open TO
the smaller battleships, while in the
matter of speed she will rank with
any Of them. Her nominal speed will
be los knots. With all stores on
board she will displace 1926 tons;
her normal displacement is l1,525 tons
TO l1,4l0 tons Of the Iowa. She Is 36s
feet long and ~ feet a5 inches wide;
the Iowa is 800 feet long. The ILL.,
nois will draw 23 feet G inches. While
her normal coal supply is 500 tons,
she can carry between l,4Oo and 1000
tons. She will carry forty officers and
440 mcn.
The first keel plate Of this vessel was
laid February 10, 1897, not quite TWEEN
ty month ago, and the percentage of
work completed to this date, based on
the vessel fitted out and ready for sea,
Is between SO and 81 per cent. The
contract price was SO, 1895, 900 and the
date OF completion is stated to DO DC.
tobcr 5, 1899.
CUBANS NEED PUNISHMENT.