Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1899-10-29
Foreigners View of the Newport
News Institution.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT
But Little Move 1nent In Wheat. The Total
Grain Exports Last Weet Amounted
to Gi0,231 Bushels. Some
Sample Cargoes.

published lengthy ariio ic on NcW!'o ore
News ara III" big sh:pbuilains plant
here. III. Herald sent !, man u ;,,is
country t"r the purpose Of writing up
the big shpy;tfds On tAis side pf the
ocean
There are several Inaccuracies il The
STORY such as the statement thae Nh.
Huntington. ~hn long ncc retired re-
tired from The culllrn! u tle ''hcsa-
pecke & Ohio railroad is now president
Of that system.
The correspondent started. out IN his
tour Ut Inspection by visiting the larg-
est an,! best equipped s:?'inyard IL the
country and what he ssnt his paper fol-
i lows:
The first %f tile private yards | visit
! ca in my rouEl from G'nesape axe Bay
to the Maine coast was that 81 tn New
port News Si1ipbulding Company at
| Viewpoint News. Va. 1t is doubt full
whether Newport News is even men-
| TONED on the ordinary maps of the
United states accessible to British
readers. Tor 10 years ago there was nos
| even q village there. Today there is Il
! town IS nearly 10000 people. OF whom
about 5000 at the present time are find
! ing employment in the immense shio-
building yard established ten years ago
| by the Newport News Shipbuild:ng
! Company Newport News. which is
another form Of Newport Ness owes
all It's new importance ana its present
| prosperity 20 the Chesapeake & Ohio
| railway. which connects the AIidul.,
States With tidewater. and to the Ola
Dominion Land Company. which owns
the peninsula. The controlling interest
| in these TWO concerns are practically
| the same. 50 is The controlling Interest
| IN the shipbuiiding company. The town
the port. ard the shipN3rd all owe theic
| origin to Mi Coils p. Huntingdon enc
CT the foremost Of contemporary rail
road NlaGnateS, who is president Of tha
| Chesapeake & Chic Railroad Company
The railroad created 4 port which is
now ncreas ingly obtaining Il share Of
| the transatlantic grain and produce
| trade as We'll as or the coasuw:se coal
| trade Newport News is as near the
| West as New York. ana has consider
able advantages in connection With
'buitr' that ships can can ba loaded
straight from the cars ana all the
grain carrying ships take their cargoes
directly from the enormous elevator
| which the chs peakc & Ohio cCmpany
mas bul!t there. soon after the Dort
| Fad been thus created by the railway
Mr.. Huntington established the ship
yard.
| Newport News is remote from the
elder ,:entcrs Of the shirbuiding indus
| ;rE. II is q nights Journey by steamer
! down the bay from Baltimore ana it is;
| q full days railway journey from Phil
adelphia along the Chief center. az irs il
and steel slltouildng on the ATTAIN c
coast. The nearest shirbu!ding plant
! 70 Newport News Is The navy ward A t
| NGriolk. which is distant an hours sail
down ,'ilc yilesa peake. Nearly ali the
older shiEbuiltlirg plants of ahs .N.lant-
| ie coast came into being II Tie days If
wooden ships. and gradually pushed
hrs i::to The building NJ iron vessels
ana then into steel. The Newport News
plant mas no such history. Il belongs
sntire!N 70 the age OF steel. 1t was he
SUI: with Immense caEital. and almost
| ! ram the time it was ready for work
i. has ranked as the finest ana most
complete plant in the Uritc! States
| Locally it is asserted thar il is the tincst
! $hipbu':lding plant in either the New or
Inc Old World and from the auspa;ious
circumstances attending its establish
| 'n@nt. ard its almost unauualled situa-
l-nH rnelc can he but icW plants in TIE
| Cid World chat can be compared with
| il. The plant is essentially typical Of
| the lavish Way in Which American cap
ia today is going into siganti. con
Germs.
The yard fronts on the James river
which at Newport News is really an
arm of Chesapeake Bay. Opposite tie
yard the James river is five miles viIr
1T Is TIDAL but the rise in III. water is
only two and a half feet, ana ortina,ily
there are so feet in the channel which
runs in close TO the shpyard. TIL, yart
at present has a frontage half a mile.
on the James river and from the main
street Of Newport News. on which Il.
Adults. ia the water front. she distance.
f.! is haif a mile. In this direction that is
between the town and the James river.
| tha yard cannot be well extended. But
the water front it commands is pia.ti-
ca!ly unlimited: and at the present
TINE. when q new dry dock S21 feet
!nES ana 30 feet wide al the gate is be-
ing constructed, the material taken out
IS being used To extend The frontage up
| the James river Another half mile Of
frontage is thus gradually 70 be added
to the yard.
| When | was at Newport News, ten
Gays ago. fourteen ocean-going ships
We're under construction. These inciuI-
go four rbattleship s-,he kearsarca
kentucky. IlliEois and Missouri ana
tne monitor Arkansas; four steamers OF
5000 tons displacement ard a tug. Il,
me Morgan Line. whose vessels sail e.
! tween New Orleans and New YORK;
Two equally large vessels for the crom-
well Line. Which is in the trade ,Hctwe.
| Galveston, Texas. ana New York; ana
tWo steamers, Of 1850 tons displace-