The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-03-23
A GROWING PORT.
n. {. Newspaper League Pays Visit
TO Newport News, Va.
Big Ships Building Thsrs-Twenty Millions
Invested In The City.

Newport News. Va, March 23.-New-
port News is a seaport, young and still
growing.
Nothing is needed to impressi this
idea on the visitors mind but glance
from a steamers deck as the city is ap-
preached from the water side. Along
the water front the docks stretch for
two miles. fanked on one end by the
ship yard, guarded by three frowning
battleships i'm various stages Of compile
ton, and on the other by big piers at
which lay the biggest steamers engaged
in transatlantic freighting.
Newport News in the youngest city
I'm Virginia, it's citizens say, but they
point with pride 10 what has been ac-
complished in the short space OF its life.
IL claims the largest shipyard in the
New World and the biggest pier floor
space under one roof on the continent.
Nothing interests the visitor 10 New
port News as the shipyard In which the
three battleships, Kearsarge, Kentucky
and Illinois are nearly completed, and
the keel OF another, the Missouri. has
been laid. The monitor Arkansas Will
also be constructed here. 3
The representatives of the New Eng
land Newspaper League inspected the
shipyard on their visit 10 this city.
Walter A. Pratt, the general superin-
tendent OF the yard. showed the party
over the ccmpany's plant and explained
7 the mysteries of building big battle
ship.
Everything used in the construction
OF a big battleship is made i'm the yard
with the exception of the guns and ar
NOR. These come from the government
ordnance works and from the armor
plate works.
The battleships Kearsarge and Ken
lucky were launched March "a, 1898, and
are respectively 81 and sS per cent. COM
plete. Nearly all the armor is on both
ships and IL IL expected that both VIII
go into commission this summer.
over 500 men are rushing work on the
Kearsarge, and all that remains 10 he
done is To cap the turrets. mount the
guns and finish the woodwork below
decks. The heavy pieces are hoisted 10
the decks OF the warships by crane
capable OF handling $50 tons easily.
The dry dock here is $50 feet long
and can accommodate the largest ships.
The dock holds IL 100000 gallons of wa
ter. and is emptied by two powerful
pumps i'm one hour and 20 minutes. An
other dock 500 feet long is in process or
construction.
The Chesapeake e. Ohio Railway
company has eight large railroad piers
line OF freighters which sail from here
are among the largest OF their kind.
The dock, which is the pride OF Newport
News is one of those owned by the rail-
road. Six hundred and fifty feet long
and 10 feet wide, its two floors give
more storage capacity than is contained
under one pier roof in the country. The
elevator used for foreign grain ship
ments has a capacity of 1,150,0OO BUSH
els.
The ship yards and the docks repre-
sent the heaviest investments OF capi-
tai in Newport News--over $4,000. 600
but there are numerous smaller indus
tries here. An abattoir company with
81. 500 900 capital is organized. and an
ordnance plant TO cost A,OOO,OOO to
s.. 900 600 is contemplated.
The freight and passenger transpor-
tation service by water TO and from
Newport News is excellent. there being
from one 10 three saillings day to
foreign and domestic ports. Besides
these there are numerous small steam
ers which ply 10 nearby river and bay
ports.
The growth Of Newport News could
not be better illustrated than by men
tioning that over 1900 houses have been
finished or under construction since
June /. 1898. To keep pace with private
Improvement the municipality has
made provision Tor large expenditures
for public improvements. A new court
house to cost $4,000 and Jail to cost
sl5, 900 are under course of construction.
A new school house will cost $4,000. Be
sides this Sl20, 900 has been appropriated
for new sewers, 100000 for new street
paving and $250000 i'm water works inn
provements. Two garbage crematories
each of so tons day capacity. are to
be erected.
While i'm Newport News the repre-
sentatives Of the New England News
paper League were escorted and enter
tanned by the following committee OF
business men: Mayor a. a. Moss. III. T..
Parker, Judge T. r. Barron. w. B. Vest.
chairman: l.. Il. Manville. w. G.. Bur-
CESS, T.. w. Huffman and Messrs. john
son, Kirby and Cook. representatives OF
the Newport News press.
After day very pleasantly spent in
Newport News the New England News
paper League representatives were
taken by steamer to Portsmouth, Va,
where the car Chicago" was taken
over the Seaboerd Air line route to
Southern Pines. y. G.