Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-02

Washington, May 26.-''Russia has the
whip hand of her enemies in the Orient
remarked an attache of the embassy to
the writer yesterday. She has been
quietly adding to her fleet there until to-
day an array of warships confronts ia
pan and Great Britain that can be
counted upon to uphold the honor of the
flag, no matter what occurs" The at
tache's confidence was founded largely,
it was explained, on the size and strength
of the Russian ships and the careful
training received by their crews in the
art Of naval warfare. Russia, it appears,
has for years past sought to secure just
the ships that the best suitcl 70 her nee
e~ssities regardless of what other nations
have done. Since 1854. when Russia
launched a number of moni tors of the
Ericsson class, the fleet has been aug
mented by boats of the newest model
and all the old ones retired or renovated
SO as to keep the fleet always up to the
highest point of proficiency.
Prior to the Crimean war Russia plac-
ed her reliance in vessels of the AID.
miral class, ships that ranged i'll dis
placement from 1874 in the "Lazaref'
to 1898 in the "~Tchitchachoff." IN 1871.
however, the Russians made a radical
departure by the adoption for Crimcan
hefense Of the circular class of vessel, q,
warship just suited to the shallow waters
of the, coast because. beirg # circular
form, the vessel could. viii heavy
Weights, carry a great displacement upon
d relatively small draught. These cir.
cular vessels could attain a speed of
only nine knots, but they carried an ar
mament of two Alton breech-loading
guns and four smaller pieces in an unar-
mOred breastWork.
To the Russians belong the credit OF
solving the problem of an armored crul-
ser in which great speed could be COM
bined with effective protection in an en-
counter with the warships then afioat.
This gave to the Russians the General
Admiral" launched in 1873. and one of
the best of the boats built Of iron, wood.
sheathed under --a and copoered. This
vessel is 2S5 feet 9 inches in length, 48
feet 2 inches in beam and with q feet
mean draught, has 4,43S tons displace-'
ment. She was designed to steam 13
knots, carry 1000 tons of fuel and have
G coal endurance of $500 miles at 10
knots: the battery and belt are armored
with six inch plates; the belt is seven
feet wide at the water line and has, livel
with it's upper edge, a highly curved
deck. of iron. This type of vessel has
proved so successful that it has been ye-
produced and improved in most of the
great navies.
The powerful battleships of the decade
old Russian fleet include the Catherine
IT,, Tchesme and the Sinope. They are
built of iron and steel twood sheathed
and coppered), have ram bows and are
of the following dimensions: Length
339 feet, beam 50 feet, mean dsaugit 265
feet, displacement 10, 1S1 tons. They are
encircled by a belt OF compound armor
Il to IS inches thick and have a COM
plete three-inch protective deck. Within
a l4-inch armored, pear-shaped redoubt
six l2-inch rifles are mounted on disap-
pearing barbe4tte carriages; seven six
inch guns are carried on the gun deck
six in broadside and one on a shifting
pivot mount-and the secondary battery.
is composed of seven Hotehkiss revolv-
ing cannon and seven torpedo tubes.
The engines, of the Catherine II. and the
Tchesme are of the vertical compound
three-clyinder type and develop II 900
horse power and a 16-knot speed. The
engines of the Sinope are of the triple
expansion type and develop $1,000 horse
power with natural and $4,000 with fore
ed d%raught. Another Ship of the En-
peror Alexander II. type, named the
Nicholas the First, dispiaces S,44O tons,
is 1927 feet in length, 81 feet in beam and
25.5 draught. These ships carry a COM
plete belt of steel arrnor six to ii inches
thick and nine inches wild and a curved
steel deck three inches thick covers
their under water bodies. The battery
consists of two 12-inch guns mounted in
a pear-shaped barbette tower forward;
in the broadslce tner re are four nine
inch, eight six-inch and four three and a
half-inch rifles. together With a number
of Hotchkiss guns. The barbette tower
has steel armor 10 inches thick, and the
usual torpedo tubes. The horse power is
5000 and the speed 16 knots.
Russia's modern. ironclads include the
N=ayarin. a first class battleship of 9,476
tons displacement. armed With four 12-
inch guns: the Oslabza, a 12,614 ton bait
tleship. one of the largest in the world.
armed with four Pinch guns and 80
quick frers: the Pultava, 1096O: the Pc
tropayloysk, 10. $50 tons; the Peresviet,
1854 tons, all armed with four Pinch
guns, and numerous quick firers: the
Sevastopol, 10, $50 tons. armed with TX
Pinch guns, and the Tri Sviatitelia, T.
48O tons. armed with six Pinch guns and
81 quick firers.
The Vitias and Kinda, steel cruisers,
have their vital parts covered by a steel
curved deck one and a half inches thick,
are Of 1855 tons displacement and have