The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1901-01-06
UNCLE SANS THREE NEW
PROTECTED CRUISERS
GREAT IMPROVEMENTS OVER sD.
mIRal 1EwEYs FLAGSHIP.
THE OLYMPIA
These VIII Be Superior to Anything
of Their Class in tire Werid-WiH
Have Speed of Twenty two Knots
Per Hour.

-sIdmIs pus and LN9KILNa
doesn't usually cut consp,cu-
Gus figure in our annual a2pro-
prfations for ships. but it certain
" did when provision was made
last June for the construction OF three
protected cruisers, tacitlC understood
to mean three improved Olympias-
Our war with Spain. where the fight
ing simulated closely line-of-battla
conditions. certainly showed that only
armored craft. and those pretty stout
" clad with heavy steel, could be ex-
pected to stand up against well
managed enemy Without detracting
one bit from the battle of Manila bay
it is thoroughly understood that very
bad gunnery on the part of the Span
iards alone accounted far the immu-
nifty OF our fleet and that absence Of
death and injury among our men that
seems even now scarcely less than a
miracle. Substantially unguarded.
save for the thin protective decks and
intervening bulwarks of coal. a couple
of well directed shots from any one Of
the larger vessels of the Spanish
squadron could have destroyed or Sc
riously damaged any of our fleet. and
that with a list of dead too appalling
TO contemplate. But the glory of the
Olympia could not be gainsaid, ard
Congress, in a moment of enthusiasm.
determined to perpetuate the type in
three more ships of larger dimensions
and more modern battery power. and
the Charleston, Milwaukee and st
Louis are to represent the improved
class
Armored and Protected Cruisers.
To the layman all cruisers are alike,
but to the naval man there is vast
deal of difference The armored
cruiser is a speedier version of the
battle ship, carrying lighter armor
and lighter guns; the protected cruis-
emo matter what her battery and
speed may be-is the armored cruiser
substantially stripped of all armor de-
Tense for the hull proper. She is like
a dragoon stripped of his metallic he'll
met and cuirass-able to give blows
but not able to take them. Such
would be the Charleston and her sis
ter ships had not the more progress
siye members Of the navy depart
ment's board of construction seen fit
to make some radical changes in hull
protection, resulting in what may well
nigh be called second-class armorad
cruisers-a type of ship distinctly new
TO our navy.
Instead of the peace time mission CT
nautical police and the war time SER
vice of scouts and commerce destroy
ers, we shall have in these three yes
sells ships that will De able to stand
good deal of banging without serious
harm. while being able to get in close
enough to deal with certainty blows
that would knock out any craft belong
ing legitimately to the order of simple
protected cruisers. We cannot -e
said to have originated the type the
Charleston represents, but we can
claim the distinction of making an
advance upon the order abroad. and If
having developed three very promising
ships when sentimental classification
seemed to relegate them to a service
of no great dignity in war time.
The New Ships.
The Charleston perpetuates the
name of the cruiser lost last year off
Kamiguin Island; the st. Louis revives
the name of the old wooden sloop of
war st. Louis. famous because of the
Martin Koszta affair at Smyrna in
1S53-an instance of exceptionally
courageous conduct in the face of
grave odds. while the Milwaukee is
new to the navy list.
To the reader with a mind for fig
ures. and to all with good sense of
distances and magnitudes, it may be
of interest to know that each of these |
ships will be 424 feet long at the water |
line. and of greatest beam. at the |
same place. of &c feet: in other words. |
good square long and as wide as |
the average street from house to !
house. When ready for sea, with all |
stores and equipment aboard. these
ships will represent a total weight of |
something over 10000 tons, generally /
termed displacement and at that /
time will require 251-2 feet of water /
to float them BY the TERMS of the
contracts they must make at least g
knots an hour. the equivalent of some
thing over 25 statute miles. and it Is
expected that the ships win develop /
quite % knots.
Powerful Engines
That the ships shall be able to do
all that. they are to be propelled by
two big 1s-foot propellers. each to be
driven by its own powerful tripie-ex-
pansion engine. the two developing /
not less than 81 900 indicated horse
power when the screws are revolving /
133 times a minute That means that
the powerful steel arms of the driving