The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-07
SHIP YARDS ARE BUSY
ALL OF THEM HAVE ENOUGH
WORK TO LAST
YEAR
BIG wARsH1Ps UNDER WAY
Vessels Built During Year Ended
With July Have an Aggre-
gate Value of $16.-
$4,000.

CLEVELAND, Ohio. Aug. 6.-(special)
THE Blue Book of American Shipping,
the recognized authority in the United
States as a marine and naval directory,
presents in it's introduction to the annual
issue soon to be published the follow
ing statistics concerning ship building
for the year ending July 81:
Reviewing again a years developments
In the ship building industry OF the
United States, it may be said that without
probably a single exception the yards
that engage in building steel vessels have
work ahead to their full capacity for
at least twelve months, and some of them
for much greater length of time. This
is true of all ship yards of the seaboard,
as we'll as those of the great lakes. On
the Seaboard the great bulk of work is,
OF course, in the construction of ships
of war, but the demand for new vessels
for coasting service-the feature of most
prominence in American ship building
during the past two or three years-Still
continues, and the coming year will see
the completion of few vessels for over
sea commerce that Will be among the
hneSt III the world. These latter include
TWO Pacific mail liners, nearing compile
ton at the Newport News works, six
large freighters for the Atlantic Trans
port line at Camden, NJ j., ard at
Sparrow Point, Nd, and two steamers at
New London, Conn, for service on the,
Pacific in connection with the Great
Northern railway, that will be about
the same dimensions as the White Star
liner Celtic, the largest shin afloat
IN naval circles the year is distinguished
by the fact that the most magnificent
order for new vessels of war ever award :
ed by the government was given to the
ship builders. Contracts were awarded
Tor fourteen warShips-five battleships
SIX armored cruisers and three protectaj
cTulsers-aggregatin 1S7, 354 tons in dis
costing, exclusive of armor and anna
ment, %9944,eG0. There is no single in
STANCE which equals this splendid total
IAit1gether, slxty-one warships are now
DulIplhg Tor the United States navy
representing a total displacement of o9G .
Ie5 tons, 567, 62G horse power. and costing
Ior hhls and machinery only. $50 o54 liz
~ 49, duuItIon, the last naval act authorized
tIIe CONSTRUCTION of two battleships and
Two ~armored cruisers. The plans for
lhese VIII be submitted to congress at Re
neXt session by the naval board of con-
If there is any tendency to he no+oa t.
n il construction it is to further elm
mate the llne of demarkation betWEaan
Tue pattleshlp and armored cruiser. a
pattlesnlp was originally a vessel Of +ra
mendous powers. offense and defeneo
ana H1nlted seagoing qualities: a cr1Iiser
was originally "a vessel of limited nOUerS
on5hse ana defense but of great speed
anu Steamlng radius. The tendance 10
70 increase the cruising area of the ha+9
tIeshlp, with sacrifice in the weight o4
arnlor and force of armament: and on the
other hand to give the cruiser a terrifc
pattery and heavy belt of armor with
TIeuuctlon in steaming radius. Thus tha
me between the two types is eradnaIl[1
vanishing. This form of warshin treat,
ing the two types as one. is very POM
lar IN the United States and Great Rrit-
am. The protected cruiser or COM
Merce destroyer, of which the Chateau
Tenaut Of the French navy, and the
,Varlag, of the Russian navy. are tbe
nlsneSt types, are not popular in fhe
Cnted States or Great Britain The
American navy's contribution to this TYNE
consists OF the Columbia and MinneaDoIis
put no more are building
ne question of the superposed turret fs
sui SUI unsettled The Kearsarge and Ken
lucky are equipped with this form of t1,r-
ret, and several trials have proved them
10 De structurally practicable The naval
board OF construction. after heated argn-
ments, decided to equip three of the five
battleships for which contracts were
lately let with them; but it is clear that
the board is not sure of the eventual
utility of these turrets, for it has de-
clded not to equip the two battleshins
tor which plans are now being prepared
with them. The real point indeed, Is
not the structural success of the t1rret
out Its vulnerability in actual conflict.