The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-04-17
MIGHTY MINNESOTA
NOW BIDES THE WAVES
Greatest Cargo Carrying Steamship in the World
Launched for the Great Northern

New London, Conn.,, April 16.-In the
presence of thousands of spectators,
including many visitors from New
York, Boston and other cities, the
steamship Minnesota, the largest YES
sci ever built in this country and the
greatest cargo carrier in the world,
was launched to-day at the yards of
the Eastern Shipbuilding Company at
Groton.
The sponsor of the mammoth ship
was Miss Clara Hill, daughter of j.
j. Hill, president of the Great North
ern Steamship Company, for which
the vessel was built to become a part
of the company's Pacific and Oriental
carrying service. AS the last restrain
ing link that held the ship to it's place
on the ways was severed, Miss Hill
broke bottle of wine over the steel
bow and named the craft the Min
nesota.
With gliding movement, barely per-
Ceptible at first, the vast mass of
steel, weighing thousands of tons,
started down the ways, and gathering
speed rapidly, plunged into the water
with wave under her stern that
seriously threatened the safety of the
hundreds of small craft in the harbor.
Although her momentum seemed sur
hclent to carry her far over to the
other side of the wide harbor. the
precautions taken to slack her speed
were sufficient to bring her to a.
standstill within a mile of the Groton
shore. Tugs then took her in tow, and
she was guided to a dock, where she
VIII be fitted up for service
line Cedric, which is registered at
the same tonnage, and exceeds the
Minnesota in length, has less dead
weight carrying capacity by more
than 5000 tons. The dead weight car
rying capacity of the Cedric is Is, 400
tons, while that of the Minnesota is
$4,000. The Minnesota and her sister
vessel, the Dakota, which is to be
launched in about ten weeks, will
carry $4,000 long tons of coal and $780,
900 barrels of -four. This is so per
cent more than the dead weight car
rylng capacity of the two giant car
riers of the White Star Line, the Ce-
dric and Celtic.
AS compared with the largest steam
ships built at American shipyards, the
Minnesota and Dakota have very
nearly double the tonnage displace-
ment and fully double the net dead
weight carrying capacity. The new
cargo and passenger carriers, the Fin
land and Kroonland, of the Red Star
Line, have a tonnage of 1920. The
Korea and Siberia, of the Pacific Mail
Company, have registered tonnage of
11,S00 The Minnekakda and Mime
dora, of the Atlantic Transport Com
pany, have 13,400 gross tonnage. The
St. Louis and st. Paul of the Ameri-
can Line have 10000 tonnage. The
Minnesota and Dakota, on the usual
basis of 10 cubic feet to the cargo
ton, have a cargo space of 1852 long
tons, while the actual dead weight
carrying capacity is $4,000 and their
tonnage displacement $4,000.
The great vessel now building in
Germany, Kaiser Wilhelm II, is scne-
what longer than the Minnesota but
has less breadth, and has a moulded
depth of forty-four feet as compared
with nearly fifty-six for the Mime
sofa. The tonnage displacement OF
the big German vessel is over one
third less than than that of the Min
|. nesota and Dakota.
The strength of the Minnesota
hull is shown by the fact that it is
twice as thick as that of the Ameri-
can battleship the Oregon. Where
the Oregon uses steel deck plating
of half inch in thickness the Min
nesota uses an inch to an inch and
a quarter plate. Where the Ore
gon uses a main frame six by three
and a half inches, the Minnesota
uses a twelve-inch. The Minnesota
is of the intermediate cargo and pas
senger type. and built under Lloyd's
survey. She is $50 feet long, 70 feet
inches wide, Sc feet high to upper
deck, So feet high to captains bridge
III feet high to top of mast and has
five continuous decks, all plated with
steel. -Four decks not continuous are
the forecastle, promenade, bridge and
boat decks, and on top of all comes
the captains or navigating bridge
making nine decks in all.
In the hull and decks of the Min
nesota" there are no less than Il, 00d