The Minneapolis journal., 1903-04-16

the MINI esota's $4,000. carries less than
+ half the eight in steel plates and shapes.
and could be placed within the hull OF
the Mime sota and still leave space for
400, 900 barr els Of Minneapolis flour.
4 It goes " hhout saying that the hull O.
the steamship p with such enormous capae;i-
ty Is power1 ully constructed III order. to
s withstand tn Q pressure Of the sea, the
stress Of storm and the weight OF Its
UNPARALLELED cfugo. Without entering into
details, it is sufficient to state that the
posts beams and hull and deck plates OF
the Minnesota ,end Dakota are twice as
heavy as those Of the battleship Oregon
and about one-k,alf thicker and stronger
than those of tn q Cedric and Celtic. To
hold these steel plates and shapes in posi-
ton it requires for each vessel 100000
lrivets of an inch to an inch and half
thick and two to six inches long. which
is one-fourth more than are in the hull
Of any other vessel afloat. and several
times as many as in any other American
vessel. ~,
Launched to-day. the Minnesota will
need six months In which to receive lts
four upper, decks, $ machinery and mt
tings It viii, be commissioned for serv-
ice on or about Jan. l. 1t Will them Jake
in a cargo OF Atlantic coast merchandise
and start for Puget sound by way OF cape
Horn. 1t will be about one year from oate
when it finally enters upon its great mis-
sion as the carrier OF PaclnC COIN HAelce
between Puget. sound and ASIA
The hull Of the Dakota looms up along
aide of the Minnesota and is only sixty
days behind the latter In progress or con-
struction. President Hanscom Of the
New London yards states that the dakota
will be ready for launching in little over
two months It is probable that tlae Two
great sister vessels will be commissioned
and enter upon their great trip around the
Horn about the same date. What their
advent upon the Pacific Ocean means to
the Pacific commerce Of America, one may
guess from the fact that each OF these
vessels will be able to carry 125 train loads
of merchandise with twenty cars in each
train.
New London and Its Shipyards
The little ancient city of New London.
Conn., dates back to about the time or
the landing of the Mayhower at Plymouth
Rock. It's corporate founding was In l646
and it's founder old Governor John
! Winthrop. New London. however. still
has a house which was built back in 1912;
and the old mill built by Governor Win
throp about that time. not only exists to-
day as the oldest mill in America, but is
still doing business and grinding: grists
over the old mllstones and by tlae power
of the old fashioned overshot wheel, as
1t did two and half centuries ago.
tory. On Sept. s. 17s1, it was in the
burial ground of New London that the
traitor Benedict Arnold watched and di
rected the destruction of the town and
the home Of his friends. Old Fort Girls
void on Groton Heights, on the right
ba nix of the river, and Fort TrHmbull,
which still is a government post on the
New London shore, are landmarks Of
pa triotic history stretching back over
century and a quarter.
New London's fame as the seat of
great whaling industry reaches as far
back as l647. when the general court
granted to one Whiting the franchise for
catching whales in Connecticut waters.
AS a. whaling port New London finally
rivaled New Bedford; there being from
1920 to 1851 inclusive SIT New London
whaling vessels which brought into port
an aggregate of something like 100000
barrels of sperm and whale oil.
On the sides of New London street
cars to-day and Of New London freight
and passenger steamers you will such
names 'Pequot'' and "Mohegan.'
which reminds one Of the days of 1857
when Captain John Mason organized q
company of Connecticut men to assist the
Mohegan Indians in exterminating the
Pequots, who had always shown hostility
and treachery to the whites.
In the war of 1872 The port Of New
London blockaded for two years
Within New London harbor. In the waters
of the Thames river. Commodore Decatur
in the frigate United States was COM
PEELED TO remain imprisoned by the British
from DeceTber 1872. to February, 1915
New London harbor stands TODAY as
one of the finest on the Atlantic coast
The river a New London Is over a mile
wide and on the Groton shore where the
shpyards Of the Eastern Ship Building
company are located and where the big
ships have rested on their ways the past
two years. the river banks are Of solid
granite. making a. perfect foundation for
ships of largest capacity and ensuring the
stability Of deep natural harbor.
On March 7. 1900, long. slender and
gracefully shaped hull of white steamed
!; swiftly out of Long Island Sound up the
! mouth Of the Thames and anchored Just
of Grotons rocky shores immediately
across the river from the New London
docks. From this vessel there landed on
; the shore two men of medium height and
stocky build. The yacht was the Wa
couta. James J. Hills famous pleasure
! craft The men were James J. Hill
! president Of the Great Northern railroad
and Of the Great Northern Steamship
| company. and Charles r. Hanscom, then
; general manager of the shipbuilding plant
; at Bath. Maine. and now president and
: general manager Of the Eastern Ship
! building company. the local plant of the
! United States Shipbuiding company
which owns and operates over half of the
! Within sixty days of the landing of Mr.
Hill and the Maine shipbuilder on the
granite rocks Of Groton, a large area Of
. the latter had been acquired for a. great
sship-building plant. By January. 1901 the
keels Of the Minnesota and Dakota
were laid. On April IS, 1901, the
first rlvets were driven into the steel
shells On Sept. %, 1901, the great cleo
trio trolley system which hoists the steel
plates and beams into position was in full
operation. To-day the yards are employ
Ing 1850 men on weekly payroll of s1s,-
600 and $4,000 rivets a week are being
driven into the ~, 1000 tons of steel plates
and shapes Of the Minnesota, and of its
giant sister the Dakota. AS a result of
three years existence of this great ship
building plant New London population has
increased from II, 900 in 19OO to close upon
900 at the present time.
BEAUTIES OF THE SHIP
Nf $ho