Waterbury Democrat., 1903-01-30
NAyA IS BIGGEST SHIP.
The Battleship Connechcut's Ways are
 Extremely Strong.

The Battleship Connechcut's Ways are
 Extremely Strong.
 In the navy yard in Brooklyn, hard by the commandant's office, is rude structure of massive timbers, extend ing to the waters edge, which is one of the most interesting pieces of construc- tion in the city. It is the bottom part of the ways on which is to be reared the battleship Connecticut, which will be the largest vessel in the navy, and will have displacement of 16,OOO tons. Her length, which is the length of the ways, is to be 450 feet. Longer ships have been launched in this country, al- though not in the vicinity of Brooklyn, but the launching weight of the Con- necticut will probably be greater than that of any other ship ever launched in theUnited States.
 For this reason the ways now being constructed are probably the most srrb- stantlal in the country. Over 5000 piles have been sunk for the founda- ton, and thousands of feet of yellow pine and live oak have been used The work that is to go on them is on the largest scale ever attempted by the navy department
 Some difficulties were found in con- structing the foundation of the ways on account of the nature of the soil. it pelng largely soft, made land. These nave all been overcome, and the ways, which are to be permanent, and on Which ether vessels will probably be pulit, are as stanch as any in the coun- try. In driving the piles two sunken vessels were discovered, one an old schooner near the waters edge, the other what it was thought might be the remains of the old prison ship Jer- sey of the Revolutionary war irrfamy. The latter point was not settled, as the. rofting hulk was not unearthed.
 The decision to have the battleship Dlnit at navy yard was made by con- gress at the last session. after I fight of many years. It was provided that the cost should not exceed $4 300. GOO, and that the ship should be ready for commission forty-two months after a,e- ginning work. The Connecticut wifi probably be launched two years from the coming spring. Unusual difficult ties will be presented then, according to the anticipations of the naval con str1ctors, as the bling will have to be bunt out into the river for a consider able distance.
 only four other. war vessels have ever been built by the navy depart ment itself, the battleships Texas and Maine, of about 6SS0 tons each, and the cruisers Raleigh md Cincinnati. of o.lSo tons. The Maine and the Gin cinnati were built at the Brooklyn navy yard and the others at the Nor iolk yard. The Maine was launched in 1890 from ways which were about fpsrNr t~xxo
 SENTENCING BEsETT RoLoOGER It Was Pretty Tough Problem to
 Tackle.
 The most unique sentence in the his tory of the criminal courts of the Unit ed States will be pronounced by Judge McEwen probably Saturday. The doomed man is Besett Rolooger. a ne- gro, who is both deaf and dumb, who can neither read nor write and does not understand the usual sign lan- guage.
 Ever since Rolooger was convicted by jury in Judge McEwen's court of the murder of his former employer Lee Robinson, and the accidental shooting of another man at the same tune, the judge has had frequent con sultauons with Assistant States At torney Grove as to the best means Of communicating the sentence to the a'f- ficted man.
 According to the plan finally adopt- ed Rolooger instead of having his sen tence read to him, as is customary and prescribed by law, will be shown a photograph of the penitentiary at Jo- liet. Then the picture of a man be- hind the bars will be shown as a gen tie hint of the punishment that awaits him. If this is satisfactorily ab- sorbed by the negro's brain the figures 'l4" will be exhibited in large print, and then by means of the 365 leaves on the calendar he will be given an tnferential idea of the length of one year and the consequent extent of the punishment which has been meted out to him. If this system fails the court and the assistant states attor- ney will be up the tree'' and proba- bly, without any further means of im- pressing the sentence upon the guilty man.
 The case is absolutely without a precedent in this country and has caused Judge McEwen and the attor- neys in the trial to exhaust every au- thority at their command in an effort to find some law or legal custom upon which to base the proceedings Throughout the trial Rolooger sat by his attorneys, apparently oblivious to the doings of the court, and exhibited every indication of being an idiot even beyond the extent Of his affiic- tions. Every effort possible was made to interest him in the proceed ings and to make him understand that he was being tried for his life, but apparently he had no conception whatever of the gravity of the situa- tion and does not realize the fate that has befallen him.-Chicago Record Herald