The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-19
FOR WEST VIRGINIA
NEW CRUISER OF THE NAVY WAS
NAMED.
LAUNCHED SUCCESSFULLY
FROM THE NEWPORT NEWS SHIP
BUILDING YARDS.

Launching Was "A Brilliant Event.
$4,000 People Witnessed It-Street
Pageant Preceded the Launching.
Soldiers and Sailors Joined in the
Pnrade-Daughter of Gov. White
of West Virginia Christened the
Ship-Many officials Were in At
tendance.
Newport News, Va, April 1S.-The
United States armored cruiser West
Virginia was successfully launched at
the Newport News shipbuilding yard
to-day in the presence of a throng of
$4,000 people.
A street pageant in which military
companies from several Virginia cities
and artillery detachments from Fort
Monroe, and the officers, marines and
sailors of the German cruiser Gazelle.
participated, preceding the launching.
Miss Katherine Vaughn White
was the fair sponsor of the
occasion, christening the warship with
bottle of champagne as the cruiser
slipped down the ways into the placid
waters of the James river. On the
platform beside the new warship was
a distinguished assemblage, including
Gov. White of West Virginia, Gov.
Montague of Virginia, his secretary
and staff; United States Senator and
Mrs. Martin, Assistant Secretary Of
the Navy Darling, Rear Admiral
O'Neil, Rear Admiral Bradford and
Rear Admiral Taylor; Capt. S. c. Lem
ly, M. D. O'Connell, solicitor of the
treasury; Representatives ]. A. Hull
of Iowa, J. G. Cannon of Illinois. Ais
ton G. Dayton and B. B. Dovener of
West Virginia: ex-senator Charles ].
Faulkner of West Virginia and State
Senator c. w. Swisher of West Vir-
ginia.
A pleasant incident Of the day was
the exchange of courtesies between the
United States naval officers and the
officers and men of the German war
ship Gazelle.
Was "a Distinguished Party.
Calvin b. circuit. president Of the
Newport News Shipbuilding Company,
escorted to the christening platform
Miss Katherine Vaughn White, eldest
daughter of Gov. Albert B. White of
West Virginia, who was officially in
vited by the Navy Department to be
sponsor for the West Virginia Miss
White was attended by three maids Of
honor, her sisters, Miss Grace White
and Miss Ethel White, and Miss Ash
ton Wilson, daughter of ex-Gov Will
son. In the christening party were also
the Governor and Mrs White
AS soon as the ceremonies were over,
President Orcutt conducted the guests,
numbering some 500 persons, to the
steamboat Newport News, aboard
which the party went to Old Point
Comfort, where they were rendered a
banquet in the dining room of the Ho-
tel Chamberlin. Among the distin-
guished guests present were Gov.
White or West Virginia, and military
staff Gov. Montague of Virginia and
the members of his staff; officers of
the army and navy and prominent citi-
zens of the two Virginias. President
circuit was POSTMASTER.
Others who accepted invitations to
the banquet were Senators Elkins and
Scott of West Virginia, and Represen-
tatives Dovener, Gaines, Woodward,
Hughes and Dayton of the same state;
Hon. Henry G. Davis. q. w. Stevens,
Decatur Axtell, l.. f.. Sullivan, Joseph
kiss, C. e. Doyle. Maj. z. II. Myers,
John Shelton Williams, c. ID. Land
horne, Virginius Newton and Arthur
B. Clark.
In an extempore speech at the ban
quent, Count Won Oriola, commander
of the German cruiser Gazelle, ex-
pressed his qualification at the cordial
treatment he had received at the
hands of American naval officers
wherever he had met them and the
hope that the friendly relations be-
tween the nations would continue
forever.
Description of the Ship.
D The West Virginia, which is sister
ship to the California and Pennsylva-
mia, is an armed cruiser of 1900 tons
displacement. The hull is of steel and
measures on load-water line 502 feet;
extreme beam, 50 feet, 61s inches. The
vessel has normal displacement OF
15,104 tons. The designed indicated
horsepower of the cruiser is $4,000 to
produce a speed of % knots. With a
complement of AZ officers and 7S3 sea-
men and marines, the vessel will be the
floating home of $50 men.
Five feet below and four feet above
normal load line from stem to stern,
the cruiser will have an armor belt
six inches thick at the top and five
inches at the bottom. For a depth OF
six feet from the top the maximum
thickness will be preserved. The armor
will taper at the stem and stern to
three and a half inches in thickness.
The Hichborn balanced oval turrets
will be covered with armor six and a
half inches thick on the port plate and
six inches on the sides and rear.
The main battery of the West Vir-
ginia will consist of four 8-inch breech-
loading rifles, mounted two in each
turret on the center line of the yes
sci. In addition there will be four
teen 6-inch rapid-fire guns and a sec
cndary battery of eighteen 3-inch and
twelve 3-pounder guns, besides four
1-pounder automatic guns, four l.
FOUNDER rapid-fire guns, six Colt au-
tomato guns, two machine guns and
two 3-inch field guns