Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-29

American navy. The. construction of no
warship of Uncle SENS fleet has been fol-
lowed with as much interest as has been
attached to the CONNECTICUT. Perhaps the
principal reason for the great interest
taken In this new 3eyiathan of the sea is
the largest of American warships She
may prove herself the best warship In
Uncle Sans servicezE
The Connecticut >when completed will
have cost ~ 2l2OOO5 Her machinery alone
has cost $1.e0O,GO0 She is up to date in
every particular. Her builders have had
every opportunity y Introduce in her con-
struction such practtcal improvements as
far east should Suggest, and they have not
neglected to take advantage of the oppOr
tunity. The result is That with the compile
ton of the Conneeticut her builders will
turn out a warshiB ara nearly perfect as 1t
Is possible to construct one.
One thing in connection with the launch
ing of the new battle ship that is of inter.
est is the recent discovery of Rear Admiral
RodgerS, commandant of the navy yard
that the Connecticut is not the first war
vessel of the American navy of that name.
There were two other warships of the name
The first saw service away back In 17T6
and figured In the battle of Lake Cham
plain. The other was launched in 17S9,
and was in actual service during the civil
war.
The Louisiana went overheard one month
ahead of the time set for the launching of
the Connecticut Especial interest attaches
to this race, for, while the private yard has
won out so far against the government
yard, the contest Is not ended until the
ships are ready for commissioning, and it
must be remembered that in the case of
the Connecticut building slip had to be
constructed and a large travelling crane
erected before work on the vessel itself
could be started. The keel of the Louisiana
was laid February Z, 1903, and that of the
Connecticut on March 10 following, a cred
liable record of industry the part of the
handicapped New York navy yard. Since
then the race between the builders of the
vessels has been a keen one.
Much of the credit for the work ON the
Connecticut is due to Assistant Naval Con-
structor Richard H. Robinson, who has had
complete charge of her construction and
who is the youngest constructor in the ma
Wy. Mr.. Robinson was born in Ravenna,
Ohio, in 1875 and entered Annapolis in 1892
He was senior man in his class, which was
graduated in 1896. He next took course
In naval architecture in the University of
Glasgow, Scotland and was graduated in
1893. When war with Spain was declared
Mr.. Robinson was assistant to the naval
attache at London, and had much 10 90
with the purchase of the Albany and New
Orleans from Brazil and Of the Topeka ana
the Somers
He was next transferred to the Cramp
shipyards in Philadelphia, where he was
occupied with the fitting out of the st. Paul
and the ST. Louis when they were converted
into cruisers, and later with the construc-
ton of the Alabama the Maine the Coio-
RADIO and the Pennsylvania.
Later he spent some time at the snip
yards of Neafie & Levy in Philadelphia In
connection with the construction OF the tor,
Chauncey In 1902 he was sent to the
Brooklyn yard to take charge of the con-
struction of the Connecticut.
Comparison With Others.
The following table will show how the
mammoth battle ship Connecticut compares
with the largest ships Of the navies OF the
world: