The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-03

surface Of tho twentyfoul boilers will
be .4so square feet, and the total heating
surface Will be 57,534 square feet. Tho
smokestacks Will be three iii number
standing fore and Aft is Il
How Protected.
,rhe Virginia will be protected BY an
armor belt extending five feet below ana
three feet above the normal load line,
from stem to stern. The belt Will be
eleven inches thick at the top and eiGh,
inches thick Mt the bottom. The maxi
mum thickness will be preserved for a
depth Of five feet from the top, me
.armor will taper ut the stem and stern
TO a thickness Of four inches. The ar
nor on tic supcrposed 1ichborn bal
anced * oval turrcts with inclined poft
plates, Will be twelve inches thick on the
mort plate, eight inches thick on. the SIDE
and six inches thick on the rear.
Fighting Capacity.
MThe Virginia will have the most power
full battery ever placedlupon AN, Amerl-
can waiship She will have the super
posed t,irret arrangement Tor eight guns
Of her main battery. The oIly other
ships in the navy now fitted out with
similar tu..rcts arc the battleships Kear-
sarge and kentucky. Among naval en-
perts there has beer much discussion
as to the value of this arrangement OIL
guns. Those who favor the superposed
turret point to the obvious advantage
Of concentrated fire and ease IN handling
d single turret, as opposed to the handling
Of individual turrets. The opponents say
It is putting too many eggs in single
basket. and that injury to a single turret
would put four big guns out of the ac-
ton. To this the advocates of the super
posed turrct reply that 1t is all right
to put all ores eggs in single basket
provided the basket is properly watched
and protected.
Batteries and Rifles.
The main battery OF the Virginia Will
consist of four l2-inch breechloading
rifles. mounted in two superposcd itur-
rcts. on the center line of the vessel;
eight S-inch brcechload.ns rifles, mounted
two ii, each superposed turret and. Two
ir each side turret: and twelve G-inch
IN Did-fire guns. There will be Il second
ary battery of twelve 3-inch and twelve
3-poundcr guns, besides four l-pounder
automatic guns, four l-pounder rapid
fire guns, six Colt automatic guns, Two
machine guns ard two 3-nch field guns.
There also Will be two submerged torpedo
tubes.
About Newport News.
And this is the great warship that Is TO
be launched hero Tuesday, on which occa-
sion thousands of people will find out
! more about Newport News lhat lhey
ever knew or dreamed of before.
Away back yondcr. .''fo dc var, and
n long time before COLTS T.. Huntington
vas peddlinE clocks in this part 'oI Nlr-
ginia, and TO some farmers he mad been
dealing with right here he said some
day there willtbc a great city here where
ruff I'm River GmUtlGS
into Hampton Roads.tsIt VIII be the
terminus Of great railroads. and u har-
bo,. 10 which trading vessels from all
tho world will come 70 unload ana TO load
AGAR The farmers laughed at the clock
tpeddler and said no was Il dreaming
fool,
The Peddler's Prophecy.
In after years Coils p. Huntington be-
came the president of the Chesapeake and
Ohio Railroad He wanted to get 20
deeuer, water than he found at Rich
| moad lie remembered the jut of land
at the mouth of the James, and came
| here again.
Again he said: Hero is to DO grea'
| city. the terminus of a great railroad, a
.kpo!nt from which loaded ships VIII sc
10 every part G'thG world, and here will
! be bull, great ships TO rideathe waters
| and carry produce aud merchandise IL
the four quarters OF the globe Again
his hearers laughed and said Huntington
was a crank; he Was dteancr bn
/ Huntington dreamed on and he not oni!
dreamed, but he went to work. III
brought the Chesapeake and Ohio roa,
here: lie multi the mammoth elevators
he built the gigantic piers; he brought
the ships here; me built he snip
yard and The other great things tina
CDllis r, Huntington predicted. lie full
(, filled his own prophecy, and II he had re
mained young fifteen years longer or hat
4 not become so conservative IN his old age
ne would haze made Newport News q
much greater city by giving 1t some norf
lega 10 stand upon. One leg, even If j,
/ he n big ship-yard. is not enough to stand
upon always and stay strong
The Ship-Yard. =
The ship-Sard here was established IL
1856 being chartered ny the Legialatur,
under Inc name ~ Chesapeake Dry DOCK
land Construction Company. In 1880 tn
charter vas amended and enlarged anr
the name Of The establishment changed IL
Newport News shipbuildne and Dr,
ffs,,,, a. q