The San Francisco call., 1904-02-01
,IAPAN'S RAPID
WORK IN NAVAL
CONSTRUCTION

Japan is doing some rapid work IN
shipbuiIding. A cruiser named Ottawa,
was begun at the. Yokosuko dockyarda
January 6, 1903, and launched -Ioyem-
Lr and Is to be ready for service
during the present year. The Ottawa is
OF 5000 tons, 10000 horsepower, q knots
speed and $40 feet length, Al feet )
inches breadth and 16 feet 5 inches
draught The armament consists OF
two g. -fnoh, six 4.7-inch, four 12-pound-
ers and two machine guns: The rapid
ity with which this vessel has been
built exceeds that of the builders n
Great Britain, who have four scouts OF
2s1O to 29OO tons contracted for over
a year ago and meme Of them are
launched.
horsepower and 90 knots speed are
building at Yokosuko and. Kure dock
yards. They are named Niitaka and
Tsushima and carry batteries of six g.
inch. ten 12-pounders and four pa
poUnders. The Niitaka was Launched
last November at YOkosuto and enorts
are made to have both vessels cOmplet-s
ed at an early date. At the two yards
named there are also under construc-
tion one gunboat of $50 tons, four 32O-
torpedo boats OF 100 to $50 tons and
2S knots speed Most of the material
used in the construction OF these yeso
sells il OF British manufacture, but the
completion of the steel railing plank
and armor factory near kOre VIII
make Japan independent OF foreign
material and with the experience
gained in the construction OF smaller
craft will not alone be competent TO
bufid battleshios and torpedo crafts
for it's own use0but may become fora
1nidable competitor for navy and mer-
camille work for foreign countries.
The Russian Black Sea fleet is of
little value. 1t consists of eight battle
ships ranging from S016 tons to 1880
tons, and built between 1886 and 1907.
ONLY two. the Tria SYiatelia land
Kniaz Potemkiu TaSritcheslxy. are OF
modern Construction; the older ships
are in various stages of decrepitude
OF slow speed. insufficient protection
and. obsolete armament. Two armor.
ed cruisers are under construction
and seven cruisers built in o1SS0-S7 are
only fit for inland water service. In
addition there are three old gtnboatsS
six destroyers under construction and
.thirty-tWo torpedo boats, most OF
which are less than so tons, THE liber-
alton of the Russian Black Sea 6eet
would be of littleo benefit as an Rddi-
ton TO the Russian fleet in the Far
East. assthe available contingent Sim
mers down from 0fiftysnine. vessels to
two battleships, oand there is some
doubt about the latters' agility. as the
dockyard administration in. the Black
Sea has .been notdfiOSlS for its cOrrUp-
tion and insufficiency.
USELESS NAVAL STATION. .
over one and a half million dollars
were wastedo in the selection of Port
Royal as a naval station, where's after
building a dock and erecting a number
of shops and officers residences it was
found that ships could not be. docked.
The station has been abandoned in SO
far rs regards its original purpose,
blit 4 still required five officers and an
expenditure of S142,797 .last year to
maintain the: :mud naval station. The
Site was selected in 1882 by a board
of naval office6s. Two years ago a
Floating OsteeI dock owas located in . the
Mississippi at Algiers, near NeW Or
leans this site having been selected
upon the recommendation of a board
Of line officers of the navy. The dock
was buiE& at cost of $S50,000, and the
batSleship Illinois was successfully
docked in January, 1902. Since then no
other vessel has obeeR raised on that
dock and 4t is apparent that Algiers
is but a repetition of the Port Royal
blunder. " The dock cannot be utilized
owing 90 the filing up with .Tnud and
driftwood of the basin in which the
dock lies Four naval officers drawing
$40. .797 were attached to0 this station
last year and itso total cost oof main
tenance was $133, ,239.
Chief Constructor w. L. Capps was
before the House, Naval Committee 2
few days ago and made this statement
Il think it's desirable not to under
take additional construction of large
vessels in the navy yards just at preS@
ent. Ny reason for this is thaa it is
desira bic to fit out our principal yards
more completely than theyo are at the
present time before undertaking addi-
tionaI shiphuildirfg on a large scale.
= With the exception of the two
principal yards on the Atlantic Coast
and one ca the Pacific Coast, all of our
navy yards are in a somewhat transi-
tory state" 1t would be interesting
and instructive to Learn how much
more money iss required to fit the three
navy yards referred to in order to
undertake shipbuilding on a larger
scale. The Maine and Cincinnati were
built at she New York navy yard and
the Texas and Raleigh at the Norfolk
navy yard, during the years 1SSS-1S92
The time elapsed between laying of the
keel and launching was I62 deoTS for the
Maine 1fi44 days for the Cincinnati, 1121
days for the Texas and S53 days for the
Raleigh. At that time the yards were
not at all prepared to Undertake ship
building. and the work and expense If
installing modern machine tools and
other labor-saYing appliances went on
simultaneously with the construction
of the ships. The disadvantages were
further increased through lack o.
skilled mechanics. Nevertheless, the
time compares favorably with that Of
battleshios built in private yards, the
corresponding period in days being:
For the Indiana, 663: Massachusetts,
715: Oregon, 707, and Iowa. 966. These
ships Tere built in 1S90-92 at yards well
equipped with modern tools and gangs
OF skilled workmeno
OUR NAVY YARDS PLANTS.
Since then the New York, Norfolk
and Mare Island navy yards have re-
ceived yearly additions to their ma
chinery plants, and obsolete tools have
been thrown on the scrap-iron pile. Ac-
cording to the latest report of the pay
master general, the value of the ma