Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1905-06-23
The Latest Addition. to Our Navy.

By the launching Of the Minnesota
the number Of American battleships
which have taken the water within the
last twelve months IS increased to eight.
Two classes Of vessels are here represent
ed. That to which the Minnesota, the
Louisiana and the Connecticut belong,
and to which the Kansas and the YER
mont win eventually be added, Is design
ed to displace about $1,000 tons and
develop a speed Of Is knots The Vir-
ginia and her four sisters, all now afoat,
but far from being finished. will have
a displacement Of $1,000 tons and attain
a speed Of 10 knots. The size and power
of an eleventh first class battleship. the
New Hampshire, authorized year or
two ago, have not, we believe, been fully
decided upon. but the Idaho and the
Mississippi. which have barely been
begun, will be smaller and slower than
any other vessel here referred to. The
two battleships whose construction was
provided for by the last Congress will
undoubtedly closely resemble the Con-
necticut, although they may be a trife
heavier. It should be added that all Of
the ships which have been launched
since April 1, 1904, will carry four L.
inch rifles and eight eight-inch guns,
but the next smaller pieces of the Con-
necticut viii have a calibre Of seven
inches, while those Of the Virginia will
be six inches. A dozen OF one size or the
other will be furnished to each ship Of
these classes, whereas the Idaho and the
Mississippi viii mount only eight seven
inch rifles.
The hve battleships Of the Virginia
class ought to be ready for service with
in a year OF fifteen months. Two or
three may be finished before the close
Of 1905 Competition between the build
ers Of the Louisiana and the Connecticut
will hasten the completion Of those two
vessels, and II would not be surprising
II they underwent their trials early in
/ 1906-perhaps before April /. The Min
nesota, which was launched last week,
| can hardly be turned over to the govern
ment much before January, 1907. But
/ when deliveries once begin they should
< follow one another with gratifying fire.
quency. Within the last year four fine
| armored cruisers Of the Colorado class
have gone into commission These and
three others which are in various stages
| OF advancement are almost equal to
battleships in fighting capacity. and viii
constitute an exceedingly valuable re-
source.
OF the 70 first class batleships now
carrying the Stars and Stripes four wers
built before the war with Spain and the
others since that conflict. When the
vessels now under construction are added
| to these the strength OF the United
| States navy viii begin to be what Il
should be. Viewed by itself, this fine
array will certainly be impressive. Com.
pared with the navies OF the leading
European nations, however, 1t win no
make so favorable a showing, and II Il
the power Of possible enemies which
must be kept in mind in all MARTA
preparation. Besides, it must be remem
bered that four or five years usual!
elapse between the authorization Of new
ships by Congress and their completion
by the contractor. That is a long tim,
to wait In an emergency.-[New Yorl
Tribune.