Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-01-19


RivaI-How She Is Taking the Lead
In Naval Construction.
The battleship Louisiana, which rep
resents the most advanced type Of the
fighting machine ever constructed, has
returned to her dock at the Newport
News shipyard after her speed trial
and is now receiving her armament and
being fitted cut for sea. says William
E. Curtis, the Chicago Record Herald's
Washington correspondent. In several
particulars the Louisiana exceeds all
other ships of all other nations, and
properly differed and manned she
ought to whip anything that floats. In
speed, armament and coal carrying ca
pacity, which are the three essentials
for man-of-war, she surpasses the
best and the latest and the strongest
battleships in the European navies.
She is $50 feet long, 1910 feet beam
and GAG feet draft, with displacement
of 10000 tons. Her speed on her trial
trip averaged 1873 knots per hour. She
can carry $500 tons of coal, which will
enable her to steam 1000 miles at
speed Of twelve knots, and her arma-
ment is four twelve-inch guns, eight
eight-inch guns and twelve seven-inch
guns. She will have forty officers
and a crew of $40 men.
The strongest ship in the British ma
Wy is the Edward VII. of the same ton
mage Q6.000, speed of 1876, or two
tenths of a knot less than the Louisi-
ana; a coal capacity of 1000 tons and
an armament of four twelve-ineh, four
nine-inch and ten si&-inch guns. The
strongest ship in the French navy is the
Republique, $4,000 tons, eighteen knots
speed, capacity for 1900 tons of coal
and an armament of four twelve-inch
and eighteen six and one-haff inch guns.
The best ship in the German navy is
the Elsass. 49, 200 tons, eighteen knots
speed, 1,600 tons coal capacity and an
armament of four eleven-inch and four
teen six and one-half inch guns.
The Louisiana will cost about So
100000 and is being built by contract
by company in Newport News which
was the lowest bidder. The Connect
cut, an exact duplicate, is being built
at the New York navy yard by the
government and by day labor There
is q good deal of rivalry between the
two. The New Hampshire and the
Kansas, also duplicates Of the Louisi-
ana. are now under construction at
Camden, n. j.; the Minnesota at New
port News and the Vermont at the
Fore River yard, Quincy, Mass. When
they are finished these six ships will
form the finest feet of fighting ma
chimes that were ever built in the world
and will be more formidable than any
thing that floats. The next best ships
in our navy are the Virginia, Rhode Is.
land, New Jersey, Nebraska and Geor-
gia, which are now approaching COM
pletion. They have q displacement of
$4,000 tons.
The Louisiana is expected to be ready
to go into commission in May and sew
eral of her officers have already been
selected. She will be commanded by
Captain A. II. Couden, who was APP
pointed to the Naval academy from
Utah and graduated in the class of 81.
The Japanese are taking the lead in
naval construction. They have adopted
broad and comprehensive programme
since the war. They expect to replace
their old feet with new and larger bat
tleShips and armored cruisers and pro-
pose to design and build their own
ships hereafter. They have recently
constructed new shipyard and gun
factory on the Sumida river, covering
eighty three acres, with twenty large
machine shops, foundries and gun fac
tories. in which 1000 men will be en-
ployed. Heretofore they have built
only about one-half of their warships.
The remainder have been constructed
in England and the United States or
have been purchased from foreign
countries, but hereafter they will build
their own ships and their own guns.
The Japanese naval programme is
in advance Of that of any
other nation. They now have under |
construction the following:
To be completed |
Aki, 1900 tons ............. 1908 |
Satsuma, 1900 tons ...... 1908 |
Kashima. 1900 tons 5000. 1907 |
Battleship katoria, 1900 tons ........ 1907 |
cruiser Tsukuba- 1900 tons. 1906 |
cruiser Ikoma, 1900 tons. -. 1906 |
Armored cruiser Kuroma, 1900 tons. 1906 |
cruiser Ibutki, 1900 tons. 1906 |
The largest battleships will have a |
speed Of eighteen knots and will be |
armed with eight twelve-inch and eight |
six-inch guns. The second class battle
ships will have speed of eighteen
knots and an armament of eight |
twelve-inch and eight six-inch guns
The four armored cruisers will have a
speed OF twenty-one knots and an ar
nament of four twelve-inch and ten
six-inch guns. Five destroyers of the
most advanced design have recently
been launched and will be ready for
before the end Of the year.
They are expected to make twenty-five
Knots.
Designs are about completed and ap-
,ropriations have already been made
or four enormous battleships Of %. 1000
ons, twenty knots speed and an arma-
nent of fourteen twelve-inch and eight
,ix-inch guns; also for four armored
.ruisers OF $1,000 tons, twenty-five
znots speed and four twelve-inch and