The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1906-07-28
|SPLENDIDSPECTACLE
ON PUGET SOUND
HON. JOHN FOX TELLS SOME INTER
EsTING FACTS ABOUT TRIAL
TRIP or THE BATTLEsHIP
NEBRASKA.

lteTestinR facts IN relation 10 the recent
trial trip Of the magnificent new wal
vessel Nebraska, In the Sound, OF Seattle
lon Monday. the 10Th Of the present
month, at which event he was the guest
lof his friends, the Messrs. Moran Broth.
ers Company the builders Of the ship
He promised bis statements with the in
formation, that the completion OF this
superb marine structure, closes the bust.
ness career Of that famous firm. The
Morans win retire absolutely from tha
ship-bnilding field. and all other lines,
land rest upon the fine records Of work
and successes they have achieved. They
will be succeeded by some great company
lfrom the East. in which the Camden, New
Jersey, ship.building interests are con-
cerned, and viii turn the immense plant
over. clock, stock and barrel" The four
brothers have acquired handsome compe-
Itencies each. and need not worry much
about anything during the balance Of the
years allotted to them respectively.
The event Of a fortnight ago, was, ac-
cording to Mr.. Fox, splendid spectacle,
and one he never expects to see duplicat-
ed. He was one or number of dis
tinguished guests. including Governor
Meade, U. 8. Senator Piles. and other
lprominent officials, and ex-ofIicials, of
the State OF Washington together with
the contracting principals, and the staff
Iof government officers detailed to take
notes Of the famous trial.
The ship was practically complete in
point Of armor and equipment, and was
drawing the required 20 feet. Every part
of her mechanism, allow and aloft, was
under the strictest surveillance Of some
especial officer charged with the duty of
taking accurate record Of that particular
feature of her working gear; and the
sum of these separate reports, made up
the total OF her achievement during the
trial miles.
The course was deliberately marked
out in the bay. with bearings on cer-
tain day-marks ashore, and the great
steamer was compelled to run this course
and turn, seven distinct times during
the day. She was put underway and
when the dsy-marks on shore were in
alignment, she was on the trial course
and the time was taken to the fraction
of second as she entered it, and from
that instant, every pound of steam she
employed; every revolution of her shaft;
every variation of her guages; every
turn of her wonderful machinery at
every bearing and connection, was noted
and recorded with jealous accuracy as
| it operated. and each mile trial was sum
married. by itself, and when the seven
runs had been made, at successively re-
duced rates of speed, the seven exact
eompendiums were used for abstracting
the average of the ship in all the i'm
portant details required by the govern
ment. She was handled in every con-
ceivable fashion to which a vessel csn
be subjected, under normal and abnor-
NAL conditions; maneuvered and turned
and twisted, under all sorts of speed,
to see how she behaved under stress and
without it, and in each and every detail
demanded she operated above the margin
of excellence set by the government.
She made clear record of 1851 miles
and during one of her runs made 20 fiat.
During this particular run, or rather at
the end of it, she was brought about
under full speed, and Mr.. Fox says in all
his life he never saw anything equal to
the beauty of that swift and and short
turn, in which she kept curving wall
of water outstanding and circling about
her throughout the entire circuit; it
was revelation to all on board, the
eveness and celerity of her wonderful
and unvarying obedience in making the
great are under all the power she pos
sessed, and viii never be forgotten by
any one who witnessed it,
When the trials were finished she was
an accepted ship. She was taken back
to the yard,docks and made fast, and
the Messrs, Moran were literally deluged
with congratulations upon the results,
which, as said before, exceeded official re
quirements at every point of speed,
power and capacity. Nothing was lack
ing in the making of what is considered
the finest war vessel, of her class, ahoat.
She is as perfect as human ingenuity
can make her, and is credit to the
whole coast, and to the company that
built her.
1t is, peculiarly, piece of good for
tune that the business life of this
great firm should close upon the superb