Evening journal., 1906-10-26

much discussion was enGendered as to the
proprieties ot the matter that President
Mckinley did not even set foot upon the
bridge. but contented himself with gaz :
ing upon the peakns Of the Sierra Mndre /
from the American shore.
The ship that Will carry President |
Roosevelt aud his party 70 Panamn VIII |
he In every respect worthy Of such an /
honor and also qualified for 50 grave a
responsibility. The fortunate ship will !
be either the L. S. S. Louisiana or tho |
u. s. S. Connecticut The choice OF
which OF these twins will be employed |
rests with the President. and IN al prol'a
bility a definite selection VIII not he
made until shortly before the date OF
departure. However. there can he hnt
little choice between the Louisiana ana
Connecticut. Roth are hrsf-class battle
SLIPS, sister craft nnd exact duplicates 10.
every particular One was built IN a pri
vate shlpyard az Newport News. Va.
whereas the other Is the proauct OF the
United States Navy Yard az BROOKLYN.
n. Y. and the reading public will re-
member the spirited race IN the construr
tlon OF the bulls, n contest that was won
by the private shlpyard. but ly so small
n margin that there was scant glory iu
the victory.
The Louisiana and Connecticut are the
largest heaviest and most powerful nsht
ing ships In the Americnr navy and wiii
tho exception Of the new British battle.
ship Drpadnaneht are probably the most
fotmidube sen waifiofs anout. Zach sHip
IS 450 feet In length. u feet in breadth.
and has displacement ofrvelght of lG.mm
q -. q.
each Of the ships n speed NJ moris innn
90 miles per hour. and the coal .hunkcrs
have capacity OF more than 2.2in iaus.
or sufficient 60 permit of-.ihe-- tfi',-,o
Panama and hack az top sperd wlth.u
any repioHishment- 90 tbs fnrl -atl,is,
OF course. 70 Is next 70 Impossible ihai
any harm should threaten the person bf
the President ~ the United States ah hs
peaceful mission TO Panama. hut II The M.
expected should hnppen there Is no ship
In Uncle Sans neets better qualified io
protect those aboard than nsvcssr of he
Louisiana Connected class She hull is
sheathed In the heaviest armor-n psn
tective coating of steel that ln saIir
| places is dozen Inches Ia thickness atd
the armament consists OF four OF the hs
1 12inch guns and eight S-nch guns IN tdr
rets ana dozen Of tue@T-iAch hrrrrsh
loading rifles IN broadslde. to say nurh
| Ing OF The 81 quick -hring lsli,is. mostly 3
inch aud 3 poundcr Weapons that are
scattered over the hlg fighter lathe vnri
ous loc8lltles where they ,sin -'spruk"
most effectively.
In planning the interior nrra rgcinent pf
warships no provision is nade for visitors.
and President Roosevelt a8Fi als party
win occupy sinterooms provided Tor o8l.
GERS OF the ship. while the wcnters hf
gold braid win 'douhle up N the matter
OF sleeping accommodations for the time
being lnasmurh. however. MS his brand
Of battleshlp carries ~ officers Il ran iie
appreciated that the living quarters are
/ quite spacious Incidentally. Il NAV Ne
mentioned that the ships crew numbers
$40 enlisted men. Il contingent numerous
enough to keep everything in shlpshnpe
without toillng over hours.
For all that. the Navy Department Is
assigning FOR use as a presidential ,unvey
nnce one Of the newest finest hnd pre-
sumably one OF the safest OF our battle
ships; II is not proposed TO run any
chances In the matter. and accordingly.
the ship that carries the president and
] Mrs. Roosevelt In ease the first lady
Of the land carries out her present lnten-
tion 10 accompany her hushnnd-will he
accompanied b. another up-to-date naval
vessel. Thus In the event OF any iaishap
70 the vessel carrying the nntion's most
distinguished citizen. the esrort craft
would be rendy TO stand by aud render