The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1907-09-13

dehiIns ships Of the dist cass. The
rest Of The tonnage Is IN shlp' Of ~.
iefior sighting power aliboush very
necessary to tts creation q gmmef-
real feet
The lsoooetons 81 shlps under con.
ttuetlon Il aiicf TIE ane or ~
ltieshtps noneso ot han
$500 IONS dfspIa cetnen andloaly two
Ilof that comparatively snall Size N
l9he list are four armored cruisers and
seven battleships
When they are completed the navy
win have 30 battieships OF the first
class. The Texas, the Oldest battle.
ship in the navy, is practically out by
service now. It would be only in ez-
|tTemity that she would be sent out 70
undertake any fighting. She is 20
years old and Is only half the tonnage
Of the smallest battleships now on the
stocks.
Comparison between the Texas and
the new New York shows HON great a
stride has been made in the mere mat
IT of size during the score otyears in
which battleship plans have been OF in
terest to American constructors. Her
tonnage is G,3l5. The New York's
tonnage viii be more than 10000 and
probably more than 21,OOO. She Is now
in the class with the monitors begun
after the Civil war and completed just
before the beginning of the Spanish
war-a period during which the navy
became the Joke Of the whole world.
She is SO1 feet over all, while the new
ships will be about 500 feet long, their
length equaling that Of the armored
cruisers, which, having been built for
fast cruising, have much greater
length than battleshfps of equal ton
mage.
During the Spanish war the Iowa
was the heaviest thing the American
navy had. Her displacement is L, 86l
ions and she was regarded as a whale
among battleshlps. Now no first rate
power thinks Of building anything so
small as she IS. Naval constructors
are rather ashamed of the fact tina.
two 1900 ton ships will be added to
the navy some time next year, when
the Idaho and Mississippi are added
to the feet.
The constructors are not to be blam-
ed for that. Senator Hale, Of Maine, is !
not believer in large ships and three
or four years ago, when the naval an-
propriation bill was being framed, he
compelled the limit Of their tonnage
to be fixed. Since then he, having
noted the fact that foreign construc-
tors disagree with him, has not had
the heart to insist upon the construc-
ton of any more ships.
The Massachusetts and oregon have
a displacement of 1925 tons and some
day soon they will be called second
class battleships because of their
small size. When the 10000 ton ships
are in commission everything under
$4,000 tons is likely to be called sec
ond class. Such a classification
would send back the Alabama, I'LL
noIs, Indiana, Iowa, Kearsarge, Ken
lucky, Maine, Massachusetts,, Ohio,
Oregon anud Wisconsin, or just about
half the number Of battleships carried
in the navy register today as first rate
ships.
The Brooklyn ana New York, flag
ships of schley and Sampson, al
though for years called armored crul.
sers, are now put down into the simple
cruiser class, but the Brooklyn is pu:
at the head of the class. The olym-
pia, Dewey's flagship, is sixth in the
list of second class cruisers. In Spas
lsh war times she was rated first class.
Under the classification made a few
years ago, when the large armOred
cruisers were designated as first class
cruisers, the Olympia was in the list
of fourth class cruisers.