The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1910-05-06
CHRISTENING
TLESHIP
distinguished Asse mbIage Will
Witness Launching of Florida
FINEST NAVAL VESSEL
pssses TO The launching May 18th May
no Secured by Those Who Will be
in New York at the Time.

The following interesting data rela-
,;ys to the launching of the monster
battlcship Florida AT the Brooklyn. N.
r. navy yard on Thursday. May 18th,
il - taken from profusely illustrated
story of the event which appeared in
the magazine section of last Sundays
New York Times: ;, :.
.srhe new battleship Florida, which
Is being built by the government at
the Brooklyn navy yard at cost OF
S0OO 600. will he the heaviest warship
hat has ever been launched in the
limited States. By May 18th, the date
GOT for the ceremony, the Florida will
be 65 per cent. completed and VIII
weigh 5000 tons, which is l,O0O tons
heavier than her sister ship, the Utah,
when she was launched on December
2Sd. 1909, at Camden, N. }.
preparations are being made at the
ward for the accommodation OF the
y,asts, among whom will he President
Taft Secretary of Navy George Won
/ Never. Assistant Secretary Beck
man Winthrop, Albert w. Gilchrist.
governor of Florida, with his staff;
Admiral George Dewey. Rear Admirals
Evans, Sperry, Schroeder, Wainwright,
Potter and Lautz the last named belng
the commandant of the navy yard.
The battleship fleet will arrive at the
navy ward on May |, and the bands
from the ships with 5000 bluejackets
and marines with all the senior officers
will take part in the ceremonies. A
large stand to accommodate 500 guests
Of the government near the how OF the
Florida is being erected, and small
stand higher up for the President, the
sponsor, Miss Elizabeth Fleming, OF
Jacl sonville, Fla, and twenty OF the
more distinguished guests. r
The actual time of the launching OF
the Florida will be between lO:45 ana
II O'clock. The checks which hold the
huge battleshp on the stocks VIII be
carefully removed during the morning
SO that when Constructor Baxter gives
the word of command, Saw off. the
shipwright will ply their tools for a
brief moment and the warship, It Is
hoped, will glide gracefully down the
thiekly creased ways into the water, as
Miss Fleming breaks bottle of cham
payne over the nose of the ram eXcia'm-
ing, 81 named thee Florida. -,
The navy yard and all the. ships VIII
be decorated with hunting, for the aus
picious occasion, and it is expected that
fuk 25.OOO spectators will be present.
The guests from Florida -iavitec TO
the launching. including the governor
and his staff will travel by special
train from Jacksonville and arrive IN
New York on the eve before the cere'
mony. Governor Hughes with his
staff and the United States Senators
and Representatives from New YORK
have also been invited to be present.
The launehne of big battesh!p IS
an,imporlant event in itself, but TINS
ceremony will br more notable because
the Navy Department will nave dc,
monstrated tha, it is fully equipped
and competen, enough to construct
battleships, no natter what the slze
may be. in its -djpyards without ASSIST
ance from prya,r concerns. ,, A.,
With the exc lljon of the Utan t.e
Florida will be me largest battlesmt
aAoat in the world when she is com,
pleted at the crl Of July, 1911, unu
the event of Ii, Arkansas and Wyo'
ming. 200
The dimensiar Of the Florida are ON
feet on the Loaf water line of 53l feet
inches over Il SS feet, 6inches ne an
with Is feet, q inches draught. nel
displacement wal be 2l1 ,835 tons. VIII
2S.OOO indicate horsepower, which Is
.,,.I A.. IL, ,Lo Florida through
the water at an average speed OF No.o
knots. She viii have bunker capacit!
for2, 500 tons OF coal, with tanks 1or 4V
tons Of oil fuel :,
Her main armament will consist OF
| ten twelve.inch breech loading gun
mounted on five turrets on the centra
| line of the shin, two forward. one amid
ships and two aft. -,
Constructor Baxter and the nava
officials at the brooklyn navy yarn
who have been connected with the con
structon of the Florida, are ]uDila'l
over the rapidity with which the Da.s,s
| ship has been built. The heads OF p'
vatc shipyards in the East have away
claimed that they could build a snip ;
much quicker than a government var
. could carry out the work. In the cas-
Of the Florida it has Deen deinonstra'
ed that the government can cons'rus
wsrships as rapidly as any private COZ o.
Germ, and also come well WITHIN the %
timated cost. The Utah was launcn :,
at Camden, N j., on Decemoe. {
with so per cent. completed. wnile ~
Florida will be launched on May l1''
with 68 per cent. of work compie;.eu'
The people of Brooklyn are taking ,
keen interest in the progress n'a 9'l' ),
the battleship and worry the on's'a's
the navy yard daily with questions