The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1910-11-25
SILVER SERVICE
F0R"FLORIDA"
Governor viii Ask Legislature to
Appropriate Hall of Fund
OUR BIG BATTLESHIP
Will Soon be in Commission Work is
Being Pushed by Officers of Goyerr-
ment Ship Building Yards

Reports from the Brooklyn Navy
Yard shows that the battleship Florida
will be completed by May Is or sooner.
The contract calls for the completion of
the super-dreadnaught on July "a, but
work has been rushed and the big fight
er will be commissioned about two
months before the schedule time.
Governor Gilchrist has appointed
committee in this State to raise money
with which TO buy silver service for
the ship, which will be presented to her
when she comes to this State on her
first voyage.
Governor Gilchrist appointed COM
mittee, of which w. A. Bours IL chair
man, to look after the work of raising
the money, and this committee has been
looking after the matter for some time.
Subscriptions have been secured which
will assure service representative OF
the great State Of Florida.
At the last session of the Legislature
Governor Gilchrist had bill introduced
appropriating the sum of So, 900 to be
used for this purpose. but it was not
passed. In writing to the chairman of
the committee few days ago, the Gov
ernor said that he would take pleasure
in making an effort to have the Leglsia-
ture, which meets in April, next, APP
propriate the sum of $1,000 for the sill
yer service.
1t is the intention of the committee
to raise the sum of $40, 00O for the SER
vice, as it is desired to present some
thing to be big fighting ship which will
be 10 Keeping with the greatness OF
Uncle Sans best sea dog and with the
State of Florida.
Secretary H. H. Richardson, of the
Jacksonville Board Of Trade, who is also
secretary of the silver service commit
tee, said when seen by newspaper re-
porter: II have no fear but that we
|. will raise sufficient funds for the SER
vice. Such things are usually done at
the last moment and I suppose we will
get most of the money at the close or
the campaign. But we will get it, you
can rest assured
The following dispatch from Brooklyn
gives clear idea of the progress thac
has been made in the construction OF
the ship.
1.-THE. Florida, the largest battlesaip
ever constructed at the local navy yard,
is fast nearing completion. 1t is ex-
pected that she will be ready for use
NAV Is, if not sooner. The contract
| calls for her completion by that time,
and the officers in charge of the con
struction expect no delays even thong J
! the winter may be severe one az |
handicap to some extent the work on
the giant ship. The contract calls fo'
the completion of a battleship thirtJ-
two months after the work has begun,
or at the rate of 3 l-S per cent every
month. Thus far even higher rate
has been maintained in the work on tho
! Florida, so that there is now more thai
so per cent completed The entire hui
has been put on. and has recently been
painted slate color, in conformity
with the other war ships now III com
mission. The lower deck is practically
! finished and it now will be an cas-
matter for the workmen to comp!et
the work in the lower part of the yes
sci notwthsto nding any bad Weathe
which has under other circumstance
hindered their work. After the wor'-
below decks has been finished the work
above will be resumed, so that whe;
the steam engineering work which IL
now going On is completed, the vessel
will be ready to leave the yard.
The displacement of the F|oridG,
when ready for service, will be2l So
ton. She will be greater in toanagc
than any ship building in Germany 20
Japan. but France, Eng land, Russia
i Argentina and Brazil have bigger opc'
under way. Brazil's battleship Rio DO
Jauero, now being constructed III Eng
land, is the greatest man-ot-war eves
laid down. 1t will displace 81 900 tons.