The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1913-10-20

Sans Navy May Become One, Thus
Forming Greatest Naval Unit In
World Twenty-Five Dreadnoushts
to File Through the Canal.
New York.-How many people in this
land realize that the days of the At
lantic fleet are numbered? The At
lantic feet. that great organization
which inspired Kipling to help i'm
mortalize Bob Evans, which brought
applause from an admiring world when
1t sailed out Of Hampton Roads and
steamed triumphantly back again at
the end of the first great naval cir
cumnavigation of the globe; which
thrilled millions of Americans when
majestically 1t passed In review before
the president Of the United States on
its way to sea last year; the fleet Of
which every American Is and Of right
ought to be proud. Yet the day OF its
passing is not far of.
But the going Is also the coming, for
simultaneously with the end Of the
world famed Atlantic feet there will
come into existence a still greater feet,
to be known as the United States feet;
a fleet that will pass at the will of the
naval chiefs from ocean to ocean and
which will be-as the Atlantic feet of
today is n~ot-equally important in the
defensive scheme Of both the Atlantic
and Pacific seaboards.
The Atlantic feet OF today is q
splendidly oficered and manned or
ganization of twenty-one super-Dread-
noughts, Dreadnoughts and first line
battleships. As a fighting unit 1t Is
certainly the equal and, in the opinion
of thousands who are In q position to
judge, the superior, ship to ship, Of any
feet that sails any sea under any flag.
1t Is a feet whose vessels total In dis
placement more than $780, 900 tons. ex-
elusive of auxiliaries. 1t numbers
among Its units the great super Dread
nought Arkansas, which less than a
fortnight ago made civilization take
notice when 1t was officially announced
that her gunners had smashed every
existing record made with guns Of the
twelve inch type.
The day when the Atlantic feet
passes g~loriously into history and the
United States fleet takes It's place In
the lineup of the worlds great naval
organizations will be the day when the
old Oregon, the famous ship Of 1898
that sailed around South America and
Joined Sampson In the nick of time to
win an undying name at Santiago, will
lead the American feet from the At
lantic to the Pacific via the Panama
canal. Behind the Oregon, which for
a day only will be a flagship, will trail
In a majestic line the feet that is dy-
ing and the feet that Is being born.
The feet will include twelve Dread
noughts and superb readnoughts and
as many nor battleships Of the first
line. The displacement Of the feet will
approximate half a million tons.
The fleets thousand guns of all types
il fired simultaneously would burn up
in smokeless powder more than $50
900, the projectiles would weigh ap-
proximately $4,000 pounds, and the
total firing cost would be slightly In
excess Of $145,OOO.
In order properly to appreciate the
magnitude Of the United States feet
that is to be 1t may not be out place to
say a word or two Of the Atlantic feet
Of yesterday and today, the splendid
feet which sailed around the globe I'm.
der Evans. Thomas and Sperry, a trio
Of great feet commanders, all now
dead. When Theodore Roosevelt as
president Of the United States babe
the feet under Evans godspeed as II
steamed past the Virginia capes that
December day in 1907 there was not
an American worthy the name who did
not feel a heart throb Of pride as he
saw or pictured that magnificent line
Of vessels which the flagship Connect.
cut led out to sea. from her foremost
luttering the two starred blue peInant
Of Fighting Bob" Evans. who was
tuCh uCSiuillnS, 10 GSCutS pkVNCu, uhs
last voyage as commander In chief OF
the Atlantic feet.
The United States feet Is to be the
first under the American flag In which
two entire divisions will be made uI
Of vessels Of the all big gun type
That feet, when 1t ofiicially comes into
existence, will probably comprise TWEEN
ty-five fighting ships In addition to q
great fleet Of naval auxiliaries and
iotillas Of torpedo boat destroyers
and submarines. The New York will
be the flagship. and therefore 1t is not
out of place to tell briefly just what
kind Of a ship this namesake Of the
Empire State is to be. She will carry
in her main battery ten guns Of the
newly perfected fourteen inch type
each SO mounted that all can be used
In a single broadside to either port OF
starbs> Il. Each Of these guns will
fire a p~rojectile weighing 1,4OO pounds,
meaning a broadside OF $4,000 pounds
to fire which will cost the United
States government $1.77O each time
Such a broadside will mean the ex.
plosion Of 3.7O0 pounds of smokeless
powder. This powder wholesale costs
B cents a pound, meaning $l,000 pea
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