Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1913-10-02

16. The battleship Ohio still in the Atlantic
feet, but slated to leave in the near future never
to return
IT. The commerce destroyer Columbia, so long
missing in the news of the navy that genera
tion has grown up that knows her not and she
was of the flying squadron of 1898.
49, The commerce destroyer Minneapolis.
speed record breaking cruiser OF the late ninetes.
a sister of the Columbia and, like her. Of the
flying squadron of 1893
49, The monitor Amphitrite.
90 The monitor Miantonomah
81. The monitor Monadnock.
g. The monitor Cheyenne formerly the Wyo.
ming.
49, The monitor Ozark, formerly the Arkan.
sas. 4
"a. The monitor Tonopah, formerly the Ne.
vada
20. The monitor Tallahassee. formerly the
Florida
26. The minotor Puritan.
81 The monitor Terror,
49, The monitor Monterey.
29. The protected cruiser st. Louis.
3d. The protected cruiser Charleston
81 The protected cruiser Milwaukee.
49, The protected cruiser Newark.
49, The protected cruiser Chicago.
a. The protected cruiser Cincinnati.
35. The protected cruiser Raleigh, Coghlan's
ship at Manila
&c. Twenty-eght torpedo boats.
Twenty years ago this feet Of sixty-three ships
would have been match for any naval organza-
ton then ahoat with the exception OF the fleet Of
Great Britain. Today all the vessels in 1t could
not last half an hour in a battle with the five
dreadnaughts that constitute the great first divf
sion Of the United States Atlantic feet
And this mighty feet of naval has.beens" cost
the United States government more than $129,-
100000 and the Oldest among them, not including
- IL a..n. <.lA
The battleships In 1t to build and equip cost the
government se4435,225, and the cruisers, mon
itors and torpedo craft raise the total to the
s129,OOO0 900.
What will become of these ships? Some are
now in reserve and there they will stay until
their end is decided upon Will chat end be the
target range the auction block and the junk
pile, or will they be permitted to rust away in
navy yards nominally as units in reserve fleets
but in reality as useless reminders OF a navy
that in its day was great but which, owing to
marvellous progress in naval construction. has
reached quickly but surely that state OF obsolete
ness from which there be no Comeback"
The Oregon and the Olympia will probably be
retained for generations 10 come as glorious re-
minders to Americans of future years OF the
navy that won Immortality in the brief conflict
that wiped Spain off the map Of the western
world and which added to American territory an
island empire in the far east and won for this
country for the first time full free recognition
by all the nations OF the world OF the right to be
numbered among those powers whose mission
and influence is world wide"
In the lineup Of the has been" feet 1t will be
noted that there is included the entire fourth
division OF the great feet that circumnaylgated
the globe in 1907 and 1908 This division was
made up OF the Alabama, the flagship Of Sperry
when he began the voyage as division com
mander: the Kentucky, the Kearsarge and the
Illinois, In that feet three OF the vessels OF the
third division are now also listed among the
obsolete fighters the ships in question being the
Ohio, the Missouri and the Maine all sister ships
and in their day held up to the world as en-
bodying all that was best in the construction and
equipment OF modern men-of-war Of the battle
ship class.
The Atlantic feet when II sailed out Of Hamp-
ton Roads in December 1907. was made up Of
sixteen hrst-class battleshps, and a look at the
makeup Of the organization shows that in pc
Rod OF less than six years seven, or lacking one
Of exactly half of those famous ships, have been
relocated into the reserve. the first stepping
stone that leads to junk pile and oblivion.
LESS FOLIAGE.
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