The Red Cloud chief., 1913-09-25

l6. The battleship Ohio. stl In tho Atlantic
feet. but slated to leave In the future never
to return.
II. The commerce destroyer Columbia 80 long
missing in the news OF the navy that u genera
tion has grown up that knows her not. and she
was OF the flying squadron OF 1898
Is. The commerce destroyer Minneapolis, q
speed record breaking cruiser OF the late ninetes.
a sister of the Columbia and. like her. OF the
flying squadron Of 1898.
10. The monitor Amphitrite.
20. The monitor Mantonomah.
21. The monitor MonadnOck.
22 The monitor Cheyenne. formerly the Wyo
ming
23 The monitor Ozark. formerly the Arkan
"a The monitor Tonopah. formerly the No
vada.
rs The monitor Tallahassee. formerly the
Florida.
&c. The minotor Puritan.
27. The monitor Terror.
2S. The monitor Monterey.
20. The protected cruiser st. Louis.
80. The protected cruiser Charleston
81. The protected cruiser Milwaukee,
32. The protected cruiser Newark
33. The protected cruiser Chicago
"a. The protected cruiser Cincinnati.
35. The protected cruiser Raleigh, Coghlan's
ship at Manila.
SO. Twenty.eight torpedo boats.
Twenty years ago this feet OF sixtythree ships
would have been a match for any naval organiza-
tion then afoat with the exception OF the feet OF
Great Britain. Today all the vessels In 1t could
not last half an hour In battle with the hve
dreadnaughts that constitute the great first divi
sion Of the United States Atlantic feet
And this mighty feet Of naval has beens' cost
the United States government more than $129..
600 900 and the Oldest among them, not including
the old monitors. is not yet twenty-five years old.
The battleships in It to build and equip cost the
government 6i,435.225. and the cruisers. mon
itors and torpedo craft raise the total TO the
$129, 900 ,000
What will become Of these ships? Some are
now in reserve and there they will stay until
their end Is decided upon. VIII that end be the
target range or the auction block and the Junk
pile. or will they be permitted to rust away In
navy yards nominally units In reserve fleets
but In reality useless reminders OF 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 can be no come back"
The Oregon and the Olympia will probably be
retained for generations to come glorious re.
minders to Americans OF future years Of the
navy that Immortality in the brief conflict
that wiped Spain OF the map OF the western
world and which added to American territory an
island empire in the far east and 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 II will be
noted that there is included the entire fourth
division Of the great feet that circumnavigated
the globe in 1907 and 1908. This division was
made up OF the Alabama. the flagship OF Sperry
when he began the voyage as a division com.
mander: the Kentucky. the Kearsarge and the
Illinois, In that fleet 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 frst.class battieships and look at the
makeup Of the organization shows that In a Pc
riod OF less than six years seven. or lacking one
OF exactly half OF those famous ships. have been
relegated into the reserve, the FIRST stepping
stone that leads TO Junk pile and oblivion.
LESS FOL LACE