The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-05-27

THE ELEET ~ ACTION
I.-BattIesnips aud Destroyers

8 TIE FLEET
81 L-Battlesnips !.
Is BY Frederl
sa1eaapzs1Bssassooers1scs $3.50
| The American hghtms feet IS this
tweek OF the coast OF New England,
playing the war game. The greater
part of the manouyers OF this year.
are grouped around the assumDtioni
that the United States Is being artack-l
led by foreign force seeking TO land
an army The feet is going through
its PAGES in Just the way It would
proceed in case of the great emersen--..
cy
And just WIZ: are these fghtinsl
units upon which the fake OF q ma,
ton would rest in case of war; Ihei
other day they fled out past the Gods
dess of Liberty in review beneath the |
eye of the President. A stmphhed
navy is that of the United Sta1es.i
made up almost entirely OF Two class
les of ships-Jhe battleship and thet
destroyer There are great batuet
cruisers in the nayies OF other ma
tons. bur American cruisers are un-I
IN portant and employed chiefly Tor
patrol dutS IN the Caribbean and
the Orient. The destroyer assumes
tne duty OF cruiser in the fighting
fleet 5IsI as IT serves the purpose OF
q Sdnboat when vessel OF light draft
lis needed for river work. So incl
American navy at work on the war
game this week. has few ships other
:han battleships and destroyers.
Eighteen battlesnips and probably
twice as many destroyers are Dar1c-l
>r.,Y, he
force put to sea from the harbor OF
New York, each great ship, with It's
nose In the track Of the vessel pre-
ceding it, and with the screen of del
stroyers thrown out in advance and TO
right and left a mighty force was set
in motion. Aboard each battIesh1p
were Gee officers and men, or
total oe 5000 people. The destroy
ers: carried 100 men each, which add
cd another $500. SO the populationl
of the feet that was putting 10 sea
te.ame equal to that of Phoenix.
Ariz.. and Cheyenne, Wyo., combined.
though each of these cities is the
capital and metropolis OF a state.
There were more able bodied men
aboard these ships than would be
found in a city like Albany or Dallas
or spokane
zach of these battIsships. weighed.
on the average, 10000 tons and the
destroyers 1909 tons So here was
total of 100000 tons Of steel-such
a load as would require freight
train Eve miles long to haul This
vast force. rushing to sea at speed
of twenty Knots an hour. had cost the
nation more than S200,000,0O0 to
build. Since the world began such
an amount of money has NOT been
spent in creating thing that moves,
except by Great BrNain IN building
another lighting feet that IS bigger
than this. Since time began no sucn
titan force has ever been set IN mo-
tion except when great fleets have put
to sea-
These battleships of the active feet.
tell a remarka BILE tale OF the deve~-
fopment in these 1oating fortresses-
None of them is more than twenty
years old for battleshIp is con-
sidered as having served It's purpose
and become useless in that time Yet
! the older ships of the feet, such as
F, the Rhode Island, the New jersey ana
the Nebraska, were born IN tina era
prior TO 1906. when the dreadnougn1
came into being and set new stand
ard in fighting ships. These vessels
are of but $4,000 tons weights. Inen
appears the Delaware. that ship of a
| of the dreadnoughts. 1t was com
pleted in 1910 and weighed 10000
tons. being the marvel of her time
| Yet she is small ship when COM.
pared with those new ships OF the
navy. the New York or the Texas,
each OF which weighs $1,000 tons
Its position is that which would be
| occupied by man of six feet sta
iture upon the appearance of rival
/ eight feet .all Yet these latter
giants are not to hold their place-for
long. for the Pennsylvania and the
Arizona are progressing toward COM
pletion and these are to weigh $1,000
tons and their arrival viii be com
i parable with the heights of nine
foot man. So has she size of the bat
tIeship doubled in a decade
The Delaware may be considered
an average ship of the present navy.
1t having been the second dread
tnought Of the ten that are now IN
commission. The Delaware draws
{ twentr-seven feet of water, and IS 80
feet long. It's net work masts reacn
lie. fet above the water and the pig
guns may shoot through them Without
seriously damaging them Each OF
the ships anchors weighs Il .00O
pounds and every link in the chain
thar holes them weighs 100 pounds,
The arInor on her sides is II inches
thick. The pay roll of the ship Is
S31, 900 3 l:ionth. and it costs IS a
month TO ICED each man in the crew
CHts..r RS are required to maintain
:the.r OWE mess The 12-inch guns
are mounted two in turret- and 2.
! tUrret. weighing 700 tons. may be
/ turned about by the pressure of a