Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 1913)
1 I ' THE NORTH PLATTE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. OUR OBSOLETE FLEET THAT !' Y,irSc'vITfc jr n tt 755? wVa-wsr VSISP ft' ' j '7n w Uy; ',,,.n1M11l,,,))tntf,,M r 4--r J.- ill v ' 21 ll- J 'TSiBJkSffiS&yB 24-''tiiiife-lSi'ifiiw vnda- . 1 $vmu222sXHiMs&8wf Hhi '- 25. i The Iowa -J&an Jtip in CLbatt (hmfai$n IFT13I3N years ago Goorgo Dewoy Btood on tho bridge of tho famous Olympia and won tho battlo of Manila bay, William T. Sampson from tho brldgo of tho armorod crulsor Now York directed tho operations beforo Santiago, and the ponnant of Wlnfleld Scott Schley fluttered from tho mast head of tho boaiKlful throo-fun-noled armored cruiser nrooklyn. Tho world ncclalmod tho com manders of tho squadrons of which thoso vessolB woro tho flag Hhlps, whllo all Amorlca Joined In one grand hur rah for a navy that was admittedly one of the best on tho soven Beau. Tho American navy Is still among tho best, but tho ships that woro fought by Dowoy and by Sampson nnd by Sahloy are no longer flgurod In tho llno-up that makes the great fleot undor com mand of Hoar Admiral Iladgcr ono of tho most jioworful fighting organizations tho world has c'or oeon ICvory ono of tho fumoiiB ships of 1898 Is today officially admitted to bo obsoloto, and all of thorn put togothor would not bo ns poworful as Is tho filunt Buperdroadnaught Wyoming, or tho Arkan sas, or tho Florida, or tho Utah, any ono of which would bo a match for all tho ships that fought undor Dowoy and Sampson combined. If such a tost should bo mado. Just u yonr ngo tho than Bocrotary of tl-o navy, (loorgo von L. Moyor, publicly called attention to tho fact that tho Amor lean navy had more than Jts full quota of battleships whoso day In tho flrat lino had passed and tho places of which would havo to bo taken by moro modern ships of tho Wyoming nnd Florida classes If tho United Stntos was to retain its position as the world's Hecond nnvnl powor. Tho other day tho observa tion of tho ox-naval secretary waB recalled by n naval officer In Now York, who took pencil and pad and, going bnck fifteen und twenty and twonty-flvo yoars, flgurod out just what the obso loto ships now adorning thu naval lists originally cost tho Unltod Statos government. It was bo ridiculously easy, tho computation of that total valuo of famous ships that aro ready to dlo a naval doath of old ago. Tho result was astounding, and when at last tho navy man wlpod his brow and announced tho result of that little i 'ithomatlcal feat of his ho had proved that tho i' "o of thoso ships, some of thorn still loss than a lozon yoars old, roached tho stupendous total Df moro than $100,000,000, or, to bo oxact, $120,032,814. Of this $130,000,000 fleet that was, It Is Inter fluting, and In a way sad, to note that It Includes tho Saratoga, tho namo given Sampson's old flag ship Now York whon lior namo waB taken so that it could bo given to tho mighty superdrend naught Now York, now nonrlng completion In tho navy yard in Hrooklyn; Schloy's flagship, the Urooklyn; tho Olympln, from tho brldgo of which Towoy uttorod his famous order to Captuln (Irld loy, "You may flro whon rendy, Orldloy:" tho Iowa, that was "Hob" Evans' ship In 1898; tho Indiana, and tho Massachusetts, sister ships, which won famo nnd glory beforo Santlngo, and tho Oregon, which won tho plaudits of an admir ing world by her great run around tho Horn, and which in her old ngo will probably bo given the honor of being tho first American war vessel to pans through tho Pnmunii canal In April of next yoar. Thon, of courao, thoro was tho old Texas, tho ship that was commanded by tho beloved Captain Philip, tho vessel from tho dock of which ho ijnrod his prayer of thanksgiving to Clod whon Santiago's battlo waB ended and tho Spanish 7?iq Pfonferey, ships had mot tholr doom tho same ship from which Philip ordorcd his men not to cheer when tho Vlzcaya, tho Cristobal Colon, tho Maria Ther esa, tho flower of Cervera's squadron, woro burn ing and sinking down Into tho grave to which the ' deadly shots of Sampson's gunners had consigned thorn. Hut tho old Texas, which, llko the Now York, was ronamed so that tho namo of the Lone Stnr stnto might adorn that of the now Now York's sister, hns long Blnco mot her fate. Hlppod, riddled and torn by tho shells of the newer nnd moro modorn Bhips, to provo tho marksmanship of whoso men tho Texas was de stroyed, tho hulk of that old ship a slstor of tho Maino thnt wont down In Havana harbor, nnd which going down hastened tho conflict with Spain Btlll half HoatB in Chosapoako bay, Just enough of hor loft to provldo another marksman ship test for somo mighty dreadnnught of the Hoot undor Admiral Badger. As wont tho old Toxns, so will go somo of tho othor ships of tho fleet that Is obsolete. Already tho Indlnnn Is mentioned as tho next martyr ship for tho Atlantic fleot, nnd aftor her tho Massa chusetts, nnd thon the Iowa, nnd perhaps within . a year or two tho Kearaargo and tho Kontucky, tho Alabnma, tho Illinois, nnd tho Wisconsin, all of them boyond all question or doubt now of tho obsoloto typo of fighting craft. nut let's call tho roll of tho obsoloto fleot. nnd tho flagships shall lead off JiiBt ns thoy did at Manila nnd at Santlngo: 1. Tho crulsor Olympln, flagship of Dowoy nt Manila, 2. Tho armored crulBor Saratoga, flagship of Sampson nt Santiago. 3. Tho nrmored crulsor Hrooklyn, flngshlp of Schloy nt Santiago. . Tho bnttleshlp Oregon, Clnrk's immortnl uround-the-Horu ship. G. Tho bnttleshlp Iowa. "Fighting Hob" Evans' last commnnd ns a captain. 0. Tho battleship Toxas, already gone, "Jack" Thlllp's old Bhlp 7. Tho battleship Massachusetts, anothor fa mous Santlngo memory. 8. Tho bnttloshlp Indiana, sister ship of tho Orogon nnd Massachusetts, and, llko them, ono of Santiago's famous cont,ondors. 9. Tho battleship Kenrsarge, llrst of superim posed turret ships 10. Tho bnttloshlp Kentucky, slstor ship of the Konrsnrgo. 11. Tho battleship Illinois, ono of the around-tho-world voyngo ships. 12. Tho battleship Alabniuu, nleo of tho fleot that wont around tho world undor Evnns nnd Thomas and Sperry. 13. Tho battleship Wisconsin, with tho Ala bamn and Illinois tho only battleships of tho nnvy wIiobo twin funnolB nro arranged In pnrallol fnsh Ion, ono to the port nnd the other to tho star board. II. Tho battlcBhlp Malno, built In memory of tho martyr ship of 189S, and yet n ship that Is already obsoloto and has been missing from the Atlantic lleot for Bovcrnl years. 1(. Tho bnttloshlp Missouri, another around-tho-world voyager. . 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 10. The battleship Ohio, still in tho Atlantic fleot, but Blated to leavo In tho near future never to return. 17. Tho commorco destroyer Columbia, so long missing in tho news of tho navy that a genera tion has grown up that knows hor not, and sho was of tho flying squadron of 1898. 18. Tho commorce destroyer Minneapolis, a speed record breaking cruiser of tho iate nineties, n sister of the Columbia and, like her, of tho flying squadron of 1898. 19. Tho monitor Amphltrlto. Tho monitor Mlantonomah. Tho monitor Monadnock. Tho monitor Cheyenne, formerly the Wyo- Tho monitor Ozark, formerly tho Arkan- Tho monitor Tonopah, formerly tho No- Tho monitor Tallahassee, formerly the Florida. 2G. The mlnotor Puritan. The monitor Terror. Tho monitor Monterey. Tho protected crulsor St. Louis. Tho protected cruUor Charleston. Tho protected crulsor Milwaukee. Tho protected cruiser Newark. Tho protected cruiser Chicago. Tho protected cruiser Cincinnati. The protected crulsor Raleigh, Coghlan'e ship at Manila. 3G. Twenty-eight torpedo boats. Twenty years ago UiIb fleot of Bixty-thrce ships would havo been a match for any naval organiza tion then afloat, with tho exception of tho fleot of Great Urltaln. Today all tho vessols In It could not lost half an hour In n battlo with tho five dreadnoughts thnt constitute tho great first divi sion of tho United States Atlantic fleot. And this mighty fleet of "naval has-beens" cost tho United States government more than $129, 000,000 und tho oldest among them, not including tho old monitors, Is not yet twenty-flvo yoars old. The battleships In It to build nnd equip cost the government $G4,435,225, nnd tho cruisers, mon itors and torpedo craft raise the total to the $129,000,000. What will become of those ships? Somo are now In reserve and there thoy will stay until their end Is decided upon. Will that end be the target range or tho auction block nnd tho junk pile, or will thoy bo 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 tc marvolous progress in naval construction, has reached quickly but surely that state of obsolete nbss from which thoro can bo no "como-buck." Tho Oregon and tho Olympla will probably be retained for generations to como as glorious re minders to Amorlcans of future years of the navy that won Immortnllty in tho brief conflict thnt wiped Spain off tho map of the western world nnd which added to American territory an (Bland omplro In tho far east and won for this country for tho first time a full, froo recognition by all tho nntlons of tho world of tho right to be numbered nmong thoso powors whose mission and lnlluenco 1b "world wide." In tho line-up of tho "has been" fleet it will be noted that thcro Is Included tho ontlro fourth division of tho great fleet that circumnavigated tho globo In 1907 nnd 1908. This division was mado up of the Alabama, tho flagship of Sperry whon ho began tho voyage as n division com mnndor; tho Kontucky. tho Kenrsargo and tho Illinois. In that fleot three of tho vessels of the third division nro now nlso listed among the obsoleto fighters, tho ships In question being the Ohio, tho Missouri nnd tho Maine, all sister skips and in their day held up to tho world as em bodying all that was best In tho construction and oqulpmont of modorn men-of-war of tho battle ship class Tho Atlantic fleet when It sailed out of Hamp ton Itoails In Docomber, 1907, waB mado up ol sixteen first-class battleships, and a look at the mnko-up of tho organization shows thnt In a pe riod of less thnn six years seven, or lacking one of exactly hnlf of thoso famous ships, havo been relegated Into tho rosorvo, tho first stopping stono thnt leads to junk pile and oblivion. MOST PEBFEGTJOY AT FAIR LINCOLN BABY BOY SCORED THE HIGHEST AT SHOW. Comparisons Show That City Babies Scored Much Higher In Points Than Their Cousins From the Country. Lincoln, Neb. Orvlllo Hannlng, the Walton baby who was awarded tho prize for being the most perfect boy In tho "better babies" contest nt tho state fair, may havo to forfeit his honors to a stnto capital tot, Frank Wlllard Jackson. Tho report turned In by the stato board of health did not take Into consideration tho figures earned by the two babies. Tho little Hannlug boy scored 98.8 per cent, whllo young Jackson scored 99 per cent. Tho former was entered in the rural class and the latter in tho city class, Tho comparison of percentages given out by tho agricultural board to day shows that city babies scored much higher than the country urchins. Fifteen of the twenty city prize win ners scored 98 per cent or higher, while only four of the rural winners did that well. The tables show tho following: Lot One Rural. Boys 12 to 24 months First, Louis Jennings Larson, Fairview, 98 pel cent; second, Louis Albert Pearl, Wy more, 9G.5; third, Myron Dnrrel Totor, Shickley, 9G; fourth, Henry Soverino Harrington, Benedict, 95.5; fifth, John William Hartz, Roca, 95. Boys 24 to 3G months First, Orvlllo Hannlng, Walton, 98.8 second, Owen Alvln Meredith, Edholm. 98.4; third, LESS FOLIAGE. "This Is a groat ago." "What has struck you now?" "Tho fact that bo many doctors nro successful without whlskora. It wasn't so thirty yenrs ago." Orville Hannlng, Walton. Victor Boyd, Lincoln, 97.6; fourth, Maurlco Doyle Frnzier, Waco, 97; fifth, Edward Arthur Clark, Friend, 96.7. Girls 12 to 24 months First, Nellio Frances Blakely, Beatrice, 98 percent; second, Mtlostlne Cejkn, Valparaiso, 97; third, Itnth Evelyn Bender, Yutan, 96.5; fourth, Florls Mario Finks, Ben net, 96; fifth, Irene Mao Blackburn, Ord, 95. Girls 24 to 36 months First, Sylvia Naomi Hanson, Ceresco. 97.5 percent; Becond, Mary Elizabeth Capwell, Elm wood, 97.4; third, Edith Oesterrelchor, Shelby, 96.9; fourth, Dolores Jack man, Greenwood, 96.5; fifth, Alta Cecil, Lincoln, 95. Lot Two City. Boys, 12 to 24 months First, Del bcrt A. Held, Lincoln, 98.7 per cent; second, Donald Alfred Petersen, Oma ha, 98.5; third, Francis James McCuI lough, Lincoln, 98.5; fourth, Mclln Fornbaugh, Lincoln. 98.5; fifth, Carl S. Blnghnm. Lincoln. 98. Boys 24 to 36 months First. Frank Wlllard Jackson, Lincoln, 99 per cent; second, Donald Leroy Glasson, Omaha, 98.5; third, Walter Mason Bridges, Lincoln, 98.5; fourth, John Henry Ames, Lincoln, 98.1; fifth. Milton Henry Wright, University Place. 98. Girls, 12 to 24 months Mary Fran cis McReynolds, Lincoln, 98.5 per cent; second, Donna Mario Dybbro, Omaha, 98.5; third, Helon Loulso Baker, Lin coln, 98; fourth. Mnrtha Lucllo Hack man, Lincoln. OS; fifth. Ellon It. Iver son. Lincoln, 97.5. Girls, 24 to 36 months First, Gene vieve Chapman, Ceresco, 99 per cent; Becond, Edith Wilson, Madison, 97.5; third, Ruth Elizabeth Currlor, Univer sity Place, 97.3; fourth, Augusta Emma Anderson, Lincoln, 97; fifth, Jnnet Caroline Cain, Lincoln, 95.6, OSxH Frank Wlllard Jackson, Lincoln. HENrar HOWIAND 4?T v? &B US' Ono of tho medical Journals publishes tho following prescription: When the throes of indigestion and the qualms of dyspepsia ure making your II fo miserable. Just puree tho lips and whistle a hrWk. merry tune. . . , The nrst thing you know tho stomach will havo righted Itself, tho liver will lie working good and strong, the blood will be bound ing through your veins, your brain will bo clear and vlgorus, und you will feel twenty years younger. When you think the world Is going to the dickens right away. Whistle: When you look out In the morning, think ing, "What a gloomy day!" Whistle; When It seems that everybody wants to try to pull you down, When It seems that all creation wants to plague you Just for spite. When you seo those black spots dancing and your tongue feels thick and brown, Oh, whistle, whistle, whistle Whistlo on with all your mlghtl When you get to rather doubting that the Lord Is overhead, Whistle; Don't you care who hears you go It till your cheeks get hot and red. Whistle: When you think tho work you're doing Isn't worth the time It takes. When you've got to thinking nothing that you try will turn out right. When your heart feels llko a doughnut and your poor old headpiece aches. Oh, whistlo. whistle, whistle Whistlo on with all your might. When you hate to hear the children as they wildly whoop around. Whistle; Don't you worry If the neighbors aren't gladdened by the sound. Whistle; Stick your chest out in the atmosphere and throw your head way back. Pucker up your lips and go it till things get to looking bright Vou can be a locomotive and scare trou ble from the track If you whistle, whistle. whistle Whistle on with all your might. He Told Her at LasU "There Is something," ho said, "that havo wanted to toll you for a long Ime, but " "Oh. Bertie," sho said, blushing jwectly, "not here In tho car beforo ill these people. Walt Como this jvcnlng." "It's merely that you havo a streak Df soot down your nose, but I couldn't for tho life of me get a word In till lust now." His Theory. "Colonel," said tho beautiful grass widow, "how do you account for tho fact that men seem to bo growing less ind less Inclined to get married?" "Well, you see, thero's so much talk about stopping tho divorces. I sup pose most men are afraid tho agitators may succeed In having something dono almost any day." What's In a BrowT He had a brow that towored high, A splendid one It was. I trow; Another man was standing nigh Who had a slanting brow and low. Ho with the high brow stood behind A counter, selling braid und lace Which seemed to call for little mind The other fellow owned the place. Hunting for the Interesting Part. "What on earth do you find Inter esting In that stupid book?" her friend asked. "I haven't found nnything worth whllo in it so far," tho boautiful girl replied, "but after mamma had read is she tried to hide it from mo." Folly and Wisdom. "Horace says: 'Mlnglo a little folly with your wlBdom.' " "Yes, that's easy enough. But it's another matter when it comes to mingling a little wisdom with your folly." Fleeing From Danger. "Where are you going?" asked the housebreaker. "Up to detective headquartors," said tho safe-cracker. "I have reason to believe tho police aro on my trial." The Lucky Dollar. When n man finds a dollar ho gen erally keeps It as a lucky piece. Ho does not feel that tho dollars he earns aro worth keeping. I