Nebraska Newspapers

    THE NORFOLK WEEKLY N JOURNAL ,
, , , ,
NOHKULK NHBKASKA KKIDAY MAY III HMD
13 PERISH '
IN RIVER
MISSISSIPPI PACKET STRIKES A
ROCK AND FOUNDERS.
MOSTLY WOMEN AND CHILDREN
WIFE AND DAUGHTER OF THE
BOAT LINE OWNER DROWN.
RIVER FILLED WITH DRIFTWOOD
Two Women Known to Be Dead and
the Balance of the Missing Have Un
questionably Lost Their Lives In
Disaster Near St. Louis.
St. Louis , Mo. . May 12. Thirteen
persons , seven of them passengers ,
lost their lives In the sinking of the
steamer City of Saltillo In the Mis
sissippi river at Glen Park , Mo. , last
night. The boat was thrown against a
rock by the swift current two hours
after her start from the wharf hero.
Glen Park Is twenty-four miles from
St. Louis.
The dead :
Rhea , Miss Ann , Nashville , Tonn.
Rhea , Mrs. Isaac T. , Nashville ,
Tonn. , body recovered.
Baker , S. C. , first clerk of the
steamer.
Harris , Mrs. Joseph , Nashville ,
Tenn.
Patterson , Mrs. Archie , Chester , III.
Patterson , Archie , jr. , 2 years old.
Plckett , William .1. , salesman , St.
Louis.
Post Fowler , third clerk.
Wall , Miss Lena , Nashville , Tenn.
Head porter , name unknown.
Cabin boy , name unknown.
Two roustabouts , names unknown.
Only two bodies , those of Mrs. Rhea
and a negro , have been recovered.
Chivalry Sent Them to Death.
At the Inquest Into the death of Mrs.
llhea It was testified that the fact that
five women and a boy were lost was
duo to the chivalry of the mon in obey
ing Captain Crane's order , "Women
and children first ! "
While the men stood back , the wom
en wore first to attempt to cross the
gang plank after It touched ground.
At the same moment the current
forced the plank against a tree and
throw all off the plank Into the river.
This Hero Drowned.
The witnesses all paid tribute to the
heroism of S. C. Baker , clerk of the
Saltillo , who was swept overboard and
drowned.
The coroner adjourned the Inquest
until tomorrow.
Captain Harry Crane , in command
of the boat and one of the survivors ,
announced this morning after checkIng -
Ing up the passenger list , that It was
almost certain those reported missing
were dead.
The boat carried twenty-seven pas
sengers , most of whom were women
and children , and a ciew of thirty.
She left St. Louis at 7 o'clock with a
heavy cargo Including a number of
cattle and live stock , and the voyage
was considered precarious because of
the great amount of driftwood float
ing in the river , due to the annual
spring rise.
Wife and Daughter of Boat Owner.
The two known dead were the wife
and daughter of Isaac T. Rhea , presi
dent of the St. Louis and Tennessee
River Packet company , owners of the
boat. Mrs. Rhea was dragged from
the water alive , but died within an
hour. The body of Miss Ann Rhea
was not recovered. Miss Louise Rhea ,
another daughter , escaped. They
were enrouto to their homo In Nash
ville after visiting triends In St. Louis.
An Inaccessible Landing.
Glen Park , the scene of the acci
dent , Is a river landing , the chief
buildings of which are a general
store , a boarding house and a cement
plant. The place is almost Inacces
sible to telegraph lines and the news
of the disaster came to St. Louis In
around about way from Klmmswlck
and Sulphur Springs.
Pilots Fight Draw Desperately.
Shortly before reaching Glen Park
the Saltillo encountered a shoreward
draw , which was fought frantically by
the pilots. The engines wore revers
ed , but the efforts to prevent the col
lision were unavailing. As the big
boat swung from the current In.shore
despite the reversed engines and the
rudder thrown hard over , she was
driven with Increasing speed toward
land and turned completely around.
An Awful Death Shriek.
With the noise of rending timber
and the shrieks of women and children
passengers , the cries of the crew and
the bellowing of the cattle , the vessel
struck a hidden rock and sank almost
in reach of land at a point whore the
water was twenty feet deep.
Are Plunged Into Water.
Passengers and members of the
crew clung to the timbers , while those
moro fortunate lent their aid immedi
ately to the rescue of the helpless.
The majority of the passengers wore
In their cabins. The collision came
so suddenly they were plunged Into
the water before they know what had
happened.
The Captain Goes for Aid.
Captain Crane of St. Louie , after his
escape from the river made his way a
distance of two miles to the nearest
telephone station and telephoned the
news to St. Louis and DeSoto. Res
cue trains with physicians and relief
supplies were sent to the scene this
morning.
As fast as the occupants of the
steamer were dragged to shore they
were taken to the Gloncoo company
boarding house , whore they were
fed and warmed. Many of the faint
ing women and men of the party had
to be revived with stimulants.
The Boat Built In 1892.
The City of Saltillo was built at Jof-
forsonvlllc , Ind. , In 1892 and was 200
foot long , 37 feet wide , and drew six
and a half feet.
The tonnage was 372. The vessel
Is entered In the government bureau
of-uvlgatlon as a passenger boat. It
N * / ound for Waterloo , Ala. , on the
1\ < t sco rlvor.
f\ J-ruth to Explosion Rumor.
°
Dev May 12. The flagship of the
British antic battleship fleet on
which r ! o\ploslon was reported to
have occtS "qj' ' arrived hero. The ex
plosion ru % * * are without founda
tion. "A
Elgin to Celebrate Fourth.
Elgin , Neb. , May 12. Special to The
News : Elgin Is going to celebrate the
glorious Fourth In Its usual up-todate
stylo. A meeting was held by the
Boosters' club and a committee ap
pointed to circulate a subscription list
to see if sufllclcnt funds could bo
raised to celebrate In proper style.
The committee mot with good suc
cess and a tine tlmo Is promised.
It Is but a little over a year ago
that one-half of the business portion
of the village was burned and new
brick buildings are i\v\v practically
completed covering the entire area.
By July 4 all will be completed and
occupied and now sidewalks construct
ed.
The people of Elgin are very proud
of the now block.
GOVERNOR'S ' SON IS MARRIED
Lieutenant Shallenberger Marries a
Major's Daughter.
Las Anlmas , Colo. , May 12. With
his father , mother and family present ,
Lieutenant Martin Conrad Shallon-
berger of the Sixteenth Infantry , U. S.
A. , son of governor Shallenberger of
Nebraska , and Miss Ina Hamilton
Dowdy , daughter of Major Robert W.
Dowdy of Fort Lyons , were married
at the church of the Messiah hero last
night.
Archdeacon Scolleld of Denver per
formed the ceremony. Following the
wedding a reception was held In honor
of Lieutenant Shallenberger and his
bride at the homo of Major and Mrs.
Dowdy bore , after which the newly
married couple left for the east on an
extended bridal tour.
Miss Grace Shallonberger , sister of
Lieutenant Shallenberger , was maid
of honor and Miss Virginia Thomas
was bridesmaid. Ensign William
Walsh was groomsman and Lieutenant
A. E. Brown , also of the Sixteenth In
fantry , was best man , Robert Cooper
of Las Anlmas and John Sullivan of
St. Louis were ushers. There was a
large attendance of olllcors from near
by posts.
At the conclusion of their trip Lieu
tenant Shallenbergor and his bride
will go to Fort Crook , where the Six
teenth infantry is stationed. Early in
June the regiment will bo transferred
to Alaska for an Indefinite period.
Governor Shallenberger and his fam
ily , who were hero to attend the wed
ding , returned to their home In Lin
coln today.
Two Bandits Rob Train.
Phoenix. Ariz. , May 12. Two ban
dits without masks held up train No.
1C of the Arizona Eastern railroad a
mile from hero , and after robbing the
passengers escaped to the desert. One
passenger was almost scalped by a
blow from a revolver butt. Posses
were started out with Indian trailers
from the Sacalon reservation In an ef
fort to capture the robbers before they
cross the Mexican border.
WRITTEN AFTER
DATE IT BORE
WICKERSHAM WRITES OF HIS
GLAVIS CHARGES SUMMARY.
HE SAYS THERE IS NO MYSTERY
Attorney General Wlckersham Freely
Admits That the Summary Bore the
Date on Which the President Consid
ered the Matter.
Washington , May 12. Attorney Gen
eral Wlckersham admits that his sum
mary of the Glavls charges which he
prepared for the president and on
which the latter was supposed to have
based his letter exonerating Secretary
Ualllnger and dismissing Glavls , was
prepared after the date it bore.
In a letter dated May 10 , addressed
to Chairman Harker of the house ju
diciary committee which had the Harrison
risen resolution calling on the attor
ney general for all Information bear
ing on the summary , Mr. Wlckersham
wrote as follows :
"This summary necessarily was
made up afterward and properly bore
the date on which the matter It con
tained was considered by the presi
dent. There is no mystery about this
matter and nothing which may not be
freely stated , but due regard for the
constitutional authority of the execu
tive forbids that the action of the pres
ident and his advisers shall be called
Into question by the co-ordinate branch
of the government in this manner. "
Bnllinger Reads the Letter.
Secretary Balllnger read the letter
from the stand during the Balllnger-
Pinchot Investigation this afternoon ,
just after Attorney nrandels , counsel
for L. R. Glavis , had protested to the
committee that the attorney general
had not furnished all of the documents
called for.
This protest was called forth by the
reply of Oscar Lawler , assistant attor
ney general for the Interior depart
ment , to Mr. Brandels' request for the
memorandum , which he had arranged
in connection with the letter of exon
eration.
Mr. Lawler wrote the committee that
he had prepared such a memorandum
at the president's behest , but had
turned It over to the attorney general
and had not thought It pi\rsr to re
tain a copy of it.
After reading the letter Mr. Bran-
dels said he believed his request to
the attorney general for all documents
in his possession bearing on the Gla
vls charges , covered that memoran
dum , but that It had not been fur
nished.
What Brandeis Wanted.
Mr. Hrandeis hoped to show by the
memorandum that the president's ac
tion had been based on Mr. Lawler's
review of the case and not on a care
ful weighing of the facts by either
himself or by the attorney general.
Secretary Ballinger interrupted the
attorney to state that ho knew of his
own knowledge that Mr. Lawler had
met Mr. Wickersham in New York a
few days prior to the preparation of
the president's letter. lie then pro
duced the attorney general's letter.
Attorney General Wickersham prob
ably will be called as a witness by the
committee. Mr. Brandeis said today
that he would like to have him called
to relate the details of the interview
which Henry M. Hoyt , former attor
ney general of Porto Rico , had with
him about the reviewing of the Glavls
charges.
Attorney Vertrees , counsel for Mr.
Balllnger , said he had no objection to
Mr. Wickersham being called.
WOMEN DISCUSS DRINKING CUP.
Civic Betterment Will be Topic They'll
Hear Talked on Tonight.
Cincinnati , May 12. At the fore
noon session of the convention of
Help With The Census !
If the Census Enumerator has not got your naino , or those of
friends , fill out this coupon , cut it from the Norfolk Daily News , fold
: t on the dotted line and drop it in the nearest mail box with the ad
dress on the outside. Postage and envelope are not necessary.
OFFICIAL BUSINESS
UNITED STATES CENSUS
J. A. HAYS , Supervisor of the Census ,
Central City , Nebraska.
Name
Address
Name . . . .
Address
Name _ . .
Address _ _ _ . - . _ . . . _ .
NORFOLK , NEBRASKA.
American Federation of Women's
clubs , Henry Tumor Bailey of Bos
ton , Mass. , gave an Illustrated lecture
on "Practical Art Work for Women's
Clubs. "
This afternoon , state president and
the general federation officers and
secretaries met at Hotel Slnton. Al
bert Davidson , P. H. IX , of Lafayette
college , Pennsylvania , will lecture on
"The Relation of the i ubllc Drinking
Cup to Health , " and Rev. Daniel Bartlett -
lett of Los Angeles , will speak on
"Progress in Clvlo Betterment. "
The loading social function today
was a reception given by the Cincin
nati Women's Art club at the Art
museum.
Coal Lands for Agriculture.
Washington , May 12. A bill provid
ing for the opening to agricultural set
tlement and development the surface
of lands which have been classified as
coal lands , was passed by the house
today. The measure would reserve
about 70.000,000 acres as coal lands ,
to bo worked on the surface for the
purpose of agriculture.
DEFENSE IN
M'KAY ' CASE
WIFE OF ACCUSED MAN SAYS HE
WAS AT HOME.
WENT TO BROWN'S TO FEED HOG
She Says He Came Home at 10 O'clock
Monday Night and Stayed Till Morn
ing Went to Brown's at 7 Tuesday
Morning But Soon Returned.
Neligh , Nob. , May 12. Special to
The News : The defense in the Mc
Kay murder case showed Its hand
yesterday when it began Its testi
mony. McKay's wife swore that on
Monday night ( the night Brown was
last seen alive ) McKay came homo at
10 o'clock and stayed till morning ,
and that Tuesday morning ( the morn
ing the murder is supposed to have
ucen committed ) lie went to Brown's
premises at 7 o COCK ! to feed his hogs ,
returning soon.
A letter was introduced which Mc
Kay had written to his sister June 5
asking a loan of $25 with which to pay
rent to Brown. Ho said ho wanted to
buy a hog or two to raise pigs and
that ho had one hog thnt he would
sell.
sell.Mrs.
Mrs. McKay testified they bougnt
their home October 1 and paid Brown
about the middle of June.
A purse found under McKay's bed
was a feature of the day. Harry Howell -
well testified that no had sold to Mc
Kay a purse like this one. Robert
Harry , who loafed around Brown's
shop , said he never saw Brown have
one like it.
A farmer named Jones , near Bruns
wick , testified that on Monday night
at C p. in. ( the last night Brown was
scon alive ) he paid McKay a'20 gold
certificate.
ARE ARGUING HYDE CASE
Kansas City , May 12. When the
jury that are trying Dr. B. C. Hyde on
a charge of slaying Colonel Thomas H.
Swope , stepped into their box today
they faced eighteen hours of oratory.
Six attorneys , three for the defense
and three representing the state , were
yet to address them.
The attorneys were originally given
twenty hours in which to make their
final arguments. Assistant Prosecutor
Henry L. Jest used two hours of the
state's allotted time last night. Attor
neys alternated in addressing the jury
today , one of the state's representa
tives having the floor last. For Dr.
Hyde Frank P. Walsh , R. R. Brew-
ster and John M. Lucas were sched
uled to speak. The remaining orators
for the state at the opening of court.
were James A. Reed , John M. Atwood
and Prosecutor Virgil S. Conkling.
Mr. Jost's address , which was not
completed until after 7 o'clock last
night , was caustic. He characterized !
"Mr. Hyde as a poisoner and a plotter j
who was willing to kill his wife's rel-1
atlves to get their money for himself. >
Prior to Mr. Jost's address , Judge
Lathshaw Instructed the Jury that it
must either find Dr. Hyde guilty of
murder in the first degree or innocent.
First degree murder is punishable by
death or life imprisonment in Mis
souri.
Indications are that the jury will retire - ]
tire to consider its verdict Friday
night or Saturday morning.
Tributes to King.
London , May 12. Parliament paid
a tribute to the memory of King Ed
ward , adopting addresses of condo
lence and congratulations to the new
king. Premier Asqulth , In the house
'
of commons , and Earl of Crowe In the
house of lords , delivered eulogies on
I Edward VII and both sho\\icd great
emotion. The announcement that ex-
President Roosevelt will attend the
funeral as the special representative
of the United States has been received
with great satisfaction by the British
people.
Peru Ready for War.
Guayaquil , Ecuador , May 12. Ad
vices received here state that the Pe
ruvian government has stationed 10-
000 men at different points along the
frontier. An equal number of Ecuador
soldiers has been ordered to the front
to resist invasion.
ROOSEVELT
TO GERMANS
MEN MUST BE GOOD HUSBANDS
AND FATHERS , SAYS HE.
IF CIVILIZATION IS TO LAST
The Former President Declares Our
Present Civlllbation Will Not Fall
Unless We Earn Our Decline ; Makes
Plea for Homely Virtues.
Berlin , May 12. Theodore Roosu-
velt , former president of the United
States , delivered a lecture today on
the topic , "The World Movement , " at
the University of Berlin , and received
from the university the honorary de
gree of doctor of philosophy. Emperor
William honored the occasion with his
presence.
A Significant Compliment.
It was the first time his majesty had
graced a conferment and the courtesy
was significant in view of the fact that
the German court Is In mourning for
King Edward.
Confer Degree On Roosevelt.
The ceremony of conferring the de
gree was conducted with impressive
simplicity. There were no flogs or
emblems of royalty and the govern
ment and the walls of the hall were
bare save those of the busts of famous
scholars and scientists.
A Touch of Color.
The only touch of color was fur
nished by the senators of the univer
sity with their robes of scarlet and
blue and the five heads of the student
corps , who wore blue Jackets , white
breeches , Jack boots and patlcolored
sashes.
Four hundred guests of the univer
sity who held cards of admission were
seated when Emperor William entered ,
accompanied by Mr. Roosevelt.
The play of new forces is as evident
in the moral and spiritual world as in
the world of the mind and the body.
Forces for good and forces for evil
are everywhere evident , each acting
with a hundred or a thousand fold
the Intensity with wlijch It acted in
former ages. Over the whole earth
the swing of the pendulum grows more
and more rapid , the mainspring cells
and spreads at a rate constantly quick
ening , the whole world movement Is
of constantly accelerating velocity.
What is the lesson to us today ?
Are we to go the way of the older
civilizations ? The immense increase
in the area of civilized activity today ,
so that it is nearly coterminous with
the world's surface ; the immense in
crease in the multitudinous variety of
its activities ; the immense Increase in
the velocity of the world movement
are all these to mean merely that the
crash will be all the more complete
and terrible that the answer will be
in the negative ; but of this we can
be certain , that we shall not go down
in ruin unless we deserve and earn our ,
end. There is no necessity for us to
fall ; we can hew out our destiny for
ourselves , if only we have the wit
and the courage and the honesty.
Our Civilization is Not to Fall.
Personally , I do not believe that our
civilization will fall. I think that on
the whole we have grown better and
not worse. I think that on the whole
the future holds more for us than even
the great past lias held. But , assur
edly , the dreams of golden glory in
the future will not come true unless ,
high of heart and strong of hand , by
our own mighty deeds wo make them
come true. We cannot afford to de
velop any one set of qualities , any
one set of activities , at the cost of
seeing others , equally necessary , atro
phied. Neither the military efficiency
of the Mongol , the extraordinary busi
ness ability of the Phoenician , nor the
subtle and polished Intellect of the
Greek availed to avert destruction.
We , the men of today and of the
future , need many qualities if we arc' '
to do our work well. We need , first |
of all and most important of all , the ,
qualities which stand at the base of
individual , of family life , the fundamental - |
mental and essential qualities the I
homely , every-day , all-important vir
tues. If the average man will network
work , if he has not in him the will
and the power to be a good husband
and father ; if the average woman is
not a good housewife , a good mother
of many healthy children , then the
state will topple , will go down , no mat
ter what may be Its brilliance of ar
tistic development or material achieve
ment. But these homely qualities are
not enough.
Need of Organization.
There must , In addition , be that
power of organization , that power of
working in common for a common end ,
which the German people have shown
In such signal fashion during the last
half-century. Moreover , the things of
the spirit arc oven moro important
than the things of the body. Wo can
well do without the hard intolerance
and arid intellectual barrenness of
what was worst in the theological sys
tems of the past , but there has never
been greater need of a 'high and line
religious spirit than nt the present
time. So , while we can laugh good-
humoredly at some of the pretensions
of modern philosophy In its various
branches , It would be worse than fol
ly on our part to ignore our need of
Intellectual leadership. Your own
great Frederick once said that If he
wished to punish a province he would
leave it to bo governed by philoso
phers ; the sneer had in it an element
of Justice ; and > et no one better than
the great Frederick know the value of
philosophers , the value of men of
science , men of letters , men of art.
It would bo a bad thing Indeed to ac
cept Tolstoy as a guldo In social and
moral matters , but it would also bo
a bad thing not to have Tolstoy , not
to profit by the lofty side of his tench-
Ings. There are plenty of scientific
men whose hard arrogance , whoso
CONDITION OF THE WEATHER
Temperature for Twenty-four Hours.
Forecast for Nebraska.
Maximum [ > ( >
Minimum ; jf
Average .jo
Chicago , May 12. The bulletin IB-
HUi'd by the Chicago station of the
Unltoil StatCH weather bureau Rives
the forecast for Nebraska as follows :
Partly cloudy tonight anil Friday.
cynical materialism , whoso dogmatic
Intolerance , put thorn on a level with
the bigoted medieval eccloslastli-lsm
which they denounce. Yet our debt
to sclontlllc men Is Incalculable , and
our civilization of today would have
reft from It all that which most high
ly distinguishes It If the work of the
great masters of science during the
past four centuries were now undone
or forgotten. Never has philanthropy ,
humanitarianlsm , seen such develop
ment as now ; and though wo must all
beware of the folly , and the viciousness -
ness no worse than folly , which marks
the believer In the perfectibility of
man when his heart runs away with
his head , or when vanity usurps the
place of conscience , yet wo must re
member also that it Is only working
along the Hues laid down by the phil
anthropists , by the lovers of man
kind , that we can bo sure of lifting
our civilization to a higher and more
permanent plane of well-being than
was ever attained by any preceding
civilization. Unjust war Is to be nb- |
horred ; but woe to the nation that ,
does not make ready to hold Its own
In time of need against all who would |
harm It ; and woo thrice over to , the
nation In which the average man
loses the lighting edge , loses the pow
er to servo as a soldier If the day of
need should arise.
Throat Much Better.
Mr. Roosevelt's throat was much
improved when ho arose this morning
and he said that he felt perfectly able
to deliver his address as planned at
the University of Berlin.
Until this morning there was doubt
whether the former president would
bo able to keep his engagement.
A WRECK IN OHIO
Passenger Coaches Roll Down Ditch ;
Many Reported Injured.
Cleveland , O. , May 12. Pennsyl
vania passenger train No. 307 , leaving
Plttsburg at 5:30 : and due in Cleve
land at 11 a. m. , jumped the track at
Pcnsington , fifteen miles south of Al
liance , and some of the coaches roll
ed down a twenty-foot embankment.
Many arc reported injured.
The engine , baggage iar and two
coaches are In the ditch. A special
train with physicians was made up at
Alliance and rushed to the scene.
Eight Injured in the Wreck.
Pittsburg , May 12. The Pennsylva
nia officers here state that eight per
sons have been injured in the ditching
of westbound train No. 307 at Ken
sington , eighteen miles south of Al
liance , Ohio. Assistance offered to
the Cleveland and Pittsburg division
by the Pittsburg division officials has
been refused.
ENGLAND m A MINE HORROR
185 Men Entombed Three Miles From
Surface of Pit.
Manchester , Eng. , May 12. An ex
plosion in the Wellington coal mine
at Whitehaven during last night cut
off the exit from the 130 miners who
were working below the surface.
Rescue parties succeeded today in
saving four men but were prevented
by gas from reaching the point where
most of the men were Imprisoned.
Up to 1:30 : o'clock this afternoon
no further rescues had been accom
plished. Every Indication was that
the inner workings of the mine were
on fire and there was the gravest ap
prehension regarding the entombed
men.
Distracted crowds of relatives sur
rounded the pit head and uio scone
was distressing.
The colliery is owned by the Earl
of Lonsdalo and its workings extend
four or five miles beneath the sea.
The spot where the eighty-live
hewers and some fifty odd minors
wore still imprisoned at the time of
the explosion Is about tnreo miles
from the shaft exit. The rescuers di
rected their efforts to tunnelling a
road through the accumulations blockIng -
Ing the passage way and by mill-after-
noon had reached a point within a
mlle of tnelr goal. Progress was slow
and dangerous fumes filled the work
ings.
Investigate Friar Lands.
Washington , May 11. The house
passed a series of resolutions calling
on the war department for Informa
tion as to the actual purchasers of
the Philippine Friar lands under the
guise of the Mindoro Development
company , which Representative Martin -
tin of Colorado , claims "was backed
by the American Sugar Refining com
pany.
Caruso Blackhanders "Guilty. "
Nt-w York , May 12. A verdict of
guilty was found In the Caruso "black
hand" case in Brooklyn. The man on
trial was Antonio Mlslaim. accused of
attempting to extort $15,000 from the
famous tenor Mlslaim will bo sen
tenced on Monday Antonio Clncottl ,
the other alleged would-be blackmail
er , will shortly bo put on trial on a
similar charge. Caruso testified in the
case bcforo sailing for Europe.
NEW SHIP IN
AMERICAN NAVY
THE FLORIDA , BIGGEST OF THEM
ALL , INTO THE WATER.
GOVERNMENT NAVY YARD BUILT
Big Battleship Ir. Not More Than GO
Percent Finished Size of Armor la
Kept Secret , Conforming to New PolIcy -
Icy of the Navy Department.
New Vork , May 12. The biggest
ship In the American navy slid oft
the wn > s today at the Now York navy
yard , when the battleship Florida had
diopped Into the wntor. Later on when
the Arkansas and the Wyoming , now
under construction are afloat they will
exceed the Florida In size by 3,000 toim
a difference sulllclont to make a pret
ty good little liner In Itself. The Flor
ida herself is by no moans Mulshed ,
for as she went off the ways today
she was only about 00 percent ad
vanced towards completion , which
means that she was not much moro
than a vast empty hull and still awaits
all of the thousand boilers and mala
and secondary engines and armor anil
equipment that go to make up the
ship ready for commission.
Probably there Is not a battleship
afloat that could tackle the Florida on
even terms , when her commander's
Hag Hies from the ungraceful , but for
midable , skeleton masts which will bo
placed upon her , that is , provided the
naval des'unors do not change their
minds , a < i to the utility of this novel
feature of marine architecture within
the next t Ighteen months , by which
time the Florida should bo In commis
sion.
Built by Government.
The ship is the first of any real Iiir
portanco to be constructed in a gov
ernment navy yard for a number of
years and naturally her performance
will bo watched with keen interest by
the private shipbuilders , who are now
building her sistershlp the Utah In
Camden , N. J. As a matter of fact ,
the North Dakota built by the Fore
River Ship Building company and the
Delaware , constructed at Newport
News with the Florida and Utah will
make what Is described as a unit In
naval parlance , moaning that tlioso
vessels are practically of the same
typo and inaj bo expected to operate
together In naval warfare. The North
Dakota and the Delaware are nearly
2,000 tons smaller than the other two
vessels , though the armament Is prac
tically the same and the smaller ves
sels Indeed are rated at about a quar
ter of a knot faster.
The Florida is f > 21 feet six Inches
long as a city block ; her beam is 88
feet two and one-half Inches , ; she
draws 28 and one half foot of water
and displaces 21,825 tons In light or
der , while when fully loaded , with her
supplies and ammunition she will
measure up to 23,033 tons. I lor esti
mated speed is 20 and Uirce-fourtha
knots per hour , which "would have
been regarded a few years ago as the
topnotch for a swift unarmored cruis
er. She will carry 2.500 tons of coal
In her bunkers which should enable
her to make the round-trip across the
Atlantic at half speed. Parsons tur
bine engines , built in the New York
navy yard , of the enormous power of
28,000 horse-power will maintain the
high speed of this big ship and the
steam will be supplied by sectional
boilers.
The main battery of the ship will
consist of ton twelve inch rifles ar
ranged In pairs In turrets. Looking
at her bow-on one would think that
the Florida had what Is called super
posed or double-decked turrets like
the Kearsarge and the Kentucky , but
as a matter of fact , there arc only
two guns in each of the live turrets
and the second turret in the fore-part
of the ship is necessarily elevated on
a superstructure so as to be able to
lire freely over the top of the fore
most turret. There is a very formid
able secondary battery composed of
sixteen live-inch rapid llrers , four
three-pounders and a number of ma
chine guns. Theie are also two twen
ty-one-inch submerged tubes for tor
pedoes.
Won't Tell About Armor.
Just what the armor Is to bo on
these ships the naval designers will
not tell. That marks the adoption of
a new policy In the American navy
where heretofore It has been cus
tomary to set out in smallest detail
In the chief constructor's annual re
ports of the thickness of every inch
of armor on the ship. It Is believed ,
though , that the side armor will aver
age about twelve inches and that It
will be extended over a length of the
ship heretofore uncovered and will
be much wider than the ordinary arm
or belt so as not to expose the under
body of the ship when she rolls In
a seawave.
It will take more than a thousand
men to manage this great fighting ma
chine ; the minimum requirement is
sixty ollicers and 951 enlisted men.
The estimated cost of the ship com
plete Is 10.000,000 as fixed In the act
of May 13. 1'JOS. Her keel was laid
March 1) ) , 190U. so that the naval con
structors have reason to bo proud of
the rapidity with which they have car
ried on their work.
Fetter Grand Master at Arms.
E. P Weathorby , returning from the
Fremont grand lodge of the Knights of
Pythias , says John Fetter of Norfolk
was elected grand master at arms.