Conservative.
offer to intelligent agriculture satisfac
tions nnd emoluments innumerable.
But , as "familiarity breeds contempt , "
there are hundreds and thousands of
pretty good men , and women too , who
asperse , decry and depreciate the capa
bilities and productive resources of this
empire of arable land.
The fact that forty successive years of
cropping these lands exhibit fewer fail
ures than on any other lands in the
United States which have been consec
utively tilled for the same period of
time is not remembered.
The fact that these lands by their gen
erous returns , have lifted up tens of
thousands of human beings from the
depths of poverty to the fairest heights
of domestic comfort and opulence is
ignored.
The great Northwest is unappreciated
by many of its own people. It is under
valued. It is because they have traveled
too little.
If TIIE CONSERVATIVE could take all
the discontented deiii/eus of Kansas ,
Iowa , Nebraska , the Dakotas , and Mis
souri in a big balloon and sail them over
all the other states and let them see
farms and fanning there , and homes
and homelifo there , it would return the
excursionists in a most contented frame
of mind. And each and every one
would glorify the prairie states.
STOCK YAHUS The populist
POPULISTS. party in Nebraska
proposes that the United States govern
ment shall acquire and operate all the
railroads , while the state government
shall secure and operate the stock yards
at South Omaha.
Further , these same patriotic populists
declare for governmental issue of full
flat paper , or part fiat silver currency , in
such abundance that all who desire
more money may have more money
whether they have anything to exchange
for money or not.
Then with money as free as air , rail
roads carrying freight and passengers
for nothing , and the hog , horse and
cattle hotels at the South Omaha stock
yards gratuitously open to all equine ,
bovine and porcine guests Nebraska
will begin to realize the felicities of a
truly paternal government. But the
full fruition of populism will not be
witnessed and admired until the state
shall have bought and run the hotels for
human beings in every town , cross-roads
and city of Nebraska ! Why should the
rates for human beings at the Paxton ,
Millard and other first-class stopping
places bo left for determination to the
avarice of proprietors ? Why should
populists insist upon fixing rates at
hotels for cattle , horses , sheep and hogs
in South Omaha , and omit to regulate
and fix rates for the hotels for human
beings at Omaha and in other towns and
cities of this commonwealth ? Is the
* 1 human of less consequence , in populistic
eyes , than the steer , the sheep , the
horse and the hog ?
SHIPS A3I > WKAPONS OF TIIE NAVY.
11V LIKUT. CHA8. STBI1MAN ItllM.KY , U.8.N.
CLASSIFICATION OF SHIPS.
Ships of the navy are divided into
four classes called rates according to
their displacement in tons.
First Rate includes all vessels of
5,000 tons and over.
Second Rate includes all vessels of
8,000 and up to 5,000 tons.
Third Rate includes all vessels of
1,000 and up to 8,000 tons.
Fourth Rate includes all vessels below
1,000 tons.
Displacement is the weight in tons of
water which the vessel displaces.
BATTLESHIPS. A battleship is a
seagoing vessel designed to withstand
aiiy weather that might be encountered
011 the ocean , with sufficient cool capa
city and speed for ordinary cruising ,
and in addition the sides , turrets and
barbettes are protected by heavy armor.
A battleship necessarily is of great
weight and consequently sets deep in
the water. Therefore a battleship can
not be expected to make the same speed
as a light cruiser , nor maneuver as
readily. Battleships are specially de
signed to withstand hard knocks , and
are supposed to be able to stand up teen
on enemy and fight to the finish.
The following are the nine seagoing
firstclass coast-line battleships of the
navy the last five in process of con
struction :
1. Indiana. 5. Alabama.
2. Iowa. G. Illinois.
8. Massachusetts. 7. Kearsarge.
4. Oregon. 8. Kentucky.
9. Wisconsin.
The displacement of these vessels ,
with two-thirds of their ammunition
and stores on board , is from 10,288 tons ,
in the case of the Massachusetts , Indi
ana , and Oregon , to 11 , 525 tons , in the
case of the Alabama , Illinois , Kearsarge ,
Kentucky and Wisconsin. The dis
placement of the Iowa is 11,840 tons.
The gross tonnage of these ships varies
from 5,290 tons to 6,831 tons , and the
net tonnage from 4,828 to 5,508 tons.
The cool capacity varies in the different
vessels from 1,200 to 1,800 tons , and the
speed , when runuiug full power , is
about 16 knots ( sea miles ) per hour.
The knot , or sea mile , measures 6,086
feet. The battleships of this first class
cost , exclusive of armament and equip
ment , from $2,250,000 to $8,180,000 , and
to man one of them requires about forty
officers and some 500 men , All of the
battleships of the first class have been
built , or are building , by private firms
under contract.
Of battleships of a second class ( so
called because of n different type than
the nine coast-lino battleships ) , the navy
has but one , the Texas , which was built
by the government in the navy yard at
Norfolk , Va. The displacement of this
vessel is 6,815 tons , gross tonnage 4,050
tons and net tonnage 8,179 tons. The coal
capacity is 850 tons and her speed at full
power nearly 18 knots. The Texas cost the
government , exclusive of armament and
equipment , $2,500,000 , and requires
thirty officers and 860 men to man her.
On account of the various mishaps
which befell the Texas during her early
life , she has been christened by the
navy "the Hoodoo. "
The ill-fated Maine was another bat
tleship of this class built by the govern
ment at the New York navy yard , at a
co&t also of $2,500,000.
About half of the guns of a battleship
are of large caliber , from 4-iuch to 18-
inch , and the remainder are small cali
ber rapid-fires and machine guns. The
battleships of the first class carry , all
told , from 41 to 54 guns. The Texas , of
the second class , carries 20 guns , two of
which are 12-inch and six are 6-iuch.
Each of the other battleships includes in
its main battery four 18-inch guns ,
except the Iowa , which carries four 12-
inch guns. The metal thrown in one
round of fire from the guns of the Mas
sachusetts weighs 6,924 ll > s. , and from
the other first class battleships the
weight thrown is about the same.
ARMORED CRUISERS. The Brooklyn
and New York ore armored cruisers ,
that is , they are of a construction de
signed to maintain a high speed , about
22 knots , and to have a sufficient coal ca
pacity for cruising , and at the same time
their sides , turrets and barbettes are
protected by light armor. The displace
ment of the Brooklyn is 9,215 tons and
that of the New York is 8,200 tons.
Their gross tonnage is 6,097 and 5,901
respectively. These vessels , not being
so heavy , are readily maneuvered.
The steel armor on the sides of the
Brooklyn and New York is 8 inches and
4 inches in thickness respectively , while
on the battleships it is from 10 to 18
inches. The turrets of the two armored
cruisers are protected by 5 } inches of
steel , while the turrets of the battleships
have from 9 to 17 inches. The barbettes
of the New York , however , are pro
tected by 10 inches of steel and those of
the Brooklyn by 4 and 8 inches. The
hull and macliinery of the Brooklyn
cost $2,986,000 and that of the Now
York $2,985,000.
The main batteiy of the Brooklyn
consists of eight 8-inch breech-loading
rifles and twelve 5-inch
- rapid-fire guns ,
and that of the New York consists of
six 8-inch breech-loading rifles and
twelve 4-inch rapid-fire guns. The
secondary battery of the Brooklyn is
composed of 22 guns of smaller calibers ,
including 4 Colt automatic guns , and
2 field guns , and the secondary battery
of the New York is composed of 16 guns ,
including 4 Gatlings and 2 field guns.
DYNAMITER , RAM The dynamite
AND DISPATCH gunboat Vesuvius
BOAT. is as yet an exper
iment , and is a typo of vessel that is
only to bo found in the United States