Show LAUNCHING THE WISCONSIN amid most demonstrative ceremonies and with many of rejoicing jo the hull of the great grat battleship wisconsin was at a m today consigned to the waters which will doubtless be its permanent home the vessel was constructed at the union iron works san francisco she is one of triplets just born to the naval service her sisters being the alabama and the illinois all to be anen completed the heaviest and most powerful fighting machines of their class afloat the length of each is feet extreme width or length of beam 72 5 24 feet displacement from to tons ions and with ft a power equal to the combined strength of horses the speed of these craft is of course to be technically determined by actual trial but it WIN will not be far either way from twenty miles an hour a great pace for such leviathan structures being superior to that of some of the cruiser it is worthy of nate that the same company that bui built the rhe wisconsin constructed ted he oregon up to this time concededly the mist mast substantial complete and ana bat iiii nelra prom from four and one half feet below the normal load line to three and one half feet above it and of a uniform thickness of sixteen and on 3 half inh in inches h Q het between wen the turrets and abuan thi th lad ad line the rhe vessels will carry a protective armor of the toughest obtain ible steel taip taj othar portions beiner also armored but less heavily in proportion to the exigencies of a combat there will be two batteries principal and secondary the former consisting of four thirteen inch breech rifles and fourteen six inch rapid alre guns the uther will have sixteen six rapid fire guns two colt guns and two field guns and additionally addition aly there will be four torpedo tubes AU all the latest la test improve improvements ment have been adopted the whole structure constituting a floating floi ting terror to be let alone or approached approach cd in the most perfect friendliness I 1 one thing as a result of the late war ls is more manifest than any other except e what bat hag haa already developed uncle sam is not no t going to be caught napping nor even so nearly so as was the case when spain made it necessary for him 40 to unleash his war dogs and put them without muzzles upon the trail he is now profiting by what has long ng been recognized as a wise precedent in 1 time of peace prepare for war how slow in the light of what we all now know he seems to have been about it and yet it was not altogether his fault the siren song of peaceful settlements in accordance with wibb more advanced civill bation was chanted and chimed every time he be spoke of building ships of war wall and strengthening wast coast defenses at last the growing barbarities of spanish rule almost within our sight eight and sound culminated in the a ferocious atrocious butchery of several AmeT american lean citizens cit izena and the destruction of their craft without provocation or any form or warr warrant warrantor antof vt law then the good natured but astute old fellow began to realize that barbarism had not yet passed out of the western hemisphere and that in our nearest neighbor in the sea we had an insidious insl dious foe whose practices we would sooner or later laiter be compelled to putt put a quietus upon also that in dealing de with such an enemy the patient dint and powders shock was of mote more avail than all the songs gongs thea that could tie be sung or all the speeches ever made then commenced the building of ships of war the work has gone steadily along and providentially it had bad reached the stage at which we could overthrow and practically wipe out the navy of the menacing power when the storm fell the work still goes cm 00 as shown in the launching of the great craft spoken of and the large number now in various stages of advancement 4 when all are completed we shall in the absence of unforeseen vicissitudes have a naval force not more than thain two removes from the head ranking easily next to that of prance france and possibly in effectiveness next to th that at of the leader great britain the times have changed and we have clanged with them greater changes L are yet to come and only those who indifferently read or insufficiently reflect do not understand this |