| OCR Text |
Show CAPT. GEO. C. REITEE, WILL PROTECT OUR INTERESTS IN THE SOUTH. Commander of the Battleship Wlsoonsln Now In South America The Largest Fighting Machine in Oar Navy of Powerful Sea Going Forts. In the somewhat turbulent state of affairs In South America, where Venezuela, Vene-zuela, Colombia and Ecuador are mixed up in an International squabble, the Interests of the United States are well guarded by Capt. George Cook Reiter, of the Wisconsin. The United States Is by treaty bound to keep open traffic across the Isthmus of Panama, and should there be any serious interference inter-ference with the International railway, rail-way, Capt. Reiter will take prompt action. ac-tion. Capt. Reiter is a Pennsylvanlan by birth, " and was graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1865. His progress through the various grades of the service has been steady, and he has seen a variety of duties. There is scarcely a station to which he has not been attached, and he has had considerable land duty. During the Spanish-American war he commanded one of the smaller warships. He attained at-tained his present rank two years ago. The Wisconsin will be the greatest fighting machine ever seen at Panama. The Oregon and Iowa have been there, but neither of these is as large as the Wisconsin. Comparatively few British battleships or war vessels of other nations na-tions come this way, and none that could be compared with the Wisconsin. The Wisconsin was launched at the Union Iron Works, in San Francisco, November 26, 1898, and has been iu commission several months. She is of 11,525 tons displacement, and has a length of 368 feet; breadth, 72 feet 2H nches; draft, 23 feet 6 inches. Her Ml CAPT. GEORGE COOK REITER. trial trip in Santa Barbara channel in October, 1900, showed an average of 17.25 knots, with a maximum speed of 18.54 knots. |
