The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

yoo} MARINE REVIEW. 15 FINAL TRIAL TRIP OF THE KENTUCKY. The final trial trip of the United States battleship Kentucky, Capt. Colby M. Chester commanding, was held last week. The board of in- spection consisted of Rear Admiral Frederick Rodgers, Commanders J. N. Hemphill and Charles R. Roelker, Naval Constructor W. L. Capps, Lieutenant Commanders Charles E. Vreeland and Richard Henderson and Lieut. Joseph Straus. First the Kentucky was sent along under natural draft for six hours at a speed averaging about 14 knots, not par- ticularly for the purpose of testing the speed but for a structural test. On the second day the supreme test was given, which was most interest- ing from nearly every point of view. "General quarters" was sounded and every gun on board discharged at least twice, from the big 13-inch and 8-inch guns in the double turrets down to the 1-pounders on the rail and the Colts and Maxims in the fighting tops. The first shots were fired with the guns at level, and the second shots at the extreme elevation in nearly every case so as to exert all the strain possible. The 'big guns in the two turrets have an extreme elevation of 15 de- grees but they were pointed up to 13 degrees only on the second shots.: The four guns in the after turret were fired simultaneously; the discharge and subsequent concussion were described as being more terrific than anything of the sort they had experienced thefore. One of the officers said he didn't believe man was calculated to endure such things, as the concussion was so great that it seemed to shake every part of his body and leave him trembling like a leaf. In the recent test of the Kearsarge's battery it was said that the vibration of the machine guns in the tops was too great for accuracy in aim. Such, however, was not the case with the machine guns of the Kentucky. The only difficulty was a slight jamming of the Colts. The report is now being reduced to figures to present to the navy department. UNION-CASTLE LINER SAXON. The latest and largest addition to the Union-Castle line of steamships, irom Southampton to the Cape, is the Saxon, which started on her first voyage to the Cape on June 16. She is the first of the late Union liners a OOM NES BS Bie OO: € 6 yO GEG LOO € 4) Ce C056 O60 oO 5S SEK oe ee tf NEW ARMOR PLATE PROCESS. Patent litigation over the nickel steel armor plate process, rather than any purpose to fbid for government contracts soon to be let by Secretary Long, may be the explanation of the secrecy surrounding the chartering of the American: Nickel Steel Co. in Delaware last week. Col. B. K. Jamison of Philadelphia, brother of John C. Jamison, president of the Damascus Steel Co. of Pittsburg, is the American representative of the British syndicate which makes some claims on the nickel steel processes. Col. Jamison says of the situation: "These patents are used by the Carnegie company and the Bethlehem Steel Co., and perhaps others. One originally belonged to Henry Snyder of Le Creusot, France, and the other to the Ferro-Nickel company of Paris, of which Henry Marbeau is president. The patents were granted in this country in 1890. A few years later they were purcnased by the Nickel Steel syndicate of London, which has transferred them to the company which I represent. The Carnegie company has been using the -- patents several years, and has paid no royalties on them, a suit having been entered in the United States circuit court for several years' infringe- ment of them. The Bethlehem Steel Co. has paid all its royalties, but we are not sure that others are not infringing upon it. That's what we pro- pose to find out. With the increasing demand for nickel steel we expect, under careful protection of our patents, to reap magnificent royalties. They should yield annual royalties of $500,000. All the ships in our navy use nickel steel plate. The government has endorsed it and so has the British admiralty, and it is becoming so popular that it may soon be used for 'building purposes. At present, shafting, tbolts, railroad axles and piston rods are being made from it, and the Pennsylvania Railroad Co. is experimenting with a view of installing it for rail purposes." The suit for infringement in the United States circuit court was in- stituted 'by the Nickel Steel syndicate against the United States govern- ment. So far as the probability of the new owners of the patents bring- ing action against the Carnegie company is concerned, officials of the big steel company will make no comment. In answer to some questions, President C. M. Schwab briefly said: "We consider our nickel-plate steel 'processes no infringement at all.'"--American Manufacturer, Pittsburg. g SS a © ¢@ area 86 e ee eK Se Cee ae wie or -- UNION-CASTLE LINER SAXON, to have the Castle colored funnels--red and black tops--and she looks fine with these and her snow white hull. She is 570 feet long, 64 feet beam and 12,970 tons displacement. She carries in all about 1,200 pas- sengers, her crew numbering 250. ACTIVITY IN GERMAN SHIP YARDS. There are thirty-nine ship yards in Germany, employing altogether nearly 50,000 men, and together they constructed last year, 1899, 528 ves sels of all kinds for the navy, the merchant marine, and for river traffic of the larger description. Of these yards five are used for the construc- tion of naval vessels, having an aggregate capacity for the simultaneous construction of over forty of the largest ships, twenty-eight torpedo boat destroyers and thirty torpedo boats. Just now the different yards in Stettin alone are constructing thirty large vessels, including the Deutsch- land (completed), 16,000 tons; a lfast steamer for the North German Lloyd, 14,800; and three other passenger steamers of 11,000 tons each. The off- cial statistics show that the German ports were visited during the 'pas' year iby 140,000 vessels, whose combined tonnage was 30,000,000. On Sept. 30 last, Great Britain had 1,347,000 tons of commercial ships in con- struction, against Germany's 199,000 tons. NORWEGIAN ARMORCLAD EIDSVOLD. The Norwegian armorclad Eidsvold, a coast defense ship of 3,850 tons displacement was launched from the Elswick ship yard of the Arm- strongs in England recently. She is a sister ship of the Norge, built by the same firm, and with her forms the most powerful units of the Nor- wegian navy. She is 290 feet long, 50 feet broad and has a draught of 16 feet 6 inches. She will carry two 8-inch guns in shielded lbarbettes of 6-inch nickel steel; six 6-inch guns, four in casements of 5-inch nickel steel at the corners of the battery, and one on each broadside in the cen- ter, protected by shields; eight 12-pounders, six 3-pounders and two sub- merged torpedo tubes. She has an armored 'belt of 6-inch Harveyized steel extending between the 'barbettes, and a 2-inch armored deck, all fore-and-aft. Two sets of vertical triple expansion engines, developing 4,500 indicated horse power, are to propel her at a maximum speed of 16%4 knots. Steam will be supplied by Yarrow boilers. Rear Admiral Remey with his flagship, the Brooklyn, has been sent to Taku to assume active command of the American fleet at that point. DELAWARE FORGE & STEEL CO. The Delaware Forge & Steel Co., recently incorporated with a cap- italization of $5,000,000, has the largest capital of any bona fide company doing business in the state of Delaware under the new incorporation laws. The incorporators are J. C. Osgood of New York; John Fritz of Beth- lehem, Pa., well known through his former connection with the Bethle- hem Steel Co.; H. S. Swyth of Bethlehem, a well-known capitalist; John Stambaugh, Jr., an iron manufacturer and capitalist of Pittsburg; Seward Babbitt. of Pittsburg, who is connected with the Tod Engine Co. of Youngstown, O.; Walter M. Gorman of Philadelphia, a director of the Diamond State Steel Co.; Howard T. Wallace of Wilmington, Del., pres- ident of the Diamond State Steel Co.; William Lawton, president of the Wilmington board of trade, and J. Ernest Smith, an attorney. Officers of the new concern are: President, John Fritz; vice-president, Seward Bab- bitt; secretary and treasurer, Howard T. Wallace. It is understood that a considerable number of large capitalists of New York and the middle west will be interested in the company. They will make heavy forgings, and under the powers of their charter may largely extend the 'branches of their business in any line consistent there- with, and it is expected that several thousand men will be employed by them when in full operation. The company will shortly begin the erec- 'tion of buildings on their 200-acre tract at Wilmington. The forge alone will occupy 400 by 1,600 feet and will necessitate the expenditure of $500,- 000. Besides this there will be a large machine shop of about the same size as the forge building. One line of business in particular which the company will prepare to handle will be the making of shafts for vessels. HAVANA DRY DOCK TO BE EXAMINED. The navy department will shortly detail a 'board of officers, com- posed of Lieut. Com. Lucien Young, Chief Engineer C. R. Roelker and Civil Engineer A. G. Cunningham, to examine the floating steel dry dock at Havana, the property of the Spanish government. The examination is deemed necessary to determine the value of the structure, which' has not been moved since it was taken to Havana. The board will not proceed to Havana until authority is secured from Madrid that the inquiry may be made. The future location of the dock is a matter to tbe decided. The chances are that it will be taken to San Juan or some other naval station in Porto Rico. The commandant of the Pensacola station has submitted a strong plea, however, for sending the Havana dock to that place,