Maritime History of the Great Lakes

Marine Review (Cleveland, OH), 12 Oct 1905, p. 16

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16 THE Marine. REVIEW ever witnessed in any waters, fleets from every nation assembled in honor of the triumph of steam, and closed by the strongest and greatest fleet of warships over which the American flag has ever floated. "Such a marine parade proceeding slowly, say six miles an hour, from opposite Weehawken to the extreme north- ern end of Manhattan island, a distance of about eight and a half miles, would cover the distance up and back in about three hours, and allowing for a length of the prages- sion of five to six miles, a total of four hours would ™be required for its passage; not an unreasonably long time. "Outside of the naval fleets I would certainly advocate the total elimination from such a parade of all craft not espe- cially constructed or introduced to illustrate the history of steam navigation. No general parade of steamboats, yachts, or tug boats should mar the educational character and the beauty of the histotical parade, or the power and grandeur of the naval review. "A second holiday may witness a land parade of the va- rious sailors from the naval squadrons. Such a land parade was one of the most interesting features of the Columbian celebration of 1892, and may be made so much larger and more imposing at this time, that it alone should be a great attraction. By starting the marine parade at, say 1 o'clock, ample time would be given for the multitude of visitors and spectators to place themselves on both sides of the Hudson and on board the countless boats to view the parade, and the show would be over by 5 p. m., while the land parade taking place at, say 11 o'clock the next morning, and lasting say two hours, would permit the hundreds of thousands of vis- itors from neighboring towns to return to their homes in the afternoon. "As to the expenses of such a celebration it would be, out- side of the erection of stands along the water front by the city, and banquets and entertainments to its distinguished guests, almost entirely confined to the cost of reproducing, either by new-building or by alteration, the various craft to illustrate the progress in the different types of steam vessels. "As the vessels, for the most part, would be very small and could be lightly and cheaply constructed, or could be fitted up to existing hulls and machinery at small expense, a comparatively small sum, probably a half million dollars, would suffice, perhaps less. "Some of our sister states, either bordering on the ocean or bays of the Atlantic or Pacific,or on the great lakes or inland rivers, may wish to be represented by some distinc- tive or peculiar type of steam craft, and which they may furnish for the parade. Such steamers carrying say the gov- ernor and staff of its state, who during their stay would be the city's guests, would prove a popular feature and bring thousands of the citizens of the state thus represented to the celebration. "The suggestion has been made that a maritime or ship- ping exposition should be organized to open, say the day fol- lowing the Fulton parade, and to last, say three or four months, to November or December. Such an exposition was held in Liverpool in 1886 and attracted much attention, and at this time a much more attractive and complete exhibition of maritime objects and inventions could be made. "Such an exhibition would attract, of course, an enormous gathering of visitors from all parts of the country, and it is a question, often before discussed, whether New York city wishes to add to its already busy and crowded life a popula- tion of many thousands for several months. "The suggestions I have heard made here by the differ- ent members of the committee, some of them, I think, are more valuable than any I have made. The idea of a per- manent, monumental waterway is splendid and would fitly commemorate the occasion and be an appropriate tribute to Robert Fulton." Mr. English approved the views of Mr. Romaine, and thought his suggestions should be embodied in the report of the committee as well as the suggestion of Mr. Schwab, for a monumental arch and waterway. Continuing, Mr. Eng- lish said: : "This country has given to the world a great many inter- esting ideas. We have shown the Old World how to talk for 2,000 miles over a wire; how to write 2,000 miles over a wire; we have produced the steamship, which has revolu- 'tionized water transportation of passengers and freight; we have produced the sewing machine; we have produced the cotton gin; in fact we have taught the Old World a great many things. Now, I think the United States, and partic- ularly New York, should establish at this gateway of the New World a permanent, memorial museum in which would be exhibited the features in which the United States has led the world. I believe with Mr. Schwab that there should be a permanent monument of the first application of steam to the propulsion of boats. New York will never stop at the question of expense if the object to be accomplished is worthy, and stands for the genius of these United States." Mr. McCarroll. also indorsed the suggestions made by Messrs. Schwab and Romaine, adding one that a maritime congress be held for one day to which should be invited em- inent men connected with the world's merchant marine. It was decided that the various suggestions advanced should be arranged in a systematic report, which is to be presented to the Fulton centennial commission, after re- consideration by the committee on plan and scope at a meeting to be held in the near future. On the commission, in addition to the members of the com- mittee which met yesterday, are Thomas Clyde, Barr Perree, © Frank S. Gardner, George F. Gregory, W. L. Guillaudeu, Colgate Hoyt, Hugh Kelly, Charles H. Loring, Herman A. Metz, Herbert L. Satterlee, Louis Stewart, Oscar S. Straus, W. E. Woolley, James A. Wright. TESTING ARMOR OF TENNESSEE CLASS An account has just been given by the naval bureau of ordnance of an interesting experiment recently conducted at the naval proving grounds at Indian Head in continu- ation of the series of experiments begun last March to determine the resisting power of the Tennessee class of armord cruiser under the attack of projectiles loaded with various kinds of explosives. The accounts say: "The 6 and Sin. guns were used in the test, the striking velocity of the projectiles being those corresponding to ranges of from 3,000 to 5,000 yards. The target was. a structure built in exact imitation of the side of the Ten- nessee, with all decks and bulkheads complete. The re- sults were on the whole extremely satisfactory as regards the design of the ship. The damage done by the bursting shells was within the compartment where the explosion took place, and while the damage to both personnel and material within the compartment would undoubtedly have been very great, the ship as a whole would have been intact at the conclusion of the firing. As a final test a 12-in. shell was exploded within a closed compartment just above the armored deck. The local effect of this was considerable, but the armored deck was not penetrated." Twenty-three British warships originally costing $8,000,- 000 were sold at public auction at Portsmouth 'recently for $375,000, affording a concrete example of the rapidity with which warships may become obsolete. The steamship Juniata, which was damaged in collision with the schooner Harvard Palmer, will be repaired at the yard of the Maryland Steel Co., Sparrow's Point, Md.

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