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MARINE REVIEW Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. Published every Thursday at 39-41 Wade Bldg.; by the Marine Review Pub. Co. VoL. XX V1, Hoe oT BUILDERS' TRIAL OF THE BATTLESHIP MAINE. Philadelphia, Pa., July 23.--The new battleship Maine is the fastest ship of her class ever built. This craft, Uncle Sam's latest fighting ma- chine, launched from the yards of the Cramp company, was given her builders' trial on Wednesday night and Thursday morning last. At one time she developed a speed, by the logs, of 19.95 knots. Over the meas- ured course from Overfalls light to the lightship on Five-Fathom bank and return she made 18.29 and these are the figures given out by the builders as the official result of the trial. The Maine left her dock Wed- nesday afternoon. Capt. Bucknam and Pilot Gus. Clampitt were in charge, although the entire trial was under the personal supervision of Edwin S. Cramp. A distinguished party of guests were on board, among them two representatives of the Turkish government who are here super- ~ intending the construction of a warship for their government by the Cramps. The Maine's compasses and steering gear wefe adjusted as soon as the Delaware breakwater was reached. Night was falling when her prow was finally turned seaward, but a full moon and a light breeze made the conditions for a night trial ideal. At 7 o'clock she began to show her) heels. At 7:20 the logs were heaved overboard. At 8 o'clock 11 miles had been recorded, the speed 17.86. The next observation at. 8:30 showed a speed for the half hour of 19.5. Then all fans were turned on and under forced draft she made for the half hour ending at 9 o'clock the magnifi- cent speed of 19.95, only a fraction under cruiser speed. All this time the Maine had been running straight out to sea, and at 9:45 when the engines were stopped she was on the edge of the Gulf stream. She drifted all night and at daybreak was 22 miles off Five-Fathom lightship. From there a course was laid for Overfalls light and within two hours the light- ship was brought dead under the big ship's nose. This alone was consid- ered remarkable, as with only temporary adjustment of compasses and steering gear the Maine did not steer off even half a point. Then over the meastired course between Overfalls and Five-Fathom the Maine was again put through her paces and under natural draft made the round trip of 22% knots at a speed of 18.29, which figures were painted on her stacks on the trip up the river as the official result of the trial. During the run over the measured course the logs as well showed a speed of 18.29, thus proving that they were correct during the night test. During the entire trip the big battleship answered every call of her helm and for speed as has no other vessel that has ever gone out of the Delaware. Even at her fastest there was so little vibration that it could be noticed nowhere save far aft. She also ran with a dry deck fore. Even though not tuned up the engines ran throughout without a hitch and under forced draft sent the screws through the water at a rate of 125 revo- lutions the minute. When over the measured course under natural draft they turned at a rate of 122 revolutions a minute. On turning tests the Maine moving at an 18 knot Bort turned in twice her own length and still maintained a good gun deck. On her official trial the Maine is expected to show even greater bursts of speed if called upon, for the builders' trial was run with her bottom fouled by long standing in the Delaware, and beside ordinary bituminous coal was used, Pocahontas coal being very scarce. No battle- ship ever started on her builders' trial in so far advanced a stage of com- pletion as the Maine, her main battery of four 12-in. guns being already mounted in the fore and aft turrets. The Maine, namesake of the ill-fated Maine, is 393 ft. long, 72 ft. wide and draws 23 ft. of water when loaded, coaled and armed for service. Her engines are of 16,000 H.P., and all of this was developed during her trial. The Maine's displacement is 13,500 tons. Her sides are protected by 12-in. Krupp armor and her..armament consists of four 12-in. and fourteen 6-in. guns in the main battery and twenty rapid-fire machine guns in the secondary battery. The price to be paid for her, exclusive of armor and armament, is $2,885,000, of which $2,000,000 has been paid. The balance is due when she has been in commission for six months. A PROSPEROUS SHIP BUILDING ORGANIZATION. When the American Ship Building Co. (consolidated lake ship yards) was organized in the spring of 1899 the Marine Review said it was capi- talized on a very conservative basis and would undoubtedly prove one of the best of the numerous industrial organizations then being formed throughout the country. This opinion was evidently based upon the right kind of information. Although little more than three years has passed since the organization of this company, the directors are now up to the question of what to do with surplus earnings. This is a strange condition to find among the industrial consolidations, as it was the general opinion that they were all over-capitalized. After paying 7 per cent. annually for the three years on its preferred capital of $7,900,000 the lake ship building combination has an estimated surplus of at least $3,250,000 to $3,500,000, with orders for new ships for next year of an aggregate value of about $7,250,000. In the list of orders for 1903 is included twenty-six freighters and two large side-wheel pas- senger steamers, to be built at Detroit for the Detroit & Cleveland Navi- gation Co., but no account is taken of seven or eight large vessels now approaching completion in the different lake yards, and which are to go into commission before the close of the present season of navigation. Profit on these will also be included in future earnings of the company. In view of the surplus above noted and the prospects of another year's business equal to any one of the past three years, the stock of the com- pany has attracted considerable attention during the past three or four weeks on the exchanges in Chicago and Cleveland. As it was not a large organization compared with the general run of industrials, the stock was not listed in New York and the company was rather looked upongas a closé corporation--not one for general investment. But the: local inter- est is sharp now that a neat surplus has shown up, and there is assurance of a large business for some time to come. Owners of the common stock CLEVELAND, O., JULY 24, 1902. . Subscription 2-00 a year. _ Foreign --- $4.50 a year. Single Copy 10 cents. No. 4 feel, of course, that they are entitled to the surplus, or a very large part of it, as they have had no dividends, and for the additional reason that $20 a share was paid for the common in the beginning, to give the company a working capital. The issue of common stock amounts to $7,600,000 of $100 par value per share. - ro ene nrg The present market price of this stock is $44 to $45 a share, but within the past few days there has been very little of it on the market around these figures, on account of rumors regarding different' plans for reorgan- ization which officials of the company have been considering--plans to re- tire the common stock entirely and thus secure the advantage of a reduced capital, rather than begin the payment of dividends on the common stock. It was at first reported that the scheme was to: give a share of the preferred stock, now selling at par, for two shares of common, but such a pro- position would very probably be rejected by the common stockholders. Another plan reported from Chicago within the past few days is an issue of bonds to retire the common stock. A Chicago stock brokerage house, writing a Cleveland client regarding the bond rumor, says: "Tf the common stockholders would trade two shares of stock for a $100 5 per cent. bond, the company could retire all the common stock with an issue of only $3,800,000 of bonds, and still keep its entire surplus as at present. The bond would certainly go above par at the outset, as it would be a first mortgage on a company having a very prosperous business, with no indebtedness, and a large surplus back of a very low capital. The bond issue would be a small item, even in the present con- dition of the company. The surplus is now sufficient to take care of inter- est on the bonds for twenty years." : Officials of the company are giving out no information whatever as to plans regarding its finances. The company's statement regarding busi- ness for the fiscal year ended on the 30th of last month is thus far with- held, so that it is not possible to verify the reports as to surplus above referred to, although it is more than probable that they are correct, in view of the earnings of previous years. Action regarding the surplus is not expected until October, when the annual meeting will occur. By crediting the common stock with the entire surplus of the com- pany it would be given a book value of full $60 a share. ANOTHER RECORD YEAR IN LAKE SHIP BUILDING. Ships already ordered from the American Ship Building Co. for 1903 delivery will cost in round numbers $7,250,000. The number of orders" will undoubtedly be increased, as negotiations are still under way with several owners. Contracts will very probably be placed within the next few days for vessels that will not come out until late next season. All berths that are capable of turning out new ships for the opening of navi- gation next spring are already engaged. The coming year is-sure to surpass all previous years in the building line. Officials of the American company have closed orders within the past week for six large freighters. The 1903 list now includes one car ferry, two side-wheel passenger steam- ers, one freight and passenger steamer and twenty-four large steamers for the bulk freight trade--ore, coal and grain. All are steamers. There is not a single consort in the list of twenty-eight ships. The orders are: A car ferry for the Manistique, Marquette & Northern Ry; ten steamers of Canadian canal dimensions for Capt. A. B. Wolvin's St. Lawrence river-Quebec service; two steamers for Provident Steamship Co., of which Capt. A. B. Wolvin is general manager; six steamers for a syndicate headed by Capt. W. W. Brown of Cleveland; two steamers for G. A. Tomlinson of Duluth; two side-wheel passenger steamers for Detroit & Cleveland Navigation Co.; a freight and passenger steamer for Lake Superior service of the Anchor line, Buffalo; package freight steamer for Lake Michigan service of the Anchor line, and one steamer each for the Mack estate of Cleveland, for H. A. Hawgood of Cleveland and for C. W. Etphicke of Chicago. "One woe doth tread upon another's heels, so fast they follow," mur- mured the dying tragedian as the second physician entered his room. This, indeed might be paraphrased about the contracts which the Ameri- can Ship Building Co. is receiving, though they are undoubtedly not re- garded as woes. They are certainly following fast enough. In the last issue of the Review it was stated that the ship building company had twenty-three new contracts on hand, not counting those for 1902 delivery chronicled earlier in the year. The twenty-third steamer was the one for Mr. C. W. Elphicke of Chicago. Since then five additional orders have been received, bringing the total up to twenty-eight vessels. Mr, G. A. Tomlinson of Duluth has given two contracts--one for a steamer for the Duluth Steamship 'Co. and one for a steamer for the Superior Steamship Co. These vessels are to be 436 ft. over all, 416 ft. keel, 50 ft, beam and 28 ft. deep. They will have twenty-four hatches. The estate of William S. Mack also gave an order for a vessel of the following dimen- sions: Length, 374 ft. over all; 364 ft. keel, 48 ft: beam, and 28 ft. deep. She will have triple-expansion engines and two Scotch boilers. 'Capt. A. B. Wolvin gave orders for two steamers for the Provident Steamship Co. of the following dimensions: Length, 400 ft. over all; 380 ft. keel; 50 ft. beam; 28 ft. deep. Each of these steamers will have twenty-one hatches. The steamer Hoyt, recently launched at West Superior, is the first boat of the Provident fleet. : : The question of rank between Admirals Taylor and Bradford has been decided in favor of Taylor. The ruling is that Taylor is a rear admiral.in fact while Bradford is a rear admiral by virtue of his appoint- ment as chief of the bureau of equipment. Taylor was recently made a_ rear admiral while/Bradford has held the rank for a number of years. _ The Norfolk navy yard will be extended by the addition of a tract of land embracing 270 acres adjoining.