Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 June 1891 — Big War Ships. [ARTICLE]

Big War Ships.

| Up to the recent launcljing of the I British battle ship Royal Sovereign, the { Italians had possessed the largest war ships, the Italia and her mates, each being credited with a displacement of 13,900 gross tons. The latest addition to the British iine has a displacement estimated at 14,150 tons, thus slightly outweighing the rival craft. A radical difference exists, however, in the theory of construction, the British ship having a protective belt of armor, with steel face and iron back on the compound system, the same with a maximum thickness of eighteen inches, while the big .' craft of the Italian fleet have not any ! outside protection. At the first blush it would appear that, in point of eni durance, the odds would be largely with I the British ship, but first class naval authorities are not by any means agreed that side armor_is. efficacious, for since even the six-inch rifle at short range can pierce the heaviest armor that can be floated, there is a likelihood that shells will break through and explode, unshipping the guns ana demoralizing the crew, while in the case of unprotected sides it is likely to cut its way clear I through the ship and explode harmlessly in the water. Japan is a great country for poor peo- ! ] .'e. The most expensive form of crema- | tion only costs seven dollars.