The morning call., 1893-10-27
OREGON HER NAME.
=. T.. ::
The Great Battle-Ship
Now AfiOat.
:. =
: e:
: CHRISTENED BY BEAUTY.
- =
..
Immense Crowds Witness the
- Ceremony.
DAY IN SAN FRANCISCO.
Local and Patriotic Enthusiasm
Voiced by Many Thousands at the
-. =. Success of the Enterprise.

From thousands of throsts there came a
mighty cheer. from hundreds of steam
whistles a laundering roar. Above the
din that was one grand shout OF jubilee
rose the strains of America" the sweet
music of the instruments being borne over
and and sea by the great roar from man
and ma chinery.
Down. down an inclined plane da1ted
mass of iron and steel-a mass that was red
and gray. 1t touched the water. hesitated
mo ment, then plunged into its future
home as though joyous at being born.
:. Il name thee Oregon" an American girl
had said, and as the great wave swept on
! ward before the moving, stately creation a
banner Of red and white bars with stars
shining upon a field of blue was caught by
: the wind and made TO futter as il pro-
cl8imed the dedication of the new marine
monster 10 liberty.
"A battle-ship had been launched. The
largest war vessel ever constructed on this
coast was afoat.
=. For five minutes the whistles kept up
!" continuous war. and men cheered until
they grew hoarse. They cheered one of
: the m ost successful Iaunchings ever had in
the United States, for true to mans bid
dlngthe hull of the great war vessel had
gone to its future home without single
:nis}lap.
!. Ranged in a semicircle in front of the
Union Iron Works were craft of every de-
scription all gay with bright colors.
Revenue cutters, excursion steamers, tugs.
steam launches. yachts and rowboats were
there gathered, their desks black with peo-
Pile. Along the tops of trestles in the yards
were fringes of humanity as persons clung
o.fragile supports way up in the air in or
der to witness the spectacle. Thousands
crowded the grounds while others sought
the seats which had been arranged on
platforms at height OF fifty feet from the
ground. The shore line beyond the works
was dotted with human beings and the !
PotEero hills back of the works were occu-
pied: Men and boys and few of the fair sex
more venturesome than others climbed the
many buildings in the yards and the YES
seIs that were undergoing repairs in the
dzydocks.
The brilliant uniforms of naval and army
officers were seen on the stands and the
grounds, matching well with the gay attire
of, Americas daughters who gath cred
there.
:. Nature, as if anxious to add her wealth
of glory to the occasion. drove away the
colo, gray fog that filed the great bay
= early in the day and caused the sun to en-
shrine all with warm bright light that |
. gave a deep blue to the ocean. brought !
!: out the whiteness Of the many sails that !
dotted the waterway. and caused the many |
.pfeees of polished brass and steel to shine |
:: ard Shine again.
=. :. From early in the morning until high /
nGon. the thousands wended their way
from the city TO the scene. A large tug
:=daSbed down the bay from Mare Island /
Navy yard, bearing officers from that place, /
"a band on its deck sending music out
:U7er fhe waters. From every pier on the |
water front other crafts of the same kind |
:catrted sightseers. while excursion boats |
lent their aid. A procession of rowboats |
was moving from up beyond Mission-street /
tGinside the rock of the same nj anne all the |
n15orning.
:: On. shore vehicles of every description
WE'RE called into use, and before 10 O'Clock
These modes Of locomotion became made
Quate and thousands made the journey on
foot.
=. From stand and rooftop from far-away
beach and nearby ground, from vessels |
!; decks and hiltops in the distance, from
:perilous heights on the gaunt trestles and !
from mastheads and yardarms the people /
watched the mass of steel and iron, then
all joined in the roar of sound that greeted
= the. 0regon's christening and her baptism
by the ocean. The wave that swelled from
her sides rushed up on the beach and spat-
tered hundreds with spray. 1t rocked the
ships that were moored outside making /
them dance like shells. Then the bay
grew calmer, and there, resting quietly on
the waters surface. was another great