The sun., 1895-03-26

The T,lIow Was In Poor Condition and
the ship Was I, 900 Tons Heavier thnn
tho ST. Louis whe- -Leunched-Frost Cou,-
lag Out oftho Ground May Have Warped
the Ways Thousana- Disappointed.
PHILADELPHIA, March 90. Tho American
lin. steamship st. Paul. which was to have been
launched to-day at Cramps shipyard, is still on
dry land and for tho first time in mnny years
the Cramps have had failure at n launch. In
lsIa tho steamship Pennsylvania struck q sub
merged barge and stuck on the ways. Tho barge
was pulled out Of the way. and the vessel slid
into the water. a few years later tho Mariposa,
built for Claus Spreckels. stuck OH the ways. but
was afterward launched successfully.
The failure to-day was especially mortify-
ing to the Cramps because there was no
anticipation of it. and because of the at
tendance OF many distinguished guests, some
OF whom had como hundreds of miles to
witness the event. 1t was also mortifying be-
cause this boat, with her sister ship St. Louis,
,uccessfuily launched last fall. has attracted
attention the world over q specimen Of Amer
lean handicraft In shipbuildinE. calculated to
show that in quality at least the American NOR
chant marine was to 60 TO the front once moro.
For two hours tho workmen tugged and
strained. and then. when the tide had turned
and II was impossible to mako further effort.
Mr.. Charles Cramp announced that tho
launch must DO postponed until some other
day The disappointed guests went home. and
tho 10000 spectators who swarmed over the
big shipyards filed out. 1t was dolefu end
ing for one Of the great holidays that Phila-
dslphia always makes of these events. Tho
bunting was stripped from the ship, and great
discussion arose among all that part Of Phila-
dclphia known as Remington, sometimes called
"Fishtown," as to tho real causes of the failure.
rh- ,tar, 80 %hA Av,,, af,,,
advance any specific explanation. Mr.. Edwin s.
Cramp. however, in q general way attributed
the failure to bad tallow. Others said that the
ship did not have sufficient pitch. 1t Is known
that the hull weighed about 1000 tons moro
than the St. Louis ut the time OF her launch
This, however. It is said, would have caused tho
ship ordinarily to move faster on tho ways, be-
cause of the extra weight on an inclined plano.
and Of itself was not regarded rs q full solution
Of tho trouble.
Tho st. Paul was really ready for launching
several weeks ago, but tho cold weather and Ice
prevented 1t. Since then the work on interior
fittings has gone on steadily. and to-day tho
hull weighed about 1000 tons. Tho immense
weight had probably caused her to settle some
what because of the soft condition of tho
ground, owing to tho escape of the frost, and 1t
may have made her practically immovable.
The tallow was placed between the ways
several days ago. and the cool weather un-
doubtcdly caused 1t to cake and lose
Ti, ho%sver Is not regard as Complete es
PLANTATION, for time and again the Cramps have
to the action of the FROST There Is also q chance
that ,Oms detail was 1%Serlooked: % q bolt left in,
structed,, and it d not likely that another at
tempt viii be made to launch tho ship within
ten days or two weeks.
Never In the history Of the Cramp estab-
81 ess hsd United and
ntshsd until It shone Ike mirror The flags and
sss n shs ay hPssS
person Of Importance wore the International
Of tho place W WA. merry DeK WITH
laughter r. and plessuraSle anticipation OF the
sne sa na
legislature was on the platform. having been
Gt washington had attended in q body; Gov.
Mrs Carlisle. wife Of the Secretary Of tho Treas.
and Mayor.elect Wsrwlok Of Philsdslp phi.,
ast e s%ons
usual. He actually laughed at several jokes
his own, and in his enthusiasm said to THE
SuN reporter who was present:
have. sad tell
bow I beauty sS ana md 80 sharp that you have to
Then Mr.. E ciemens lem ms q gave 0 out M tho copy of his
speech that he was TO deliver at the luncheon
noon Philadslphia neWspapers w @ '1 scrombIsd over over
to M their othces e ia. i might Be printed a.
actually taken place. Miss Griscom. who was
70 onyisten @ Sae boar; was in her place. and for
ready to strike the blow and to pronounce the
christening words 40 soon as the craft should
The launch was set for 1:15 P. NJ. At that
hour hour all conversation seemed to cease, and a
n Sf t
bow where he could actually touch it and giyeit
don There had
hundred workmen who had wedged up tho
Lawn @InInshing cradle underneath the ship and had
after block was Knocked away. and finally the
planks on either side. Between tho planks had
zee een spread hnndrsds OF barrels OF tailSW and nd
ship in place were W the e fastehngs s at the he bow @
which which bolted the upper and lower planks of tho
Then the eight old mon who for twenty-five
years had been saving away ships at the
launches at Cramps' yard bent TO their work,
the launch OF the st. Louis last fall it was found
n
bow Of that craft little, so as to give her
start Tho same treatment was applied in this
case. The st. Paul still remained stationary. II
asaready after launching time. and whispers
OF anxiety were heard everywhere. The work
men were rallied around the bow In the effort TO
ass!st in the work OF raising it trifie more. and
slil! their labor was ineffective. 1t soon became
start the boat.
Then 1t was thought that the tall low which
nad been placed between the planks OF the
sradls must have been caked by the cold
weather. Quickly hose was run from the
large boilers OF the establishment and hot water
nhd steam were played upon the tallow to soften
" Alter few minutes of this work it was evil
aent that this. too, was a failure. Then word
was quickly passed to one of the city's ice boats,
ware off the shipyard, and an Immense
SAwser was attached u the vessel. and for
"eni eni on in this effort TO start the ship.
,.,h w. heh this had no effect. hawsers were passed
Ssus Grn 70 four powerful tugs, and the fvo steam
vessels heayed and heayed and churned the
,s.sr .sr into foam with their propellers, hut use
sessly. With the idea that a slight jar might
srarl ,u, the vessel. tho workmen aboard began to