St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-07
STEES is A MASCOT.
HELPING THE CRAMPS OUT OF
DIFFICULTIES.
LAUNCH OF THE ST. PAUL.
The Great Steamer to BE Sent
Down the Ways Wednesday
Everything Ready.

Special to the Globe.
PHILADELPHIA, April GOT the
entire st. Paul contingent which came
to this city more than ten days ago to
witness the launching, at Cramps
ship yards, on March %, of the great
international liner which is to bear the
name Of one of the Twin Cities of the
Northwest-St. Paul-none felt more
keenly the failure of that magnificent
ship to bulge from the ways and make
her initial plunge into the waters of
the Delaware than John A. Stees. To
add to his disappointment, his intimate
personal friend, Judge Otis, proclaimed
him the Jonah of the party, and that
incidentally that was one of the prime
causes of the failure of the launch.
His disappointment, however, only
served to strengthen his determination
to be ION deck when the ST. Paul is
eventually launched, and if he had to
remain in Philadelphia until Christ
mas" That he proposes carrying out
that determination none who have
watched his movements for the past
week, and that he also proposes to re-
move the stigma cast upon him by his
friend pronouncing him Jonah and
prove to his st. Paul friends that he
can be mascot as we'll, is also evil
denced, and has been partly demon
strated by him during the past week.
Scarcely day passes that he is not
seen lowering in and about the massive
hull of the ST. Paul up at the ship
yards, mingling with the thousands of
workmen engaged thereon, and not
only encouraging them in their work
nv timely
taking a hand in the work himself. A
| casual observer roaming about the ship
yards the other day could have seen
away up on the top deck of this mag
nificent vessel a middle-aged gentle
man in shirt sleeves, with a long, flow
ing iron gray beard, welding a ten
pound iron sledge with the effective
ness and ability of a veteran, while the
perspiration stood upon his forehead
in beads. His boiled shirt and the i'm
maculateness- of his dress showed that
he. was not an ordinary workman and
a tiny white silk badge fluttering from
his breast, with the word st. Paul"
upon 1t, revealed who he was. 1t was
Stees. Having assisted the workmen
in cutting a hole through one of the
large iron plates which line the vessels
blues, lie Is next seen unQer the mass
i've hull watching the workmen remove
| the heavy wedges used to raise the ship
from off the keel blocks, and it was
here that he demonstrated that he pos
sessed the qualities of a mascot As
he stands there, the workmen break off
no less than four of these massive
wedges in their efforts to withdraw
them. Selling hold of the rope which
| manned the block and tackle as an at
tachment was made to the fifth wedge
and singing out, in a cheering voice,
Give us a lift here boys" pull alto
gether is given, and out comes the
wedge intact, and with such ease as
though creased with the tallow that
was given as one of the causes for the
failure of the launch. The same opera
ton. removed successfully number of
the other wedges. With this happy
faculty for making friends, he is al
| ready great favorite among the work
men at Cramps ship yard, who look
forward daily to his coming.
Everything is now in readiness, and
the great steamer st. Paul will slide
down the ways next Wednesday after
noon.