The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-27
Battle Ship Wisconsin successfully
Launched at the Union Iron Works
Yards, San Francisco.
WITNESSED BY MANY PEOPLE
LAST CHOCK GUILLOTINED BY LIT
TIE MISS LUCILLE GAGE,
And the Bow of the Steel Monster
payne by Miss Stephenson.

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 26.-At s:22
O'Clock this morning, at the Union iron
works, another great marine fighting ma
chine was added to the already large fleet
of Pacific war vessels. The vessel which
slid from the ways this morning was the
battle ship Wisconsin, the largest Of the YES
sells built for the United States government
by the Union iron works. The launching
of the big vessel was effected without a
hitch and she now rests calmly On the
waters of the bay.
For hours the street cars let down their
loads of people at the shipyard and all the
available boats on the bay were pressed into
service by the people anxious to see the
baptism of the great vessel. Thousands saw
the plunge from different points of vantage
and the platform especially set aside for
the guests of the Union iron works was
crowded to its full capacity. The Wisconsin
'christeners,' who journeyed all the way
from the Badger State to witness the event,
were given the place of honor upon the
platform with the representatives OF the
state, the city and the great iron works re-
sponsible for the safe delivery of the craft
to the government.
For an hour before the plunge a large
force of wOrkmen tore away chock after
chock which supported the vessel, and they
finished their task almost to the minute of
the prescribed time for the launching, leav-
ing only one chock to restrain the monster
and this was the support that little Miss
Lucille Gage, daughter of the governor-elect
OF the State, had been assigned to remove by
means of a guillotine, and the inevitable
electric button. At d given signal the little
miss pressed the button and the crash OF
breaking timbers announced to the thous-
ands of anxious spectators that the vessel
was about to leave the ways. Slowly the
iron monster moved toward the bay and all
eyes turned to watch Miss Elizabeth Steph-
enson break two bottles of champagne on
the bow of the vessel. Just as the mass of
iron and steel touched the water, the fair
christener raised the ribbOn-bedecked bot
ties and let the wine spill on the nose Of
vessel. The roar of applause which greeted
the final act was almost deafening. The YES
sci gathered momentum as she proceeded to
the water, and after leaving the ways,
fioated calmly along until brought to a step
in the basin, where the work of completing
her will go on.
An amusing feature of the launching was
the wetting Of number of people who were
standing on the adjoining beach. The rush
of water following the baptism was so great
that the people on the beach could not es-
cape it and many of them were thoroughly
wetted. A number of boats narrowey es-
capped capsizing.
When the big vessel slid down the ways
the war ships in the harbor fired salutes
and there was terrific dim from the steam
whistles. The controversy over the kind of
wine to be used in the christening was set
tied this morning by the use of two bottles
of champagne, one of French make, pro-
vided by the Wisconsin christening COM
mittee and another of California champagne,
provided by the Union iron works.
Prior to the launching a gigantic flag of
the Union, measuring twenty-seven feet
long and fourteen wide, was presented in
honor of the Wisconsin. The flag was the
result of the combined efforts of three hun
dred children of the Irving NJ. Scott pub
lie school, who. at the suggestion of their
teachers, commenced work upon the flag on
Oct. Is, this year.