Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1898-07-21
NAMING OF THE MONTERREY.

Story of the Manner in which the Mon
itor Received Its Christening.
The story of the naming of the big
coast defense monitor Monterey, has
never been told in print. When prep
arations for her launching were being
made at San Francisco, Irving NJ
Scott, general manager of the Union
Iron works, was at Washington, and a
number OF Californians wired him to
use his influence with BENJAMIN F.
Tracy, then secretary of the navy, to
have the ship named for some Califor
mia town, and Scott hit upon Monte
rey as a name that appealed to him az
appropriate and the request was ac
cordingly preferred.
'I'll see what can do, said the
amiable secretary and, ringing bell,
he summoned the head of the war de-
partment having the matter in charge
Wien the matter was explained the
chief of bureau replied:
but you know, Mr.. Secretary, the
rules require that ships of that class
shall be named in honor of some naval
battle in which the Americans have
participated. So far as know there
has never been a battle of Monterey"
This rule has been changed since,
but Mr.. Scott, seeing the corner he
was in as the matter stood, retorted
promptly.
eyes, it is true that there has never
been battle at Monterey, but let me
tell you story. In 1916, when wo
were having our little unpleasantness
with Mexico, an American man of war
was lying in the harbor of MaZatlan
Near her lay an Englishman, who
had an uncom Portable way of keeping
her guns pointed in the direction of
the American. Now, the Yankee
tkipper, who was typical OF his class,
got it into his head to raise his flag at
Monterey, Cal, which was the capital
Of that territory, and it SO happened
that the Englishman got the same no.
tion just about the same time The
Yankee suspected something of the
kind and made up his mind not to be
outwitted.
Late that afternoon he sent lot
of his men ashore and when the boats
returned to the ship without them the
III itiHIei hiaue u HIS IlllHu tHdt tuey
would not be back until the following
day. Satisfied with this conclusion,
he sat down to wait. Bnt the Yankee
was hustler, as Yankee sailors always
are. The night was as dark as a stack
OF black cats, and along about 10
o'clock the American boats with muf.
ned oars rowed the crew back to the
ship, and in the inky darkness that
Yankee skipper slipped his cables and
warped his ship out of the harboi
without the fact even being suspected
by the Englishman. When day broke
he was fifty miles up the coast, scud.
ding along before ten knot breeze.
1.-The other fellow saw he had been
outgeneraled, but he made an effort to
rectify his blunder. He had smart
crew and fast ship. There was no
reason, he figured, why he might not
overtake his rival and beat him tc
Monterey. He tried it and came very
nearly making a success of it. Hs
sailed into Monterey harbor just
two hours behind the American and
dropped his anchor in time to see the
stars and stripes rise to the head ol
the flagstaff in the plaza and futter tc
the breeze. Monterey and California
were ours"
Don't say another word, Scott,
said Secretary Tracy. ''That ship shal
be the Monterey"
And Monterey she is.