The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-09-30
The Christening Ceremony at
Bath, Maine.
ITlSONE OF THE THREE BIS
The Bottle of Champagne Was Broken
By Mrs. Daniels.
HISTORIC TOWN OF BATH AND ITS LOPLE
The Home of Arthur SeWall and One of the
Oldest Towns in America Its lnhabi.-
ants Are Educated, Prosres-

StCCS( iNUlio VI TlilCl I'D ITO IillidUt-
ants Are Educated, Pro,res-
siye and HospitabIe.
editorial Correspondence.)
Bath, Maine, September 25-Just four
years ago today for the first time l visit
ed this good town Ii is a singular coinci-
dence that it should have turned out
that my coming here On September 25sh,
1900, should have been exactly four years
to an hour from my first visit. On neith-
e. occasion did I have anything to do
with fixing the date which makes the CO.
incidence more remarkable. On Septem-
Der 25th, 1896, l came here with Mr..
Bryan on his New England tour and
with him spent Sunday as the guest of
the late Mr.. Arthur Sewall, the Demo-
cratic leader of this section of the Re-
public. This year the time of my visit
was fixed by the date of the completion
OF the torpedo boat "Bagley, which was
launched at ten minutes past one with
appropriate ceremonies at the immense
plant of the Bath Iron Works. 1t is one
of the three fastest and largest torpedo
boats fer which the government last year
contracted with the Bath Iron Works
the three BIS, the Barney, launched a
few weeks ago; the Bagley launched to-
day, and the Biddle which is being COM
pleted and will be launched before
Christmas The Barney and the
Biddle are named for dis.in
s,uished naval officers in the earlier
history of cur navy, and the
last for the young North Carolinian
who was the first naval officer that died
for his country in the Spanish American
war. There was deep interest mani
tested here in the launching of the Bag
ley. for here as elsewhere his gallant
conduct his noble life and glorious
death are fresh. in the minds of this peo-
pie who love the flag and honor ali who
die under its folds.
PAINT, PUSH AND PROGRESS.
The town of Bath is one of the oldest
in America Before the landing at Ply
mouth, a settlement had been made at
Popham some miles below Bath, which
can justly claim to have ante-dated all
the New England colonies. This fact is
not generally known because the people
OF Maine were busy building ships and
fishing while the Massachusetts folks
were writing history. In this respect,
Maine resembles North Carolina. Both
States in every crisis of the country's
history have been firs- among the fore
most, but in New England the Massachu
setts folks wrote the histories and mo-
ncpolized fer their State the honor that
belonged alike to all the New England
colonies, while in the South, the Virgin
ians in writing the history of the South
ern colonies did not fail to let the deeds
of Virginans lead all the rest" Maine
and North Carolina do not lay claim to
having produced an Adams and Web
ster or a Washington or Jefferson, but
in heroic achievement the future histo-
rian will be forced to give them the high
place in history to which the gifts and
deeds of their sons entitle them.
The first impression you gather here
is that the people believe in paint pro-
gress and push. Though one of the oldest
towns in the country, there are fewer old
locking houses than you will find in an
average community or newer town The
painters here are artists too. The col
Crs are not glaring or overnight, and
they harmonize. The impression on the
stranger is that of good taste, beauty
and love of home. The smaller houses
of the wage earnerS are neat and fresh
ly painted as we'll as the homes of the
rich and more prosperous element of the
community. There are no squalid little
homes here, but all seem large enough
for comfort Many of them are old
houses. but they have either been mod
ernized or made to look new by fresh
paint.
Shipbuilding and shipping is the foun-
dation upon which Bath rests. In the
Bath Iron Works alone employment is
given to nine hundred men. The wages
are good, the pay Of the unskilled Ia
borer being $150 per day of ten hours
Many of these are newcomers, but most
OF the men employed in shipbuilding here
are natives and son often succeeds father
in the ship-yards. These people as a
rule own their homes-and they are
homes of comfort, good enough for any
body. The rule is to work. Everybody
works. Young women are the walters
in the hotels, they set the type in the
printing offices, and as elsewhere take
the lead as stenographers and clerks in
the stores.
CHURCHES AND LIBRARY.
The most prominent building here is the
Public Library. Situated on a high hill
on the edge of the beautiful common
(Which we would call the park it at
tracts attention at once from it's unique
position and prominence. 1t is not large,
but is a model structure and is furnished
with I'll the best and latest books. and
its privileges are generally enjoyed by
the community. Its schools are its larg-
est buildings and most imposing, while its