The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-10-02
The Christening Ceremony at
Bath, Maine.
II lSONE Of THE THREE BIS
The Bottle Of Champagne Was Broken
by 1rs. Daniels.
HISTORIC TOWN OF BATH N DrTsPtoPLE
! he Home of Arthur SewaII and One of the
Oldest Towns in America. Its Inhabi;-
ants Are Educated, Progress
siye and HospitabIe.
Editorial Correspondence

e'Se dHu nOSplta0le.
Editorial Correspondence
Bath, Maine, September 25.-Just four
years ago today for the first time | visit
ed this good town. 1t is a singular coinci-
dence that it should have turned out
that my coming here on September 25.h
1900, should have been exactly four years
to an hour from my first visit. On Meth
e: occasion did l nave 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 for 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
Biddlc are named for distin-
EuiShed naval officers in the earlier
history of our 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
foCtoI horo IN tho 1o,pob;,r ~ +ho d.,
ley. for here as elsewhere his gallant
death are fresh in the minds of this pco-
pie who love the flag and honor all who
die under it's 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 first among the fore
most, but in New England the Massachu-
SSIIS 1OlkS WTOtC luc ulSlOIlCS liz IlO-
nopolized 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 Virginians lead all the rest" Maine
and North Carolina do not lay claim to
having produced an Adams and a Web
ster or a Washington or a 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
looking houses than you will find in an
| average community or newer town. The
PAINTERS here are artists, too. The col
crs are not glazing or overnight, and
thew 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 clement of the
commanity. There are no squalid little
homes here, but all seem large enough
for comfort. Many of them are old
/ uOuSSS, u INV - Sieh>A
| 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 unskillcd Ia
borer being $3.50 per day of ten hours
| Many of these are newcomers, but most
| of the men employed in sh%ipbuilding here
are natives and son often succeeds father
in the ship-yards. These people as d
| 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 tbs
| printing offices, and as take
the lead as stenographers and clerks IL
| the stores.
CHURCHES AND LIBRARY.
The most prominent building here is the
| Public Library. Situate on a high hill
IN the edge of the beautiful common
(Which we would call the park it at
tracts attention at once from its unique
~nosition and prominence. 1t is not large
h,t is a model structure and is Furnished
with all the best and latest books. ant
it's privileges are generally enjoyed b9
the community. It's schools are it's larg
est buildings and most imposing, while IT.
numerous handsome churches show tina
tic neOple are liberal in the erection o
houses of worship. The Congregations
is the leading church. The Swedenbor-
eian church, situated in the centre of hal
a SQUARE, surrounded by venerable trees
is a picturesque place. 1t was to thl
church that the late Arthur SeWall De
longed. He was it's leading communlcant
The recent death of Mr.. Sewall was uni
versally deplored here. His fathers De
fore him we're citizens of this town an
the name Sewall is an bOnored one m a.
this country. Mr.. Arthur Sewall was
man of such 1oftiness Of purpose, strict IN
tegrity and advocate of justice, that n
was looked up. to as Baths first citizen
And this, too, in spite of the fact THAI II