, 1901-05-23
M'KiNLEY VIEWS
THE LAUNCHING OF THE OHIO

4 HUM OILS vi Slttl Siuiht ihto tbt nun
breasted ode of San Francisco bay, 1t
was not as splendid and magnificent
81 MS the great nava pageant which ac-
~companied it. nor as profoundly I'M
pressive as the greeting extended 10
the President by the 1900 employees of
the ship yard.
With the threat of a great strike i'm
bending, the Presidents words to the
working men to-day have an added sig
n%ificance and his reference to eXpan-
sion and other national questions make
his speech. probably the last he will
ever deliver on his present tour, in
every respect n notable one.
When the President left he SICK
room of his wife every arrangement
had been made to notify him OH the
Instant of any change for the worse
in her condition. He was driven TO the
wharf in n closed carriage, escorted by
a squad of mounted police.
The Cabinet and other distinguished
guests were already aboard the trans
port tug Slocum. which was to convey
the party to the Union Iron Works two
miles up the bay. when he arrived. The
Presidents flag, an eagle and n shield
4 on a blue field. was flying from the
main and the Union Jack was mt the
bow as he stepped smilingly up the
II gangway to the accompaniment of the
cheers of the thousands who crowded
"A the neighboring pier heads.
Every wharf on the sea front
~ swarmed with people. Up near the
Il ship yards the grim warships of he
Pacific squadron were swinging mt an
d chor. with streams of signal flags eX-
+ fending fore and aft over the peaks
"A from PROV to %taffrail. of near Goat
island lay the transport Sheridan,
travel stained from her long journey
across the Pacific. She had just ar
u rived from the Philippines and still
had aboard the Forty-second and
y Forty-sixth infantry which she had
= brought home.
The President saw her mt once and
requested thai the course of the Slo
cum be changed to allow him to pass
near her. As the Slocum approached
the big transport there was n scene OF
"A almost ~frenzied enthusiasm aboard.
"A The soldiers. all in their service uni
N forms. rushed to the side aud sent up
cheer upon cheer at the sight of the
President of the United States come
y to welcome them home.
The band on the after deck struck up
the 'Star-Spangled Banner" The sol
diers climbed the rails and ratlines
and almost drowned the music with
their shouts. They swung their hats
and acted like madmen. Several of
them brought their regimantal flags
and waved them frantically to and fro
from the bridge. The ensign at the
stern was dipped again and again. The
salute was answered by the Slocum.
The President was plainly moved by
the remarkable demonstration.
As the Slocum drew near the line of
steel-clad thunderers of Ii deep. with
4 lackies lining the rails. the marine
guards drawn up aft and officers in
full uniform on the bridges. n puff of
II smoke burst like a white balloon from
the port quarter of the battleship Wis
consin. Admiral Casey's flagship.
Boom! came the report. 1t was the
first gun from the shlps-the first of
of the twenty-one.
Each of the warships. the big, saw
age battleship Iowa, the long. lean
cruisers Philadelphia and Adams. the
little torpedo boat Farragut n the
revenue cutter McCullOch. which was
with Dewey at Manila. turned loose
their secondary batteries as the Slo-
cum slowly steamed by.
Beyond the warships the lite tug
threaded her way through the holt
day fleet of steamers. yachts. tugs
bargcs and every variety of water
craft ahmed about the front of the
ship yard.
Each was black with cheering peo.
pie and there was hardly one of them
which did not have a saluting IL of
some sort to add its voice to Ii roar
. of welcome that greeted the President
X from the dense crowd of workmen
IA gathered upon the pier.
n Ashore to the right was n stand COW
cred with acres of people and beyond
that n hill alive with them. Up. the
Il pier n broad aisle of white muslin ran
through the workmen packed on eith-
er side. Up this path, arched over
with flags and banners, n of them
bearing the inscription: 1.-THE Oregon
has made her record: watch the Ohio
the President and his party move TO
n stand where the representative of
the $500 employees of the Union Iron
Works, in n neat speech. in which lie
head of the President and expressed
tender sympathy for his suffering
wife, presented the President as a
token of the esteem of the workmen,
with n gold plate engraved with a
suitable inscription.
The Presidents response aroused
much enthusiasm. 1t vas in part as
follows:
Il am inexpressibly thankful to the
Ruler of MS for his goodness and his
mercy, which have made it possible
for me TO be with YOU here to-day.
II have wanted TO see the men of
the Union Iron Works. l have known
of their skill. | have seen their gen.
ius displayed in their workmanship. l
have observed what your spokesman
has so well said, that suffering under
the disadvantages of fuel, indeed thou
sands of miles away from the raw ma
trrials which go TO make a ship, You
have vet persevered and triumphed
and made as good ships as have ever
sailed the seas.
\ the head of the nation, l want
to thank the people of this coast for
their noble work during the Spanish
war. And I want to make special ref
erence and acknowledgements, for l
may not hav another opportunity,
TO the gallant First California volun-
'rers, hat We're among the first in the
ileld and almost the last 30 leave it,