The San Francisco call., 1901-12-15

A great industry connected Immediately
with the promotion of the commerce of
this port is shipbuilding. In that art the
builders who have yards on the shell
tered bays of California have no SUI
periors. The fame of the great battle
ships that have been launched into the
waters of San Francisco Bay is interna-
tional. They have already become the
themes for song and story. While Amer
lean history lasts the fame of the Olym-
pia, and what she did at Manila Bay, and
of the Oregon, and her wonderful trip
around Cape Horn and her leading part
in the battle off Santiago, will inspire
Americans with pride of native land.
Many other vessels of war for this Gov
ernment and many huge ships used in
commerce had their keels laid here In
building the battleship down to the
smallest craft that sails or steamS, San
Francisco has alike gained the confidence
of the men who go down to the sea in
ships, for the requirements of all sorts
OF service have been amply met and eX-
pectation has been rewarded with salts
factory performance.
In the early days all the ships and
other large vessels that came through the
Golden Gate were, necessarily, built
abroad. There were no large plants here
capable of producing the larger carriers
The principal development of the ship
building industry of this port has taken
cident to the advance in this line of the
period indicated, other attendant facili-
ties have been provided. There are dry
docks here that are capable of hauling up
the greatest carriers of commerce. Other
huge docks are in construction a Hunters
Point and at Mare Island, the latter, of
course, being under the direction and at
the cost of the Government, and being de-
vised for the use of the naval vessels Of
the United States.
The list of new vessels documented at
moi h
steadily heightened in the past few years
The Custom-house list for the caIendar
year of 1870 contained mention of only
twelve vessels that were documented
The list of the present year will show a
like leadership of California shipyards IN
the output OF craft of various descrip-
tiOnS. Everywhere the names are known
of the Union Iron Works, the Risdon
Iron Works, the Fulton Engineering and
Shjpbuilding Works and OF many other
During the past few years great i'm
pulse has been given to the shipping in
| dustries of San Francisco in common with
the general advance in prosperity of the
the general good times that business men
have known. Among the larger vessels
( turned out of California yards for pur-
poses of commerce in the past few years
are the following passenger ships: POmo-
ma, 1540 tons gross; Peru 5000 tons gross;
Senator, 22O0 tons gross; st. Paul, 220U tons
| gross; Helen, 200 tons gross; Spokane, 1850
! tons grosS-all these being the product OF
the Union Iron Works. The same estab-
lishment has turned out the large freight
ships the Californian, of 5000 tons gross;
the Alaskan, 11,Oo0 tons gross, and the
Arizonan, which is Il sister ship of the
Alaskan. From the same yards have also
come the ferry-boats Berkeley, Brooklyn,
San Pablo and Tamalpais, the last named
being the output of the present year. The
tugboats Active, Coils, Fearless, Waliula,
Sadie, Union and Izabal were also built
at the Union Iron Works.
The list of the vessels documented to
date for the present calendar year is not
complete. Large craft are the ways
that have not been finished and the build
! ing of them will have accordingly to be
credited to next year when the record is
officially made Up.
The gross and net tonnage of all new
vessels documented at this port in recent
years has been as follows: