The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1905-10-05
SHIPS GLORIOUS CAREER ENDS
Famous Constitution Declared Worn
Out Beyond Repair.

The Constitution is worn out be-
yond repair. Not the written or un-
written constitution, but Old Iron
sides, the frigate which bore Hull and
Bainbridge to victory. Seventy-hve
years ago the spirited lines of DR..
Holmes saved 1t from the wreckers,
but now the end has come.
The Constitution was launched in
1897. a sister ship of the United States
and the President. The latter, under
Admiral Decatur, was captured by the
English in 1915, after treaty Of peace
had been concluded, but there were no
cables In those days. If there had
been Jackson would not have fought
and defeated Pakenham at New Or
leans. 1t is now an English training
ship and carries Sir Charles Beres.
ford's flag The Constitution was
equipped with thirty-two long twenty
four Founders and twenty thirty-two
pound carronades. Under Capt
Preble 1t took part in the lombard
ment of Tripoli in 1904, It's sailors
winning the admiration of the world
by taking 1t and making sail under
fire as coolly as If on exhibition. In
the war Of 1912, under Capt. Isaac
, Hull it sank the Guerriere in thirty
minutes under Capt. Bainbridge it
riddled the Java in sixty-five minutes;
under Capt. Charles Stewart it cap
tured the Cyane and the Levant.
1t was in 1880 that 1t was first pro-
posed to dismantle the Constitution.
Now, In 1905, it is reported that the
frigate Is sinking where II lies and il
put in dry dock would fall apart of
It's own weight. Is It due to lack of
care or to initial differences in con.
struction that it cannot reach the age
Of Nelson's battleship, the Victory? :?
The Victory was already forty years
old in October. 1905, when 1t aided in
destroying the Spanish and French
fleets of Trafalgar. 1t had taken part
In the victory of Cape st. Vincent.
which gave Jervis his title as earl.
when nearly the age at which the Con.
stitution was first condemned It car
ried 100 guns, eighteen. twenty-1our
and thirty-two Founders. It's tonnage
was 2,l62 22-94. Its oak sides above
the water line were two feet thick
and are still stanch. The steel bat
tleship of to-day is old-fashioned in five
years, obsolete in fifteen, but this vet.
eran, after forty years service. won
Its greatest battle, the greatest sea
hight OF the Napoleonic wars.
Against modern fighting machine
whole fleet like the Constitution and
the victory In their best days would
be useless One of the new twelve
inch guns will fire two shots a min.
ute capable of penetrating fifty.one
inches of wrought iron. The twenty
iour pound balls of the Constitution
would rattle harmlessly against the
steer armor of the Colorado. But
progress is only relative. Offensive
and defensive ornaments have deveI.
oped equally According to Sir Philin
watts director Of naval construction
IN England, the present relation he.
tween guns and armor is about what
IL was In the days of the cast iron
smooth bore and the oak sides In
lsO5' as in 1905 or 1912. it is the man
oehinu the gun that makes the differ.
ence No nation can afford N foi,
pehlhu the others in equipment but
preclslon' courage, loyalty must al.
ways be the deciding factors whore
other things are equal