Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-24
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, in Prison.
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Copyright ny 4 VI. Hofmann.i
- PEXT Tuesday will be gala day
in Camden. n j. for then the
greatest vessel VET built in
that old town Will he launched
There will be a flutte,ing OF
flags a shrieking of whistles, and, amid
the noisy plaudits of an admiring throns.
the battleship Michsan-a present mass
of quite 1900 tons-will glide from the1
building blocks and on TO the sweeping
tide of the Delaware Miss Carol Barnes
Newberry the daughter of the assistant
secretary of the navy. will be the snip
sponsor on this occasion. -
On a small platform raised high above
the large stand at the bow of the snip
Miss Newberry will break over tie yes
sells stem the traditional bottle of wine.
The moments preceding this ceremony
will be full of nervous tension. AS ST
lence follows the last blows OF the bat
ter;ng rams. which have driven the
wedge further home and raised the yes
sells ponderous bulk clear of the blocks
upon which she was built and transferred
her burden 10 the well creased launching
ways. the stiffness will be broken q rev
moments later by the biting swish of the
saws as they cut into the sole-piece-the
last tie binding the vessel TO the shore
As if impatient to be away. the big ship
will snap with sharp report the remain
ing fibers of that stout oak ere the saws
have finished their work. and then with
tremble of newborn motion the Michigan
will start slowly waterward. Just at that
instant Miss Newberry will send the rib
bon-decked bottle of wine crashing against
the ships ponderous steel PROV. and. on
behalf of the United States she will an
nounce the name that the sturdy craft is
10 bear ever after to the honor of the
nation to the credit of the mother state
and to the fame of the flag waving proud
IN al her stern. There will he the gaietN
of brilliant gowns and the glitter of gold
lace: there will be the strains of martial
music and the cheers of a happy crowd;
but beyond all this there will be a mys-
ticism that goes further and touches upon
the real significance of the ceremony.
The meaning of the occasion harks back
to the distant ages when man first VEN
tured upon the restless sea and was
brought face to face with force before
which he had to bow. 1t was then that
his primitive mind sought a sense Of Sc
-curity by a pledge or PRAYER made in
some form TO that hidden source of power
ere he launched his bark upon the waters.
1t was one of mans earliest acts of sup
plication. and among his first acknowl-
edgments of a might higher than the
will of his own brute, force.
Pagan Methods Explained.
To each suppiicant the hidden power
was of personal association, but the
spirit of Precipitation was the same and
each asked that the ways of his craft
might be pleasing in the sight of that
unknown spirit that ruled the waters for
him. In after time the heatman gave
form TO the spirit he invoked and fash
,nG 10 1rIE Il 81 ri
placed il upon his craft launching his
vessel only after he had made some Of
ferins 10 this idol. II all his dawn
ing mind could grasp OF the spiritual
and. rude though his creed was. still. ii
was the best evidence of a conscience
awakening TO faith in a self greater than
mis- own Down through countless ages
this custom has come. each succeeding
people giving 10 the ceremony the Naria-
ton born of their enlightenment. But
10 one and all il was the same appeal To
a higher power. a favoring god or
dreaded getty which was supposed TO rule
the ways of the seas. In each and every
one ii bore the reflex of the religious
ceremonial of the times. and ran the
whole gamut from the simplest vGtiVe' Of
fering to the gruesome sacrifice Of hu
man life.
Ten years ago in Assyria tablet was
found containing Babylouian account
of the deluge dating back twenty-one
hundred years before Christ Tie Eng
lish rendering of the translation Of that
story reads in part follows III refer
ence to the ark:
EiyhrhIr its interior I examined.
Openings the water ! stopped;
I searched for cracks and the wanting parts
Fixed:
Three sari of bitumen l poured the>out-
side:
Three sari of bitumen I poured over the in
terror:
Three sari Of men bearers who carried chests
j kept -aros u chests for NV people 10 cat
Two sari Of chests divided among the boat
To the gods ! caused 10 be sacrificed.
Our Custom a Survival.
This is the earliest record OF re-
ngious ceremony preliminary to launch
ing or floating a vessel The present Gus
tom of baptizing ships may justly be con
sldered survival OF the ancient liba-
ton practiced by the Phoenicians and
later by the Greeks and Romans when
they launched their vessels In thar
faraway time when the ship was finished
she was decked with garlands and flow
ers and tie mariners were adorned with
crowns Each vessel bore ar image Of
some god or goddess. to whom she was
duly consecrated by religious core
noniai the ancient priest purifying her
for that purpose by marching through
the ship with a lighted torch. by burning
her deck the egg being emblematical
OF the new life.
Later on the Romans adopted meth
cd which forms the basis of our pres
ent common practice of baptism-a pagan
custom reaching Ear back into the cen
turtles before Christ. To this purifying
the Romans added their libations of wine
and Il is perfectly clear how direct has
heen tire step TO the wine and water of
the sacrament Of Christian adaptation.
From heather practice of mann idols.
t'Eris'endom came 10 pledge tho welfare
OF its ships 10 the keeping OF God and the
sttnts. ami So the custom continued for
centuries during the widespread inf1u-
ence Of the Church OF Rome. In those
DAYS most of the ships We're either named
after patron saints or directly associated
with some heaven born attribute and va
rians forms ~ Precipitation prevailed. No
craft was then launched untii after a
priest had blessed her by saying mass
% board ana SpriukHug her with holy
water
IL tive old hooks one maN read that il
was the uutailirg custom - accompany
tie naming ~ k.HSs ship with some
SOFT - religious serytca or beuedictipn
aod = JuiN ~ iiiS the English BISHOP ri
HaHNnF blessed M. Grace a Dieu then
tft Hnh ~ Soutlamptnu Unc Tor hts
ttauhie Was paid nNe pounds This vessel
@u@ RftcfNaNt hrukeB ~ rebuilt and
formally named anew the Sovereign
Old English Methods.