The San Francisco call., 1908-12-05
WILL MARK ERA
IN SHIP BUILDING
Government Built PrOmetheus
to Be Launched at Mare
Island This Morning

The first collier to be built by the
government will take its initial plunge
into the sea this morning, when the
Prometheus is released from hidden
moorings and slides down the ways at
Mare island navy yard. Miss Dollie
Evans. the little daughter of the naval
constructor who had charge of the
building of the vessel, will break the
bottle of champagne against its sides
and pronounce its name, and 40 seconds
later the Prometheus will shoot out
into the channel, where the tugs Una
dilIa and Alert will escort it to the
quay wall.
A large crowd is expected to attend
the launching of the mammoth collier.
Excursions haze been arranged to leave
! Clay street wharf at Z o'clock, 1880 and
| o'clock, and hundreds of persons have
signif1ed their intention of attending
the ceremony The event marks an i'm
portant step in the industrial progress
of the Pacific coast, and the building of
/ the first naval collier will be a feather
| In the cap of California.
SISTER SHIP OF VESTAL
The Prometheus is a sister ship OF
the vestal, under construction in the
New York navy yard. The vessels were
authorized by congress in 1905, at a
cost of 81, 500, 600, and were to be built
within % months The Prometheus is
! go per cent completed, and only the
final coat of paint, the stepping of the
masts, which can not be done while the
] ship is on the ways, and the steam
/ engineering work remain to make the
vessel ready. to join the fleet an aux
iliary ship in case of war or long
cruise similar to the one now in prog
ress by the Atlantic fleet.
The Prometheus will carry COM
plement of II officers and crew OF
152 men. Its cargo will be $500 tons of
| COAL beside ammunition and stores. In
length it will equal the flagship of Ad-
miral Sperry, the Connecticut, which
| led the procession of the Evans feet
into the San Francisco harbor. It's
displacement is 1880 tons, as great
as the Ohio, Maine and Missouri.
COLLIER WILL BE SWIFT
When loaded the Prometheus will
/ have a draft of 26 feet greater than
that Of any vessel in the Atlantic fleet
| With a speed of 16 knots, she will out
strip any vessel of the auxiliary fleet
which accompanied the battleships
around the world. the fastest having
been the Marcellus, which made II
knots.
at the launching this morning, and
when the collier slides into the water
it will be nearer completion than any
other vessel that has been launched in
the United States.
Gala Day at Mare Island
MARE ISLAND NAVY YARD, Dec. g.
The Prometheus, whose big hull tow
ers above the ways, was gayly dressed
today with flags, pennants and stream
ers, preliminary to its initial dip in
the waters of the channel tomorrow.
All business houses in Vallejo will
close from 10 o'clock in the morning
until noon, and all business in the gov
| be suspended for several hours in honor
of the event, which marks new epoch
in the ship building industry on the
Pacific coast. Preparations have been
made at the yard to receive several
thousand visitors, who are expected
from San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley
and other bay cities.
The exercises will include addresses
by Governor Gillett on "California's In
terest in This Event; Naval Construc-
tor Holden A Evans an ship Building
in Navy Yards; n. o. Harron, San
Francisco's Relation to Mare Island
Navy Yard; and Walter Macarthur,
Building of Ships
chants association and the trade and
labor council will serve luncheons in
the navy yard to 1000 guests.