The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-09-06

otoWly Dut inC4ofA0hl ~ mas pCch bah-
ished from 1.-The sea. until scarcely one
ship in fifty carries one. writes Mary
H. Northend In the Boston Transcript.
In totemic semblance of some wind
or water spirit 1t perched on the Prov
Of primeval mans rude dugout. 1t
saw rise and fall of trfreme Viking
ship. Roman war galley. Spanish
treasure gaileon. and three-decker; It,
adorned the bow OF whaler. merchant
man, and man-of-war. Routed from
the position In the merchant marine
by the advance OF an utilitarian spirit
that regards nothing that is not
source of profit. It found an asylum In
the United States navy, which still
honors the traditions of the mighty
past. Even there, however. 1t was not
destined long to abide. As the ships
Of the world circling Atlantic fleet
passed into their war dress this sum
mer the figureheads were unshined and
melted down. Trim. but serviceable
and above all tending toward invisible
ity, gray IL to. be the color of the
squadrons hereafter. In peace and war.
Cleaning like the shield of Ajax and
serving as q target for the enemy.
weighing the price Of q modest home-
stead, and costing three or four hum
dred dollars year to keep bright ana
shipshape. the splendid bow ornament
is out OF keeping with the battle con-
ditions that have to be met today me
order has gone forth 70 clear away ah'
top hamper ana 10 s'o" sSei'
even sentiment.
The splendid blazon which Saint
Gaudens designed to grace the pow =.
tDewey's victorious Olympia, and wnicn
cost $4,000, will not In all probaphity'
be unshipped. as tnat cruise e A.
tached to the training sauaoo co..
napois' ana may n ,hat ~ the
Goddess OF victory Ale
signed and cast In bronze Win an 81
borate background Ihat On VIC .a,-s
ser Cincinnati given by Ns a~r
city, 10 @ copy OF saint Gauoe ne = ynr,-
and cost 5000. Tnat OF .me wmnIrn
in form of the seal OF tne 90 re-
State, was also costly, anu hand
emptory doing away with these mana
some gifts would be neither hecess"''
nor graceful.
Object OF fnas. how.
1t 10 not with irreVe.ehe n;,,as ~
ever, that ships nave peen uepa Sava
the bow guardians wnich Lol Sattla
looked on tempest, wreck anu ~ e,oiu-
Even by the linering process re- riace
ton the hgureneaa ues ,,,as al use
In the economy OF the sea was sso,t AZ
full as 1t was honoraPie: AN hava
pride. an ind1gnity 10 ~ wvu tar.
called down the wrath OF ooIn vs.. -, a.
deck and forecastle. botn sWoE 80
and never seadog put mas ,,.,onaI
onsolatiou Of even single aou ~
shot in the all too empty eaar ~.
marine opyursatlohs. .ralI Mt
revently OF the figureheadi AS wen W.
ter lightly the dread name OF n S
SQuare-foot" himself Marrya'. . ~
OF a mutinous crew that was cowea y.
the captains threat TO paint tno hs"
head black.
whether hacked out by vllass saoa a.
Of all-trades in some ooscure ioi. :.
wrought by some artist OF repute cum
missioned by rich owners the ns1
head bore a close relation TO the LOT
tunes of the ship and It's peopie'
proclaimed the Identity OF the ca'
thereby antedating signal nag ana co1e
name. Standing up the forelsn losa
day with the name by the ~ ~.
sealed from view. the GOOD snip 70
vealed herself to the watchrul agent :"
whom her rich cargo was consigned by
tba frurehead, recognized afar; or, an
dismantieti beyond recognition by the
barely weathered Gulf stream storm.
she iinped into the home harbor. the
gl,mnaa NJ the familiar sign beneath
tha how-snrit thrilled the old shipping
town with the news of her return that
brought youth and age. man. maid and
matron hurrying to the wharves. Not
in1reouently a battered fgurehead.
cast upon distant sands, told all that
ever was known of the fate OF the
stont three sticker that had stood down
the hav manned by the brave lads OF
the yiilare.
We can only speculate as to the pro-
cess nv which man evolved his first
rou1h CRAFT but II is not a violent sup
nositior that the first sailors primitive
IL, q s-tnatinn endowed his handiwork
,.,;th Az attributes Of a living thing,
rhat Sons What more natural than that
| he should ornament IL with the carved
resamhlance os the head OF some crea-
tnre nerhaps his own or that OF his
savage mate? The Malay Islander to-
Sav naddIes a war craft ornate with
shS f,,rscns viaage on on some mighty
,,s rr,or whose countenance alone IL
s,'n.asaa 70 nIarce the enemys vitals
s,tth tha chiiI Of fear. The Chinese
art.,ar ,ttII daoks his Junk with eyes
80 -, aItbar side of the bow
srha Apurehead had still other dut-
,as 20 Derform. II It could guard
~ainst misfortune surely one made In
| the image of some powerful deity could
hrSra sooa Influences to bear upon the
".a~t snd cause fayoring winds
The extent TO which the figurehead
-. SaIian into disuse Is governed
,n.aI.. ~, nat,onal and racial In
n,,s~css Few American ships carry
49, o,n,,r,enanca today, although a
,ons,darshIe humber of British ships
ttI 40 THE Swedes Norweigians and
Danes descendants of the men who
ravaged the coast of Europe in dragon
shjns cling almost universally to this
style Of ornamentatton. True sea row.
~ the lima gerry of the old days. means
sometbinp to them. German, French.
80 I.aiten shin owners show a consid-
1870 tendency 10 cherish the tradi-