Evening journal., 1919-05-31
HOG island HAS
RECORD LAUNCHING
5 Ships G. Over There
in 48 Minutes
Yesterday
RIVER RIVALS THE
CLYDE, DANIELS SAYS

PHILADELPHIA, Pa May dl'-fNo
ships In forty-elght mlnutesl
A record In ship launehinss was es-
tablished yesterday afternoon at Hog
Island. when that number OF bottoms
slid into the Delaware for their first
dip. Besides the speed or the launch
ings-also record-an OF which were
made by the same launching crew,
which travelled distance Of mile and
a quarter In going from one way TO an
other, It Is the largest number OF ships
ever launched In one yard on a single
day.
J0sephus Daniels, secretary OF the
navy, and a large group OF congress-
men and other notables gathered on the
two-deck grandstand opposite way No.
%, from which the Lehlgh, the third
ship launched, was sent 10 the water.
Secretary Daniels made brief speech
preceding the launching. lie declared
the day marked a new era In shipDuild-
ing for the United States.
-Four OF the ships were named In
honor OF communities which did especi-
ally good work In the Liberty Loan
drives and women from those sections
acted as sponsors.
The ships were the Maiden Creek
named in honor OF the work Berks
county performed; the Nedmac, Cam
den city spelled backwards), named TO
honor the city across the Delaware; the
Lehigh, for the Libetry Loan workers
OF the Pennsylvania county OF that
name, and the Plpestone county, honor
ing that county, which is situated In
Minnesota.
The NTH ship was the Luxpalile.
The sponsors OF the Liberty Loan
ships were Miss r. Erma Reiser. Read
ing, Pa, the Maiden Creek; Mrs. Mary
Baird Fox, daughter OF Senator David
Baird. OF Camden, the Nedmac; Mrs.
William r. Thomas. OF Allentown. Pa,
the Lehigh Miss Lois Gather, Of Pipe
stone county, MINI, the Pipest0ne
County, and Mrs. J. B. Andrews, Of
Philadelphia, the LuXpalile.
Mrs. Andrew Is the wife OF the man
ager OF The division OF hull consiruc-
tion. American International Ship
building Corporation. The employees Of
the division requested that Mrs. Andrew
be sponsor for the ship and the men
AnANN4 a AuIl VIII NIAlM NlAF. INA~
chased for her a large chest OF silver.
The present was given to her before
the launching.
4 hrge delesauOn from Pipestone
county. MINI, journeyed across the
country TO witness the launching OF
the ship named 10 honor the county's
patriotism. The committee gave Sec
retary Daniels an Indian pipe OF peace.
made from stone taken from a famous
Indian quarry in Pipestone county.
IN accepting the gift Secretary Dan
iels said:
IN these piping days Of peace I will
use this peace pipe as q gavel."
Fully 50,Oo9 persons gathered In the
great shipyard TO watch the ships slide
from the ways The work went like
clock work. Secretary Daniels had just
concluded his speech. when some one
sang out There she goes"
The crowd strained 10 catch glimpse
OF the Maiden Creek as she slid from
way No. a. That was at i.37 o'clock,
and at 225 o'clock, forty-eight min
utes later. the last ship, the Luxpalile,
was IN the water.
Secretary Daniels made HIS address
from the TOP deck OF the srandstand.
more than twenty-five feet above the
heads OF the crowd.
The secretary said:
a few days ago with a company
OF naval experts we visited great ship
building plants abroad on the Tyne
and the Clyde. there for generations.
Today we stand on the banks Of the
Delaware. rapidly becoming The river
which will outdistance every other riy-
er in the world in the product Of its
ships.
we can never forget in the early
days OF the war, when the need OF
sending wheat and supplies to our al
lies in France and the one essential
need Of America was ships. and then
more ships and we did not have them.
we have only begun to
build ships. We shall not quit build
ing ships until we have enough not
only 10 c1rry the bulk OF American
but TO do our share in car
rying the commerce OF the world
This great nation has been lacking
one Thing. the appreciation OF the mer-
chant marine In 1853 American ships
carried 20 per cent. Of American i'm
ports: in 1870. 80 per cent; IN 1900. a.
per cent; in 1910, less than 10 per
cent: and we were coming down TO the
vanishing point when the America nag
could not be seen upon the seas. One
OF the by-products Of this war is that
,ve have in the words Of Lincoln. high
~ resolved that the American flag shall
be seen carrying American commerce
10 the uttermost parts OF the earth