i
8
TTTI! OMAnA' SUNDAY BEE: MAY 12, 1D07.
-
WARSHIP VISITORS 1 BOTHER
Trem Alalnl Down th Kay foot Weari
of Them.
BiQ FLEET D6INGS ARC NOT PROFITABLE
an Agreeabl Ones, of (oiri, bat
Hnr of th Kind Who Look
Dawi th En-
listed Man.
NEW TOBK, Mar 11. Neither the offloar
nor the men for'ard of American ships of
irtr entertain any particular fondness fur
ucb bis fleet doings aa are now In progress
at the Jamestown exposition. The hordes
of ships' visitors are pretty apt to get on
the nerves both of the gentlemen of the
quarter deck and the men of the fo'o'sle
All hand get tired of the monotony of
explaining the same old things about the
Ships to the visitors as tired as the mega
phone of the rubberneck wagons become
f their Jobs. . They tire, too, of the ex
treme Inqulsltlveness, not to say the pry
lngness, of most of the ships' visitors.
The officers as a, rule show their ships to
distinguished visitors, friends, people who
approach them with letters of Introduction
and pretty girls without any letters at all.
Th men for'ard chaperon all of the, others
th hot pollot and some pretty girls of a
type more nearly corresponding to their
own degree and they become most infer
nally sick Of playing the guide, particu
larly aa ther ax no nooks and crannies
where th nice looking girls falling to the
allotment of th bluejackets can be con
veyed for chummy little chats. In this re
spect th officer have an Immense advan
tage, because they have the freedom of
Wardroom, meesroom and so on.
Kiantie o a Tarty.
Th extremely respectable but not very
Interesting middle class' folk, especially
those from th west, who know all about
th navy because they've read about It In
th 10-cent magazines, are very exacting
when they find themselves on board a
man-o'-war for th first' time.
Th leader of such a party generally de
mands to see the captain of the ship as
soon as the oil nib' over the gangway Is
mad. The officer of the dark who comes
for'ard then politely explains that the
skipper is exceedingly . busy In his cabin.
Can he, th officer of th deck, be of any
service to themT Th respectable folk
look a bit downcast at this, for the officer
of the deck seems young and he Isn't the
boss. However, the leader replies that th
officer of the deck might do, In a pinch.
The officer o'f the deck can show them over
the ship. The officer of th deck mumbles
something about being n watch and there
fore unable to leave th deck, and he
summons the first handy ' bluejacket ap
prentice or shellback petty officer. It makes
no difference to show the party about.
Very often the visitors of the type indi
cated take this aa a deadly Insult. Here
they've com all the way from Ohio or
Indiana or Nebraska mainly for the pur
pose of having a good look at some war
ships, and a bluejacket, a common sailor
person. Is detailed to show them about
belittling and outrageous, a deliberate. In
tentional humiliation, which they will not
for a moment stand or tolerate and which
they shall report at once to the secretary
of the navy.
Under th Gnldance of Jaeky.
If they don't debark In a huff they'll re
luctantly and grouchlly follow the blue
Jacket assigned to th Job of showing them
thtngs about th ship, and a good many of
them will take ut their pique by attempt
ing to treat Jack, their guide, as If he were
some peculiarly degraded and lowlv sort
of bug. These songs of the "Man Behind
the Gun" sort ar very pretty Indeed, with
pictures thrown upon a screen and all that,
but when the average individual of the
mug way of life comes Into actual . con
tact with the man behind th gun Jack's
just a fellow to be arrogant and haughty
with. The American bluejacket very
quickly detects It when he finds himself
being regarded in this light by ships' visi
tors and he curls up most mightily upon
such visitors.
The things that they don't see about the
man-o'-war they are - visiting under the
convoy of the resentful bluejacket could not
be catalogued, much less described. In any
but a large volume. And when at the fin
ish of such a tour the vMtor make the
dismal mistake of offering their sailor
guide a piece of silver change In the way
of backsheesh they ar; more than liable to
hear something that will send them off to
the beach with a profound dislike for and
djstrust of the man behind the gun.
Where On Got Even.
At th Oyster Bay review a pompous
fat man. aomething of the typ of th Sun
day clothed cattl drover, accompanied by a
party conforming t his own obvious de
gree, had a bluejacket guide In a lengthy
tour of the ship. The bluejacket waa
a bo'sum's mate who'd "been going up and
down the seven seas on American ships of
war for more than a score of yeara The
fat man and his people were very remote
In their attitude toward this sailor person
with the bell bottoms. The men of
the outfit addressed him as "Bay, you
fellow!" The women didn't address him
at all, but regarded him with the aslant
gas. At tbe end of the tour of the ship,
when ready to debark, the fat man pulled
a dim from his change pocket and essayed
to "slip It" to Jack.
"That's all right, mate," whispered the
bo'sum's mate back of his hand. "Keep It
yourself for a shave and a shine. You can
get both your kind fer a dim. I'm on
watch, and ahowlng you folks about Is
part of my work. I get paid for It alt right.
If It was up to me and I didn't have to do It
I wouldn't show you around a lumber
schooner for $9 a minute," and the dead
sore and Justifiably dead sore sailor man
went for'ard
The fat man complained of him to the
officer of the deck, but the officer of the
deck could only shake his head mournfully
ad express contrition for the bad be-
fetvlor of the bluejacket.
Tti fuming fat man clambered Into the
steam cutter vowing and vummlng that
he would report the bull thing. Just as It
occurred, to the Inauarurator of the square
deal and the manipulator of the big stick
In Washington, and he'd bo willing to bet
that there'd oe some pups of naval officers
educated at the expense of the hull pee
put looking around for work just as soon
ss Teddy heard about It. Whereupon the
officer of the deck again shook his head
aadly as he leaned over the aide waiting
to give the word to the cex-un of the cutter
to shove off, and the Incident wa over.
But It waa only one of a hundred auch Inci
dents that happen every time a fleet Is
brought together for Inspection by mis
cellaneous types of ships' visitors.
AAmlral Rvaa Gets a Tin.
At a Hampton Roads nva! review a few
years ago Admiral Bob Evans was tbe
recipient of a ttp. Th admiral waa stand
ing at th gangway of his fl airship when a
bucolic appearing middle-aged couple came
aboard from a shore boat. The officer of
th deck was on the bridge. Th gang
way marine guard was attending to some
thing on the other side of the ahlo. The
apprentice of the watch was striking ths
ship's betL So the admiral happened ta
be standing at th gangway alone. He was
rn undress -uniform. " '.
"Hy, you," said th mat of th coupl
M J fe got a foot oyt ta aid
dressing the admiral of the fleet, "you can
how us this boat, cant ycuT'
Admiral Ifnb could, and did. He showed
'em everything about the ship, cathead to
mlrxen rail. He explained everything to
tham. lie gave over an hour to the Job.
"And what do you do on the boatT" the
man naked him alone towsrd the finish of
the ship's tour.
"Met Oh, I'm a sort of handy man on
board. I'm pretty strong when It comes
to nv ss time," replied the admiral.
"Well, here's a quarter for you, my man,"
said the male person to the admiral as he
was about to take the steam cutter for
Old Point. "Don't you spend It all for
strong drink." and, with a final leer, over
the side he went.
The admiral tucked the quarter Into a
trousers pocket and went aft to his cabin
amid the laughter of the officers and men
who had been watching the performance.
That evening there was a great ball at
the big Old Point hotel. Admiral ''Bob."
looking pretty smart snd fine In his full
dress togs, was the main figure of the oc
casion. He was dancing with the wife of
an ambassador when the man who had
staked ljlm In the morning broke out onto
the ball room floor from a doorway in
which were crowded the nonlnvlted guests
of the house.
"Here, you admiral man, gimme bark
my quarter." demanded the man, with a
i grin over his own subtle sense of humor,
lumbering up to the admiral
The admiral stopped for half a Dion eat
and gazed at the man sternly.
"I will not." he resolutely replied. "I
earned the two bits and I am going to keep
the money. Do you customarily reward
people with money and then demand them
to give It back to you7
The man fell back Into the crowd at th
doorway, and he spent the rest of the night
in telling everybody who would listen to
him how he'd staked the admiral of the
fleet to two bits In th forenoon, "and he
says, says he, that he waa just a handy
man like," and so on.
Eros Peasant Folks Are Costly.
There ar, of course, many pleasant
people visiting the ships of war during the
big revlewa, but even these put a sort of
fly In the ointment of the naval men by
keeping them more or less "broke." If
they're pleasant folk they're right In line
for ships' gifts, and neither the officers aft
nor the men for'ard can refuse these gifts
to the nice people, who always know all
about these gifts, too. The things that the
officers and men of our ships give away
to agreeable ships' visitors are cap ribbons,
neckerchiefs, plugs of tobacco, knife lan
yards and so on. It Is amazing what an
Immense bill an officer r man can cast up
against himself on the paymaster's stores
account In the course of a naval review
merely by way of articles of this trivial sort
that he gives away. A cap albbon bear
ing In gilt letters the name of the ship
stands the giver only 15 cents, but when he
gives away some hundreds of them and at
least all of the girls hanker for them, if
they don't demand them the thing figures
up.
The bluejackets' black silk neckerchiefs
cost them $1 apiece, but that doesn't
make any difference when an engaging
girl on board a man-o'-war casts a wistful
eye upon on of those neckerchiefs, she's
got to haver it, even if Jack doesn't have
shore liberty money for months to come.
The pleasant visitors, too, carry the pound
plugs of tobacco away with them they
cost the men 36 cents per plug and the
girls tie the plugs up In little ribbons and
hang them In cosy corners. When It's all
over, the officers and men slink aft to the
office of th paymaster to find out where
they stand. ,
Our officers, at any rat, ar a heap
luckier in this respect than the officers of
some of the other nations' navies. In some
of these other navies the dagger Is part
of the officers' accoutrement. There was a
fin Russian man-o'-war In New Tork har
bor about ten years ago, and slews and
Building Record for April
Building' In forty leading cities for April
shows an Increase in the number of build
ings and a decrease of 6 per cent In cost In
comparison with the corresponding month a
year ago. During the month Just 'closed
permits were taken out for the construc
tion of 17,840 buildings, Involving 3t.018.210,
against 16,217 buildings aggregating In cost
G8.r4,ii54. an Increase of 1.623 buildings and
a decrease of $4,2U6,444, according to official
reports to Construction News. Were It not
for the heavy falling off In Chicago for
April of this year, the statistics In point
of cost would show a gain. Tbe decrease
in operations in Chicago Is readily ac
counted for. In April a year ago permits
were taken out In Chloago for the court
house Involving a total cost of M.600,000;
Otto Toung, for a twelve-story mercantile
building at 143 States street, $800,000; Con
gress apartments, $760,000, and the Pike
building at 163 Stat street, 1460.000. It will
therefore be seen that Chicago 1 not fall
ing behind but that tbe figures for April
a year ago were abnormal. A consideration
of these figures from the different oitles,
shoV some gratifying revelations, far
more interesting than at any time for
several months. Th most notable gain
waa In Portland, Ore., whr permits war
taken out for t93 buildings, Involving a
CITY.
New York, Manhattan and the
Bronx
Brooklyn
Philadelphia
Chloago
Pt. Iuls
Washington
Portland
Milwaukee v
I -os Angeles
Cleveland
Pittsburg
Newark, N. J ..
Petrolt
Kans.s City, Mo
Minneapolis
Buffalo
Rochester
Clnrlnnatl
Indianapolis
fit. Paul
Seattle
Columbus
Bpoksne
Atlanta. Qa
Worcester, Mass....,
Taooms. Wash ,
IxulvUle
New Orleans
Omaha
Pnllus
Ilarrtsburg
l"ulutti. Mtnn ,
Lincoln Neb..,
Orand Rapids
Allegheny
Terre Haute
Ban Antonio
Chattanooga
Iavenport
Pueblo, Colo
Total.
Notable gains In addition to thne In-
eluded In the foregoing were: Davenport,
111 per cent; San Antonio. 77; Newnrfc. N.
J., 63; Worcester, Mass., 60; Taeoma, 48;
Mltwaukee. 46; Harriaburg. Pa.. 44; Louis-
vllle, 85; Minneapolis and Columbus, each
28; Duhith, 30; Rochester, N. T.. 19; Spo-
kane, 16; Omaha. 11; Terre Haute, 10; Clove-
land. 10. Losses In addition to that In
Chicago of 66 per cent were: Pittsburg, 87;
St. Louis, 42; Pueblo, 84; Allegheny, SO; Los
Angles, 27; Seattle, 21; New Orleans, 28;
Llncotn, Neb., 29; Buffalo, 23; Orand Rap-
ids, 23; Atlanta, 21; Indlanspoli 20; Kan-
aa City,. II ; gt, Paul, 14; Dallas. 10; De-
ad-Jjrolt and CLvclnnaU, acU Ui Chattaaoaga,
slathers of New Tork girts went abroad
of the Gear's ship to be shown about. They
kali cam away with daggers. The
daggers were gold billed, and they stood
the officers Just $18 In our money. But that
didn't make any difference. The girts con
sidered the daggers cute, and that settled
It. They got them. There waa a mean and
unworthy tale about at the time that the
officers charged on wholly proper but per
fectly convincing kiss for a dagger, but that
yarn was never actually believed, much
verified, for most of the Russian gentlemen
of the quarterdeck wore heavy outfits of
whiskers, and. considering the New Tork
girl's proven dislike for bewhlskered men.
It never seemed reasonable to euppn
that they would have been willing to pay
th price.
GREAT DEVOTION OF
Fox Terrier Travels One ITnndred and
Twenty-Four Miles to Visit
Her Pnpplea.
One hundred and twenty-four miles Is a
long distance for a short-lepgtvl little fox
terrier to travel In less than ore week, yet
a certain fox terrier named Gyp recently
went all that way to see her two babies,
from which she had been taken. And sho
had no on to tell" her the direction. In
stinct and mother lov taught her whero
to go.
Oyp. who Is a very young mother, only
13 months old. lives In Salt Lake City. Her
master Is Harry C. Fisher. Oyp accom
panied her master on a visit to Weston,
Idaho, and stayed with .him on a ranch
owned by August Jenson. One day, while
they were there. Gyp came frisking to Mr.
Fisher with an extra amount of pride In
the wag of her nlpped-off tall and In
formed htm In her doggish language that
she had something very beautiful to show
him. Naturally his curiosity was aroused
and he followed where, barking and Jump
ing Joyously, sho led him. There, hidden
away In one of the barns, was a litter of
little blinking puppies.
There was a large family of them at first,
but, as dog families will, they dwindled to
two before many weeks passed. But Gyp
loved these two dearly, and when, Mr.
Fisher's visit being ended, he took Gyp
4iy with him and left the puppies, 'she
was grieved, as any mother would be. The
babies were six weeks old then.
About four weeks after their arrival In
Bait Lake City Mr. Fisher missed Gyp. At
first he did not worry. He thought she had
Just gone out for a run or on a hunt for
the bones which are so dear to the heart of
even the most carefully brought up dog.
But a whole day passed, and no Gyp. The
Fisher family began to be concerned. Two
weeks passed, and still no Gyp. The Fishers
mounied their pet as loot. She must have
been killed or stolen, they say. Then a
thought struck Mr. Fisher. He sent a
post card to Mr. Jenson, Weston, Idaho,
And great was the rejoicing In the Fisher
home when the answer came, for It an
nounced that Gyp waa safe and sound at
the Jenson ranch. She had arrived, foot
sore but happy, ten days before.
"Her arrival was the occasion of great
rejoicing In the kennel," said the note.
"The two pups and Gyp barked and rolled
each other around In great shape." Salt
Lake Tribune.
Judicial Flattery.
."On what ground, sir," sternly asked th
judee, "do you seek to evade your duty as
a cltleenT"
"On the B"round, your honor," responded
the man who had been summoned as a
juror, "that I am 66 years old and no longer
legally liable to Jury service."
You don't look It by twenty years, sir."
said the judge, "but your excuse Is suffi
cient, and, of course, I shall not " '
"Still, your honor," Interrupted the other,
"Inasmuch as your honor puts It before m
In the llfrht of my duty as a cltlsen, I am
wllllmr to waive my claim to exemption
and will serve with pleasur." Chicago
Tribune.
total estimated coot of $1,627,977, against 155
buildings and $671,808 for the corresponding
month a year ago, an Increase of 137 build
ings and $966,169 over the corresponding
month a year ago. This Is $500,000 greater
than any month In th history of th city.
And coming Just en year after th Ban
Francisco calamity, clearly Indicates th
drift of affairs on th coast.
Portland Is making remarkable headway.
There is a notable revival In building In the
east. New Tork City, which has gone be
hind tremendously during the past few
months Is now gaining and the decrease
for the month waa nnlv v
. water
Brooklyn a few year ago was the scene'.' ' '
of remarkable activity, th percentage of
Increase from month to month being
phenomenal. For awhile there was a fall
ing off, but the conditions have now ma
terially changed; th gain for th month
was W pervcent. In Philadelphia permits
wer taken out for ver twice as many
buildings as in either New Tork, Brooklyn
or Chicago, which usually head the list.
The Quaker City's Increase for the month
Is equivalent to W per cent In Cleveland
there Is remarkable activity In small build
ings. Permits wer taken out to the num
ber of 1,070. Th figure in detail are as
follows:
1907.
1906.
Gain
Loss
I No. of I No. of 1
I Bldgs. Cost. Bldgs. Cost.
$15,444 543 9S $1.4S 642 6
1.3fi" 9.6!M615 735 4.8..07 98
2.68 .ICi3.5iiO M8 4.071. 8S6 69
1.077 6.3S6 960 1,105 12.139.S75 .. 66
SSt 15V447 829 4M,71 .. 4J
4V3 l.MVtAKt 6H l,fisi,19s 4
93 1.527.977 Jfi5 671. 167
6 1.4-a.l96 4H8 l.nes.ftvr 46
T"9 1.451.663 ' 2tf.Hfil .. 27
1.070 1.4-S. 21 3 8K4 . 306,046 10
493 l,Sf;142 477 4,?X1S3 .. -67
315 1.5S0.983 266 73,4(2 63
616 1.271 400 641 I !M3.0M I .. 11
411 1.19S6 490 1.424.740 Zt
M 1,147.960 643 8"3.Oi0 28
6S1 1.0S6.700 328 1,4'0,S6 23
22 7H6.045 226 657,046 1
279 871 778 N6 9s6f .. 11
494 g77.710 616 SMi.2H ,. 20
2a 623 119 2S0 7'.M.(Vi6 ,. 14
732 741. 9M9 611 1,074 S"? $1
$02 670,30 272 443.675 28
219 6T.4 3S0 212 476.946 U
387 $96.S41 6OO.070 21
136 47.615 107 S16.S19 60 , ..
2"0 4fi?.35 lf9 r2fiW 48
62 446.220 267 828.790 35
327.361 ... 442. 86 .. 26
MS 413.375 133 873 V 5 11
H 379.416 179 4M 9N0 10
63 876.515 44 JK1.700 44
151 8:6.498 1 37 313.507 20
118 13.025 86- a.76 .. 29
147 169IW4 12 219.077 .. 22
73 126.1 96 1H0.600 30
.124 1 33.570 143 121 2K1 .10
179 130.6 134 73 845 77
176 96 835 1X1 103 375 -
24 66,430 14 SO.-HIO 11
18 17,560 23 26,942 .. $4
17.840 I $K4.018.210 18.21T $68,224,664 6
T; Washington, 1 y
It la not expected that ther will be any
important changes In th months to com
at any time within the pear future. Bulld-
Ing operations have been upon a more active
seal than ver before In the history of
the country, and If ther should be slight
decreases her and there, or occasionally a
phenomenal Increase, It will not have any
bearing upon the general situation. We
must allow for a certain amount of give
and take, or variation from preceding rec-
ords and conditions will nractlcally con-
tlnue as they a re. Building news comes In
an abundance and everything vrvwhar
seems to t itpoa a halthj' basis.
i 1 CC .. jfajOot i
..J"v -- x, t,
' ' 't: Cf rzrzixrt '
C , Z 1 - v fty-fn 1
t ...m , ?3v. - ' . '; -T -i i
: i dMmmw j
S " lxm--.---- - - -. 1 "F in iff 111 Mill f 1 1 mi mt liit 1 1 1 w jfc la tMPnn nun wniiiwr'T rr 1 if r - 11 11 in m u J
WHAT ROAD ABILITY
New York to PonghkrepRie lilRh speed clutch sealed in.
i PROVES
Absolute and perfect throttle control the flexibility of a steam
engine.
Perfect Score Glidden lour,
conld not finish.
PKOVES
Standard construction. Tried, tested and proven materials.
Right weight. Ample power. Perfect cooling, lubrication
and carburatlon.
New York to Paytona, Florida, in m Id-winter l,r00 miles over
unspeakable road 4. The Severest Test ever given a car in
y America.
PROVES
That an Oldsmoblle owner will have that sense of security, that
faith In his car, that pride of performance that come only
from Roadablllty and Serviceability.
THE OLDS MOTOR WORKS.
KTMHALIi AUTO CO.,
-
FQRI If HEM A SILENT POST
fikterio Ep leaicrtd TJsalssa fox Modern
Military TJtas.
MHOATALIZE W SONG. AND STORY
rat th staur Isaajtod
ntmm Pa mt ta
Fort McHenry, the "Star Spangled Ban
ner" post of Baltimore, has been aban
doned for military purpose, the gates
closed and only a small guard remains to
protect the property. Last week the regu
lar garrison was transferred to Fort Ue
Soto, Fla.
Beyond doubt, Fort McHenry Is th most
historic spot In or around Baltimore. Its
splendid and successful defense agaJnst the
British fleet 4n 1814 made It so. The cir
cumstances under which Francis Scott Key
wrote "The Btar Spangled Banner" during
that terrlflo bombardment forever cast the
glamour of htstorio romance and national
patrlotlo feeling over the picture. And for
generations now BaJtlmoreans and visitors
alike appreciative of the history of the
old fort, the picturesqueness of Its Interior
and Its attractive outlook on the Patapsco
have wandered among Its grass-covered
ramparts and frowning cannon; have stood
beside the flagstaff from which defiantly
floated -the banner which made Key Jubi
lant; have strolled around the ' sea wall
for a hundred varying pictures of the
Patapsco on a fine day; have peeped into
the post graveyard, the magazines and the
casemates, th barracks and th officers'
cottages.
Famous Bombardment.
The story of the bombardment of Fort
McHenry has been retold so often that only
the essential facta need be given her. It
was on Sunday, September 11, 1814. that
the British fleet, with troops aboard, en
tered the Patapsco, having rested two
weeks since th capture and burning of
Washington on August 24. That night,
from the seventy ships In the fleet there
was landed at North Point a force of 7,000
infantry, artillery, marines and sailors, and
on the morning of the 12th took up their
march to rapture Baltimore. The killing
of their commander, General Robert Ross,
resulted, as Is well known. In their defeat
In the battle of North Point, and their
neit move was to attempt to take the city
In anticipation of an attack
from ships, the Maryland commanders and
federal commanders had added to the
strength of Fort McHenry by a water bat
tery on platforms in front of the fort, by
the Circular battery of seven guns on the
present site of Riverside park, wits two
redoubts, Fort Covington and the City Bat
tery, In front of this. A four-gun battery
bad been constructed at the Lazaretto and
vessels sunk across the mouth of the har
bor between this point and Fort McHenry.
The troops In Fort McHenry consisted of
about l,0OJ) men, largely militia, commanded
by Major George Armlstead of the regular
army. On Tuesday, September IS. at 2 a,
m., he British under Admiral Cockburn,
moved sixteen warships (Including Ave
bomb vessels), to a point about two snd
one-half miles below Fort McHenry and,
ranged In a semi-circle, began a furious
bombardment, which kept up all of Tues
day and until 8 a. m. Wednesday. Over
1,800 shells were fired, with multitudes of
round shot and rockets. "The Incessant
roar of the cannon, and the deafening and
continuous scream of the shells and rockets
added terrors to the awful spectacle of a
cannonade by night." The fort's guns
made few attempts to reach, the British
vessels, except when they ventured nearer.
But after midnight Tuesday It joined with
the other batteries along the river In a
fierce and destructive fire, when a squadron
of barges, bomb-ketches snd rocket boats
(containing 1,260 men) was discovered try
ing to creep past to make a landing at
Bprlng Gardens. For two hours this terri
ble firing was kept up, and the British were
forced to retire to th" bombarding vessels,
which finally abandoned the attempt to
take Baltimore and returned to the North
Point roadstead, from which the fleet de
parted on Saturday. September 17, to the
great pride and Joy of the people of Balti
more, who showered honors and raises
upon Armlstead and the others who had
repulsed the enemy.
How the Son Was Composed.
Equally well known are the circum
stances under which Francis Scott Key
wrote "The Star Singled Bunner" during
the bombardment. It if, however, errone
ously believtd by many that Key wrote
what has become the national anthem
while detained on board a British warahlp.
Such f not exactly the um. He waa on
a am&ll vessel which he had hired at Balti
more to visit the British fleet and en
deavor to procure the rlea.e of a frteml,
Dr. Beanjof Upper Marlboro, who had
been taken prisoner during the retirement
of tbe British from Washington. He bad
th approval of President Madison and
was accompanied by Mr. John 8. Skinner,
th government's agent in Baltimore for
th exchang of prlaoeera. They were suc
cessful In their errand, but Vers Informed
by th ranking omcer Admiral Coot ran
that thx co old not mure ta BaltlnvorJ
Where many hlgh-prlccd cars
Omaha, Neb. Immediate Delivery
until the British had made their purposed
attack upon the city. For some days they
were on a frigato, but when the fleet
reached the Patapeco Mr. Key, Mr. Skin
ner and Pr. Heanes were sent on board
their own vessel, with a guard to prevent
them from landing. It wns from the deck
of this vesel that they watched with pain
ful suspense the bombardment of the fort.
When they heard the cannonado ce
some time before day they had no means
of learning from the enemy's ships whether
the; fort had surrendered. And It was dur
ing this period of anxiety that Mr. Key,
waiting for the dawn In infer to see
whether "our flag was still there," con
ceived th Idea of "Th Star Spangled
Banner."
In the Civil War..
Next In historical Importance to Fort Mo
Henry's glorious record in 1814 Is Its share
in the civil war. At, the headquarters for
th union soldiers who controlled Baltimore
at a time when a majority of the people
of the olty were believed to be sympathiz
ers with the confederacy, the guns which
were in the earlier war used to defend
Baltimore wer now trained upon the city.
Having anticipated the outbreak of hostil
ities by several months by sending a larger
garrison here In January, 1SG1, the Wash
ington authorities Increased It after the
memorable 19th of April, and kept It large
during the war. In the months of Lee's
two Invasions of Maryland, In 1862 and 1863,
and again when Early made his famous
raid In 1864 and Colonel Harry Gllmor's
cavalry ventured to within a few miles of
Baltimore, the union authorities suspected
that there might be an uprising of sym
pathizers with the south In the city and
pointed the guns of Fort McHenry in that
direction, as well as those of the several
newly constructed fortifications and of a
fleet of gunboats, motorboata and converted
revenue cutters ordered to take up stations
thereat various points In the harbor. For
tunately, ther was no necessity to fire
them.
A darker chapter- In Fort McHenry"
civil war history was the execution of
several southerners as spies. The record
of those thus put to death Is not com
plete. On May 23, 1864, Andrew iAypole,
condemned by court-martial as a spy, was
hanged in the fort. He "made a short
speech from the gallows denying that he
was a felon, then prayed fervently and
died bravely." Only eight days before
Eugene Lamar and William B. Compton,
confederates who had been sentenced to
be hanfted, made their escape from the
fort with three other prisoners. On Au
gust 29 four alleged spies and blockade
runners were sentenced to be hanged, but
their execution was stayed. On Spptem
ber 21, however, George W. McDonald
(atlas M. M. Dunning) waa executed there,
according to the military code, for having
deserted from a Maryland cavalry regi
ment This Is the last news Item of this
character before the end of the war.
At the outbreak of the war with Spain
In 1S98 the old fort acquired a temporary
new activity. Brigadier General E. B.
Wllliston, then commandant, was given the
organization of one of the new regiments,
and for a time the barracks were full. A
regimental band added to th liveliness
f the post, and dress parades attracted
many visitors. But this glory was transi
tory. The regiment was ordered away,
and Fort McHenry fell back on a hand
ful of artillerymen. Already It was full
realized that It could never again defend
Baltimore from foreign foe. The huge
smooth-bore cannon that had frowned so
ominously from the ramparts for years
were worse then useless beside the recent
Inventions of long-range guns, range-finders
and disappearing gun carriages. Far
ther down the Patapsco, where It joins
the bay, new forts to contain these new
inventions of warfare wer already under
way. And on August 14, 1903, came the
surrender of Its supremacy to the com
pleted Fort Howasfl by the transfer of
headquarters thither Baltimore News.
Rich Widow to Wed Coachman.
Mrs. Alexander D. Brown of Baltimore,
widow of a member of a banking firm of
International fame, and once widely known
In Baltimore as Laura Hobson, announces
that she will wed Charles H. Kaufman, for.
merly of Boston, but recently a coachman
on Mrs. Brown's estate, in June. Mrs.
Brown Is t$ years old, thirty-two years vhs
senior of her prospective husband.
The marriage of the old banker to the
beautiful Laura Hobson many years ago
was a sensation that lasted a decade. She
was unknown in the high social circle of
which the banker was a leader. Alexan
der D. Brown was the uncle of the pres
ent Alexander D. Brown, head of th bank
ing firm of Alexander Brown it Bona, and
a leader in tbe Baltimore financial world
It was while she waa spending the sum
mer of I9ut at Narragansett that Mrs.
Brown first met Mr. Kaufman. From that
time on a correspondence ensued, and a
few weeks ago Kaufman was asked t
cornel t Baltimore.
Reflections of a Bachelor.
The average man thinks that for him to
reud a Joke in sumo paper is proof how
funny he is.
A girt wouldn't want to be married so
much if she oould avoid Using an old maid
any other way. '
One conTTort a girl with toothpick ankles
has Is she needn't be afraid to woux puuip
for fear they'll get thicker.
When a man wears clutbes that ar out
of style either he la so poor he has to worry
about something els or so rich h doesu't
wtttui tvbvul aijjfthlngWisi Xork, Pre.
CONTESTS PROVE
Winning $0,000 Race, Los Angeles to Ran Francisco across
rivers, over mountains, through adobe desert mud so stiff
competing car failed to finish.
TROVES
That the Oldsmoblle Is an exceptional car. That the wonder
ful performances are not duo to luck, driver or chanc)
conditions. Your Cldsmoblle will do the same.
Cleveland, Washington and St. Louis, 1,000 miles and Phila
delphia, 2,000 miles, non-stop runs.
TROVES
That to get there and back, the Oldsmoblle power plant may be
counted upon to give a maximum of performance for a
minimum of attention.
SUMMED UP The Oldsmoblle stands for Roadablllty, Service
ability, Style and Satisfaction. The good car for bad roads
is the best car for good roads.
LANSING, MICH. Mem. a. l. a. m.
Sample Cars at All Agencies
LAYING THE WIRES OUT WEST
Telegraph Eaildicr Beyond the Missouri ii
Pioneer rays.
EXPERIENCES OF ONE OF THE BUILDERS
Intlmely Break-Down In Crelahton's
Omaha-Denver Line Demnnd for
War News and Cost of
Dispatches.
Laying telegraph wires In pioneer days
beyond the Missouri is a fruitful subject
of reminiscence, and is of deep historical
value when related by men who partici
pated In the work. One of these pioneer
telegraph builders Is B. F. Woodward,
who details his experience In a late num
ber of the Telegraph Age.
In the spring of IMS, he says, when I
started for Colorado, the state of Iowa
was mostly a wilderness of rolling prairie.
The Rock Island railroad had penetrated
this as far west as Ottumwa, and the
Northwestern to near Cedar Rapids, thence
to Council Bluffs or elsewhere on the
Missouri river, there wer only scattered
and widely separated settlements. Beyond
Omaha were the limitless plains, occupied
only by roving bands of Indians and count
less herds of antelope and buffalo.
There was no communication between
the Atlantic and Pacific coasts except by
pony express and stag via Fort Kearny,
Fort Laramie, Fort Bridger and the Mor
mon settlement at Great Salt Lake.
Telesrraph Bnbsldy.
In 1868 Benator Schuyler Colfax secured
an act of cengress appropriating a subsidy
f $40,000 per year for ten years to the
first company that established telegraphlo
communication to th Pacific ceajrt. Prior
to this date Bhafner and Veltch had built
lines through Missouri and Arkansas under
th Mors patent, on ef which line fol
lowed the Missouri river to Kansas City,
Leavenworth, Brownsville and other
points. The wire was attached to trees
wherever available and elsewhere to small
and Inferior poles. Naturally It was often
broken and the line did not pay expenses.
Charles M. Stebbtns, who bad been their
superintendent, bought! out Shafner and
Veltch for a trifle and for a time th
wires were known as th Stebblns lines.
When congress offered this $40,000 per an
num subsidy, an arrangement was mad
between Stebblns, the Western Vnlen Tele
graph company and the Overland company
of California, under which-Stebblns waa to
build a line from Brownsville, Nab., to
Juleaburg. Colo., about 400 miles. Th
Western Union was to build from Jules
burg to Salt Lake City, about 600 mile.
The Overland company from Salt Lake City
to California, each to receive a pro rata
of subsidy, according t distance built and
cost of construction. About th time that
Stebblns had constructed the first division
of his section, Brownsville to Fort Kearny,
he sold his Interest to the Western
Union Telegraph company, and from Fort
Kearny to Salt Lak City th line was
built by Edward Crelghton for th Pacific
Telegraph company, controlled by th
Western Union. Th line west of Salt
Lake City was built by th California com
pany. The subsidy, together with the very
large business to and from California,
mads It a profitable enterprise from the
beginning.
Brlgham Toung contracted for and fur
nished a large part of the poles used be
tween Julesburg and Salt Lak City.
Gold at Pike' Peak
In th meantime gold had been discovered
In the Pike's Peak region and Denver had
grown In a few years to be an Important
town of 8,000 or 4.000 people, with Jules
burg 3U0 miles east as Its nearest telegraph
station.- For a time telegrams wer re
ceived from and sent t Julesburg by stage,
but after the breaking out of the civil war
a feverish anxiety for war news caused
urgent demands upon Mr. Crelghton tor a
branch line from Julesburg to Denver. He
visited Denver and In a few days secured
'a cash subscription of about $17,000 to be
used for the building of this branch line
to Denver and Into the mountains to Cen
tral City, thirty-five miles distant. I do
not know how hard th Central City pop'
were held up, but th total cash subscrip
tion well covered the entire cost of th
branch line. For two or three years after
the completion of the Denver branch the
net cash receipts f th Denver office wer
greater than at any other office In a town
of Its size In the United (States.
Disagreeable Breakdown.
This branch from Julesburg to Denver
was opened for business October 10. 1!h3,
when but one message and realy passed
over it, a dispatch from the mayor of Den
ver to th mayor of Omaha and the re
sponse, when th wir failed.
The line bad been built with badly an
nealed English wire, and a few cold nights
just after lis completion caused many fac
tory splices to break by reason of con
traction. It required about ten days in
which to reach and repair all these breaks.
Mr. Crelghton was greatly worried. He
was not much of an electrichm and be ex
pressed the belief that the trouble was
caused by the mineral formation In tbe
nearby .mountains, and he did not believe
th line would vr work satisfactorily. I
oct4 ta bu It at cvst sput a4 iua
Fhono for Demonstration
h ! fVjjt -Tnt
It In connection with th main Una at
Julesburg, but my offer waa declined and
I lost an opportunity.
In the full of 18G6, when Maximilian had
ent'ered Mexico and had been proclaimed
emperor of that country and the president
of the republic, General Juarez, had fled
north to El Pnso for refuge In the United
States. General Brooks, who was In com-,
mand In that part of Texas, was uncertain)
as to what he should do. protect him or re
turn him to Mexican territory, Just across
the Rio Grande river.
A Costly Dispatch.
Th matter was considered so urgent and
Important that he and two other United
States officers came to Denver, aflout 700)
miles distant, where they could communi
cate by telegrnph wtth the authorities at
Washington. They paid me about $W0 foe
one Jengthy telegram and promptly re
ceived Instructions In reply.
Th rates were very high st that tlm.
I doubt If a larger sum tip to that data
had ever been paid for one telegram on
land lines. x
General Brooks was very anxious for
telegraphic connection with the outside
world. He said no doubt the government
would liberally aid In the construction of
a wire from Denver to El Peso. During;
the following winter we organized the)
United States & Mexico Telegraph and
Railroad company, with Henry M. Porter,
president; David H. Moffat, treasurer; n
F. Woodward, secretary and superintend
ent, and a number of influential men 08
Colorado and New Mexico as directors.
The purpose was to first construct a tele
graph line and later a railroad from Den
ver to the City of Mexico. We secured
stock subscriptions at moat of the towns
between Denver and Santa Fe and, with
some aid from the military posts along
the route, completed the line to Santa Fe.
abut 400 miles, in the fail of IMS. W also
built from Denver to Cheyenne, 130 mllns.
on the right-of-way of tBe Denver Pa
cific ralh-oad, about a year before the latter
road was completed. We maintained ous
railway franchise for two or three years)
by laying a half dozen ties in West Den
ver. The scarcity of timber for po'fes, ths
sparsely settled country and failure to ob
tain aid from the Impoverished Mexican
republic caused th abandonment of th
work south of Santa Fe. The line was
later sold to the Western Unltn Telegraph
company. Its construction doubtless Influ
enced the building of the Denver & Rio
Grande railway by General William 3.
Palmer and his associates, which waa
projected to follow our telegraph rout,
but was only built as far as Trinidad,
Colo., th Atchison, Topeka & Bint a Fa
building from Trinidad to El Paso.
Wreck of Supplies.
An Incident of th operation of th Una
between Denver and Santa F may b of
Interest. I had purchased in St. Louis
three carboys of nitrlo and on carboy of
sulphurio acid for tha Grove battery In
Santa Fa. It was shipped by a Mexican
ox team from Kansas City. Somewher
on th plains th stopper of tha carbow
Of sulphuric add was Jerked out and th
acid 'slopped over Into the wagon, causing
it to smoke. Th Mexican driver thought
his wagon was on fir and dumped th
entire load upon the ground, spilt all tha
acid and later delivered the empty car
boys at ur Santa F office, demanding
his freight charges and damage for in
jury to his wagon. Th matter was ad
Justed by our attorney, B. B. Elkins. now
United States senator from West Virginia.
We never paid th freight. For tww
months or longer w worked the wlr)
without any battery except at Denver, 400
miles and return, something that could
not be done east of the Missouri liver,
where th earth is moist and rains ar fre
quent. , .4
Tom Tlisaik I Dead.
Millions of beys and girls In th TJnlt4
States of larger growth will stretch their
muscles to see If they are as elastic as oC
yesterday when they luaxn that Tom Thumb)
Is dead. H died only a few days ago at
his home In Somerset, England, at tha
early age of 73 years o'er young to dl.
millions of American boys and girls In tha
United States f larger growth will doubt,
less say, when they ar thrilled again by;
th Bound In memory of th calliope, tha
crash of bands, the glory and glitter of th
street pageant, th majesllo spectacla ot
gaudily caparisoned elephants and camels,
the crouched lions and tigers In cages, tha
shrill vole of th ticket sellers, the coun
terfeit presentments of Barnum, fat and
smirk, and the life-sized paintings of tha
haughty Tom Thumb that hung temptingly)
at the entrance of the sideshow. Torn,
Thumb's real name was Richard Garaney.
He helped Barnum to make millions, and
his own earnings were enormous, but Tons
Thumb died In comparative poverty. Bar
num used to say that he was "an unruly
little cum," and so he proved to be after
the great showman's death, for It appeara
that ne other showman could sucoeaxfullyi
manage Tom Thumb, and so he dropped
out of the public view a generation ago.
Faith (ire.
Tommy," said his Sunday school
teacher, "; our cold 1 much betUr tham
when 1 saw you Wat."
"Yni. answered Tommy. "I cured II
by prayln'." i
"By praying? I am glad to hear you say"
that."
"Ves'm. I asked th Lord to t&k It
away from me and give It to Dick bingo.
Liul. ' , fV'-WJWw
n
