The Sunday Oregonian., March 15, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 3, Image 49

THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAJTEK MARCH 15, 1903.
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FY JOHN BIjF'RETH WATKINS.
TUB President has already decorated
seven heroes and one heroine with
the nation's new order of merit.
Some time ago he reminded Congress
that the government had long been be
stowing medals of honor for acts of
jarreat heroism upon the water, and rec
ommended similar decorations for 'con
spicuous bravery and selfc-sacrlnce in the
saving of life in private employments
under the jurisdiction of the United
States, and particularly in the land
commerce of the nation.' An act author
izing such rewards for saving of life on
our railways was passed, and according
to the regulations framed to carry it into
effect applications for the decoration may
be filed with the interstate commerce
commission if accompanied by affidavits
if cye-witneses to the deeds of heroi$m
for which recognition is desired. Such
applications are passed upon by a com
mlttee of five officials of the commission,
and when there is a favorable action, the
President of the United Slates decorates
the hero with a handsome medal of honor,
slumped by hand at the United States
mint; also with a gold and enamel button,
which the owner may wear upon his coat
lapel. With these two emblems of
country's appreciation of bravery the
1 'resident transmits to each hero a per
sonal letter commending his bravery.
Tho Medal a Thing of Art.
The new medal of honor is 6t bronze
and Is about as large as a sliver dollar
On the obverse side it bears the classic
figure of a sturdy man standing upon
railway track, with one knee resting upon
a boulder which has fallen between the
mils. With a flaming brand he is warn
lng an approaching train of its peril. On
the reverse side is a laurel wreath such as
the Romans placed upon the brows of
their national heroes. Axainst the outer
rim of the medal are the words, "The
United States medal for life saving on
railroads," and inside the wreath is in
scribed. "For bravery. Awarded to
Tho button acompanying the medal and
intended for everyday wear is a shield of
the United States in the three colors.
About a circle upon the shield Is the In
scription. "For bravery."
1ert Sick-Bod to Brave Death.
One of the most heroic acts thus re
warded by the President was that of
Charles Arms of Clarksvillc; Tenn. Some
months ago the locomotive, mail and bag
gage cars of a Louisville and Nashville
train crossing the bridge over the Cum
berland River at Clarksvllle ran tnrough
the open draw and plunged Into the water,
60 feet below. It was a very dark night,
and tho river, at flood tide, was so full of
driftwood that the ferry service was sus
pended. Hundreds, alarmed by the crash of the
fallen train, swarmed the ferry whart
and lined the river bank. Scores of able
bodied men stood agape and were so
stunned that not one oudgd a jot to
give aid in response to the distress cries
rising out of the black torrent before
them.
There were many brave men In the
throng, but against the bridge piers they
heard the bump of the driftwood, whose
black shadows they saw pas in the glare
of the wharf lights.
Near the ferry landing Charles Arms, a
poor man. lay in bed. ill with malarial
fever. He had lain thus in its clutches
now nearly four weeks. The doctor had
just K-ft his bedside when the wreck oc
curred. Arms from where he lay could
not hear the cra.h of the falling cars
nor the cries of the victims. The first
news of the catastrophe was brought to
him by his little daughter.
Offered Ills Last Cent in Vain.
Forgetting the fever, not waiting to put
on all of his clothes, the sick man left his
bed. rushed to the ferry slip, jumped Into
a skiff and appealed to the bystanders for
assistance. But rmt a man would volun
teer In such a tide and against such a
fo as the rushing drift. Arms offered
Jlo all that he had to any one who
would help him haul in the victims. No
one offering him aid even in return for
money, he pushed off alone in the little
boat.
"If the drift don't swamp you the folks
on those cars will jump in and swamp
you sure:' cried a helper at the ferry.
But Arms set his jaw and turned the
nose of hid craft toward the voices that
cried to him out of the night.
After the cars had crashed Into the river
the mail clerks and baggagemen, as it
later appeared, although terribly bruised
and shaken, had managed to break their
ay out of the cars and climb on top,
where they clung with all of their re
maining strength while the nearly sub
nerged cars were being rapiuiy swept
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down stream. But Arms, summoning all
of his skill to steer clear of the threaten
ing timber, managed to work his way to
the Imperiled men before their strength
gave away. Without a soul to assist him
the fever-dcplcted man hauled the victims
aboard the skiff one by one, and after
ward landed them safely on the river
bank. Then he tied up his skiff and went
back to his sick bed. Besides the medal,
button and letter of praise sent to him
by Prestdcnt Roosevelt, he received $100
from the Louisville and Nashville road.
Heroic Ucscue ol a Ctiird.
Somewhere in Dickens. I think It Is in
"Bleak House," there is a "Mr. George,"
a big, brave trooper, a protector and
lover of children, whom
loves through the whole story. I thought
01 mm wniie perusing the affidavits of
eye-witnesses to the heroism of a Mr.
George of real life, who has just re
ceived another of these decorations for
saving life on the rail. This Mr. Geonre
Edgar E. Is not a trooper, but a vomit
stenographer, only 2K. in the offices of a
big coal company at Wilkesbarre, Pa.
He lives m the neighboring sub'urb of
Parsons, where he was lately waiting to
catch his morning train, when his eye
met a sight which sent a shudder of
horror through him and the group of his
neighbors who waited with him. A Polish
lad. only 12 years old. who had been
walking the track on his way to school
with his little sister, had caught his foot
in a frog and was helplessly struggling
right in the path of the rapidly ap
proaching train. Mr. George, without
aiting for his neighbors bounded along
the track to where the terrified lad was
tugging to release his imprisoned foot.
but by the time he reached the spot the
train was almost upon the little fellow.
With a presence of mind which has
since called for the commendation of the
many awe-struck eye-witnesses, the
young stenographer stepped to the side
of the track and with his left hand
bore the lad's body down as far aa the
outer rail would permit. With his right
hand he at the same time forced the im
prisoned leg so that it came just under
the cylinder of the locomotive and the
journal boxes and steps of the front car
as they swept by. scraping the bodies of
the rescued and the rescuer. The en
gineer applied his emergency brakes, but
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I . , v s !.-? I ' ' MISS MARY GCHAN.
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did not succeed in stopping until the en
gine and one coach had run by. When
the excited crew and passengers reached
the spot, expecting to find both the man
and boy killed, the latter was safe In
Air. George's arms. The latter"s right
hand was cut and bruised and his coat
was smeared with grease and rust from
the engine, but beyond the extreme
strain on his leg the lad was unhurt.
Ran Ahead of His Engine.
"No greater honor can be won In civil
life than you have thus won, because
no greater s'ervlce can be rendered
than you have thus rendered." the
President lately wrote to Edward
Murray of Pittsburg, when decorating
him with this new order of merit.
Murray is a freight conductor oh the
Monongahela division of the Pennsyl
x'ania Railroad. Some months ago,
while riding on the rear footboard
of a locomotive backing down on the
White Hill branch, he was horrified to
see two children, a boy of 2 and a
girl of 4, todrilipg along on the track
just before him. No thought of self
deterred Murray. Leaping from the
footboard onto the track which was
whizzing under him, he bounded ahead
.of the engine, lifted one of the children
in each arm. and was about to jump
aside when the lumbering locomotive
CAme upon him. His predicament now
demanded that quick decision without
which courage is futile. The slightest
misstep or hesitation was to result in
death to the three lives thus In Jeop
ardy. 'With wonderful agility he
jumped Just as the engine struck him,
and. still holding fast to the little
ones, landed upon the footboard. Here
he managed to balance himself until
the engineer brought his Iron steed to
a full stop. Then Murray lifted the
youngsters safely to the ground and
went on about his business.
Lame, bnt Saved the Child.
Last August, a 6-year-old frirl at
tempted to cross in front of a rapidly
approaching Chicago. Milwaukee A St.
Paul train at Stowell station. Milwau
kee. Edward A. McGrath, the station
agent there, is a very lame man, but he
forgot his physical deficiencies when
he saw the predicament of the threat
ened child. Not hearing his cries of
warning, she took her time, although
the Jaws of death gaped for her and
she was almost Inside.
The station agrent. had he had time
lor Introspection, would have realized
xseceived rr from
THE PRESIDENT OF
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that in the eyes of the world he had
every excuse for physical inaction. On
one foot he wore a support eight inches
high, and It war. an awkward burden
to drag along. But, agile as an ath
lete in the prime of training, he ran
upon the track, took hold of the child
and had lust lifted her out of the path
of danger when he was himself struck
by the pilot beam of the engine as it
rushed past. But he Is alive and kick
ing todr.y, and bears in his buttonhole
the little shield of 'the Nation's new
legion of honor.
The same kind of courageous impulse
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Five- o'Clock Tea a Necessity
An Established Custom in W ashington, With -Cigarette Smoking.
"D
O AWAY with the S o'clock tea
table and you will eliminate the
most distinctive feature of
Washington social life," recently declared
a woman who has lived in the atmosphere
of officialdom throughout several suc
cessive Administrations. Coincident with
the advent of the Pauncefotes, whose
regime at the British Embassy evokes the
happiest memories, the S o'clock tea table
made its appearance In Washington, and
the fame of the Pauncefote tea still lin
gers among the "seasoned" members of
Washington's socially elect.
Invariably one of the ever popular
Pauncefote girls was in attendance 'In
the drawing-room at the appointed hour,
should Lady Pauncefote herself be absent,
and always one or two of the younger
secretaries would assist. A feature of the
Pauncefote teas was nothing less than a
huge tureen of piping hot milk toast a
delicious dish made of well-browned,
crisped -bread, over which was poured a
creamy mixture of boiled sweet milk sea
soned with a dash of nutmeg and a taste
of sugar.
The bread was cut In small squares and
each guest was regaled with a platter of
milk toast, or, if she preferred, the usual
little cakes or thin bread and .butter, sup
plemented by good, thick slices of English
plum cake, were at her disposal. Unin
terruptedly the fame of the tea at the
British Embassy has been maintained,
but meantime other aspirants for tea
table honors have appeared. Ever since
Trie saving or
has brought the decoration to George H.
Williams, of Braintree, Mass., an engineer
of the New York, New Haven & Hartford
road. While his train was lying at Qulncy,
Mass., and while a fast express was ap
proaching on an adjacent track, Williams
saw a woman and girl talte their lives
into their own hands by passing Into the
closed crossing gate, near by. Unmindful
of their danger, they started to cross di
rectly In front of the fast train. The
child was soon across, but her elder,
seized with that peculiar sort of panic
which is peculiar to women and hens, hes
itated directly in the path of danger.
Williams Jumped from his cab and pushed
her until she fell back off the track, but"
was himself struck by the express and
hurled 20 feet, sustaining Injuries so seri
ous that he was unable to report for duty
Mrs. Roosevelt went into the White
House the S o'clock tea table has been in
daily service.
Mrs. Roosevelt Brews the Tea.
Mrs. Roosevelt is another hostess who
serves milk toast at her informal after
noons. On the occasions of her "set"
days a certain ceremony obtains, but
Mrs. Roosevelt's intimates know well
when to find her. and, surrounded iy her
special coterie, the wife of the President
presides at the table, brews me tea and
serves the guests without the assistance
of the maids.
Mrs. Longworth also is a devotee of
the afternoon cup. Mrs. Longworth
draws about her the liveliest men and
women of the smart set. Placed in i..e
corner of the drawing-room of tho home
In I street stands a eautlfully arranged
table, and at one end rises a steaming
samovar, for tea at the Longworth domi
cile is served a la Russe. Sometimes a
good friend will be at her side, but most
times Mrs. Longworth presides alone, the
indispensable butler, who is a personage
to consider In the household, keeping vigi
lant eye oft the progress of the feast.
Guests tell of wonderfully toothsome
sandwiches and palatable confections,
and from time to time crisp bon mots
which have had their inception over a
cup of tea at the Longworth home find
their way into.tfie current conversation
of the day.
Mrs. William Sheffield Cowles, wife of
Rear-Admiral Cow'les and sister to the
President, holds her own as a dispenser
of the ever-cheering cup. Mrs. Cowles,
impew
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for three months. The President wrote
to him: "You showed courage of a high
and fine kind, and I trust the medal will
be proof to you that your- countrymen
realize what you did and estimate its
valor at its true worth."
Reached Child from Cowcatcher.
Engineer Charles W. Haight, of the Del
aware, Lackawanna & Western, who lives
at Utica, N. Y., has been decorated for
bravery, saving a J'4-year-old girl whom
he saw directly between the rails lit front
of his engine while It was hauling a milk
train of six cars -down a very steep grade,
near West Wlnfield, N. Y. Immediately
upon seeing the Infant Mr. Haight re
versed his engine, but the rails were slip
pery and the train thundered on down the
Incline. Seeing that heroic work must
who has the vivacity of a debutante,
with the experience of a woman of the
world, enjoys a great vogue for her
quickness' and cleverness and her ever
ready appreciation of a clever speech.
Some of the brightest wits of the capital
frequent her home on the occasion of the
daily tea hour, the proportion of men
being a flattering tribute to the hostess'
gifts as an entertainer.
Mrs. Gerge W. Vanderbilt is still an
other hostess whose more intimate .friends
may generally find her presiding at a
beautifully appointed table and dispensing
the steaming beverage. Thin bread and
butter, with possibly a dainty sandwich,
form the staples, while the list of Im
promptu guests frequently includes Mrs.
Vanderbilt's good friend, Mrs. Nicholas
Longworth and other women well-known
In official and residential society. Army
and navy homes are great centers of this
special form of hospitality. Mrs. Frank
lin Bell, Mrs. Garlington, Mrs. Dewey,
Mrs. Richardson Clover. Mrs. Richard
Mulligan. Mrs. Arthur Murray, Mrs. Ed
wards, wife of General Bdwords; Mrs.
Stockton, wife of Rear-Admiral Stock
ton: Mrs. Schley and a score of other
well-known women maintaining their tea
tables -with as much regularity as they
do their more perfunctory breakfast,
luncheon and dinner hours.
Mrs. Leiter Has the Habit.
Mrs. Leiter's long residence abroad
has resulted In her adoption of the after
noon "tea habit' with 4:30 as the ac
cepted hour. Mrs. Bayard, Mrs. Towns
end, the Misses Patten and Mrs. Corbln
also enjoy the afternoon tea en famllle
or with the addition of friends who
chance to appear at the accepted hour.
Far from being a fireside function the
afternoon tea has waxed dear to the hearts
of women who abide in hotels and apart
ments, hence afternoon tearooms abound
la the fashionable residence sections of
now be done, he Jumped out on the run
ning board alongside the boiler, climbed
down upon the cowcatcher, and leaning
forward with arms outstretched, caught
the little one Just as the lumbering engine
was about to strike it. So fast was the
train still traveling that the child struck
Hatght's body with a force that knocked
him back against the pilot beam. In this
predicament It was only by a heroic effort
that he could hold fast to the little one
until the locomotive, after continuing for
five car lengths, came to a stop. The
child, who was the daughter of a section
hand, escaped unhurt. Height's engine
was of the "Mother Hubbard" type, with
cowcatcher of vertical steel rods, offering
but a precarious footing. The President
in his letter commended the brave engi
neer for performing "a great service for ;
humanity in so unselfishly placing your j
own life in Jeopardy to save the life of a
helpless child."
Mangled, but Saved Child.
For a very similar deed of heroism
which resulted less fortunately for
himself, a plucky fireman out in Ne
braska has not only been decorated by
the President,- but honored by the cit
izens of his community with election
to the office of County Clerk. This
medalist, George H. Poell, of Grand
Island, Neb., at the time of his heroic
rescue, was passing near Powells,
Neb., on a St. Joseph A Grand Island,
train. It was about dusk, and the
train was rounding a curve at a speed
of 26 miles an hour, on a down grade,
when the engineer, applying the
brakes, cried out across the cab that a
child was upon the track. Poell took
one look at the tot, who turned partly
around and then started on a trot, still
In the center of the track, as If seised
with a childish notion that he could
beat the locomotive In the race for
life. Poell then sprang out of the
cab window, dropped upon the cow
catcher, and bracing his heels on the
bottom rail of the latter, leaned for
ward. He caught the little fellow and .
lifted him. onto the locomotive; but
the Impact with the child caused him
to slip. Luckily the child rolled to a '
place of safety, but his rescuer was
caught beneath the engine's cylinder,
his body being dragged on the ties of '
a bridge 40 feet long. His foot was
picked up 200 feet behind, and both of
hie arms were broken. But the child,
years old. was only slightly hurt.
President Roosevelt, on. presenting the
decoration to this young hero, said:
"Yours' is the satisfaction of feeling
that you have performed a deed which
lifts by just so much the standard of the
citizenship of which we are sq proud."
First Woman Decorated.
The first woman to ba -honored with
this new national order of merit is Miss .
Mary Guinan of Middletown, N. Y. The
deed for which she was decorated was
a display of extreme daring in risking
her lire to save that of a man. 74 years
old and quite feeble. This old gentleman
attempted to cross the Erie railroad at
Middletown in front of two trains ap
proaching on adjacent tracks, and in.
opposite directions. He was unmindful
of his danger until he reached the central
space between the two tracks. Here he
became greatly bewildered at his apparent
inability to either go forward or turn
back without being ground to pieces.
Miss Guinan. who was waiting at the
crossing, saw his predicament; and, un
mindful of herself, ran to the old man's
side, in the place of danger. She now
shared his peril and a misstep of a few ..
inches was certain to -bring death to both.
The situation demanded the utmost pres
ence of mind. Realizing that to drag the
man to either side would now be certain
death, she seized him, dragged htm to
the center of the space and held him
firmly to prevent his giving way to natu
ral instinct of panic. It was a dizzy and
breathless wait while the two trains whiz
zed past, one on either side. The danger
over, Miss Guinan led the old gentleman
now really unconscious from fright, to the
sidewalk, where bystanders who hurried
to them were-surprised to find her so calm
and undisturbed as though nothing had
happened. A measurement of the space
in which the two bad stood between tho
swaying trains showed that it was only
a yard across.
Washington, D. C.,' March . :
the city. Within a stone's throw of
those strongholds of masculinity, the
Metropolitan Club and the Army and
Navy Club and the Benedick, are half a
dozen tearooms patronized by society.
When scientifically prepared and served!
In the proper environment few men re
fuse a cup of afternoon tea. Admiral
Dewey Indulges frequently, an example
followed by young naval and army of
ficers, many of whom are not above
making the brew themselves. Particularly
does this apply to men who live In
bachelor quarters, where many a gay
party of women, duly chaperoned, fore
gather over a "hot pot." As for the em
bassies and legations, the afternoon tea Is
an established custom, the embassy staffs
as a rule gathering in the drawing-room
for an hour's chat, a cup tf tea and a
social cigarette.
Apropos of smoking, more and more
prevalent has become the custom of post
ing cigarettes at the conclusion of the
tea hour, men and women both enjoying
the gentle exhilaration afforded by a fra
grant puff as a supplement to the lata
afternoon feast.
A Ballad of Chance.
Atlanta Constitution.
I write of roses In a riot red.
Of Sprlnjr that wU!i sweet blossoms pelts
the town;
A bllz2ard blowa the shingles from the shed
And heats the shutters down!
I write of blizzards and the blinding snow
The arctic Ice-pack, polar terrors bring- '
lng;
Spring lights the windows of ' the world
below
A mockingbird is singing!
Alas, these changes of the seasons sad!
Tomorrow's myetery we can't unlock it;
Change everywhere. In all things, good and '
bad.
But In your Uttle pooketl